Carol Nolan says bill falls short on tenant protections
Carol Nolan spoke on 28 July 2020 about a bill extending notice periods for tenants in rent arrears in the residential rental sector and said the bill does not go far enough to protect vulnerable renters. She welcomed the extension of notice periods through the emergency period to 10 January 2021 but urged clearer supports and long-term regulatory reform to prevent evictions and homelessness.
Bill provisions and immediate concerns
The deputy outlined that the bill provides increased notice periods for termination notices served on tenants in rent arrears during the emergency period and up to 10 January 2021. She acknowledged the stress experienced by many families as the original moratorium review point approached and warned that not everyone believes the measures go far enough.
Concerns raised by charities and suggested notice requirements
She cited submissions from the Simon Community saying the bill’s provisions are complex and that vulnerable tenants will need support to navigate them. She repeated Simon’s suggestion that landlords issuing notices to quit based on arrears should be required to include information on supports - rent supplement, the housing assistance payment, money advice and budgeting services, and RTB services - and information on tenants’ rights to make a declaration to the RTB under section 4.1 of the bill.
Legal framing and longer-term reform
The deputy criticised the mixed rationale behind emergency protections, saying crisis measures should not be followed by a return to a power imbalance that disadvantages tenants. She argued the problem is as much legal as political and suggested it may require constitutional change, while urging other non-emergency measures be pursued in the meantime.
Local rent pressure zones and housing need
She welcomed the designation of Tullamore as a rent pressure zone in April and recalled the nationwide rent freeze introduced under the emergency measures in the Public Interest Act in March. Citing the residential tenancies rent index, she said there had been an increase of almost 10 per cent in lease and almost 6 per cent in Offaly between 2018 and 2019 and that many constituents in Tullamore and Eden Derry were paying around €1,000 rent monthly before the crisis. She asked the minister to consider nominating Eden Derry for a revised list of rent pressure zones and to indicate the likely timing of that review.
Call for a responsive regulatory regime
She concluded by calling for a regulatory regime capable of responding to rent and arrears pressure without leaving tenants facing the threat of homelessness or eviction, while wishing the new minister well in his role and flagging the many challenges ahead.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
I welcome the opportunity to speak on this bill this morning and I wish the new minister well in his role and no doubt there'll be many, many challenges to overcome. As we know that this bill provides for increased notice periods in relation to notices of termination served on tenants in rent arrears in the residential rental sector during the emergency period and up to the 10th of January 2021. It is an acknowledgement by government that many thousands of people, families included, will have been going through an extremely stressful time as the original end point for reviewing the existing moratorium approaches us. I do have to point out however that not everyone is confident that this bill goes far enough. All of us here today will have received emails from the Simon community outlining its concerns that the provisions of the bill are complex, the provisions are complex and that more vulnerable tenants will require support to navigate these new provisions. One step that could be taken, according to Simon, is the inclusion of a duty on the landlord serving a notice to quit based on arrears, to include in the notice the list of services, rent supplement, housing assistance payment, money advice and budgeting service and the RTB services that may be available to the tenant in difficulty. Such a notice should also include information on the rights of tenants to make a declaration to the RTB under section 4.1 of the bill that they are a relevant person unable to pay rent. These seem like small, but they are significant steps that can be taken to ensure the protection of the law is extended to those most vulnerable who need it the most. I also want to state that there is something profoundly concerning around the rationale behind this bill and bills similar to it. On the one hand, we accept that during a public health crisis, people should be supported to remain in their accommodation. But out of the other side of our mouths, government and others are saying that as soon as this crisis has passed, we can get back to a situation whereby the scales of power are once more disproportionately against the tenant. And this isn't tolerable or fair. I feel that the whole issue is more of a legal than a political problem that we will need to address in the longer term, probably through a constitutional amendment. In the meantime, there are other measures that we can take outside the kind of emergency powers that are being debated here today. In my own constituency of the extension of rent pressure zones, in April I welcomed the long overdue designation of Tullamore as a rent pressure zone. This followed the nationwide rent freeze that came into effect under the emergency measures in the Public Interest Act in March. The designation of Tullamore as a rent pressure zone did provide some support and financial certainty to tenants, but only in the medium term. However, what is needed, like every other town and county, is social housing and affordable housing schemes for people who are locked out of mortgages. The designation of Tullamore as a rent pressure zone was very badly needed, because at the time the latest figures from the residential tenancies rent index showed an increase of almost 10 per cent in leash and an increase of almost 6 per cent in offaly over the period of 2018 to 2019. This meant that many of my constituents in Tullamore and Eden Derry were paying €1,000 in rent every month before the current crisis. That was unsustainable for many families and young couples, and it was indeed adding to people being forced into homelessness. What I am asking the Minister here today is if he will consider nominating Eden Derry, another big town in North Offaly, in a revised list of rent pressure zones that is to be drawn up, and if so, when is that likely to happen? I will conclude by stating that what we need to put in place is a regulatory regime that is genuinely capable of responding to the rent and arrears pressure that tenants face without the threat of homelessness or eviction hanging over them. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad. Goed maagad.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
