Mattie McGrath on Rental Laws: Perplexed by Regulation Push
Mattie McGrath criticised current rental legislation, saying he is perplexed by relying on regulation without follow-through. He argued regulation alone will not fix landlord-tenant relations and called for better communication, education and rehabilitation.
Main argument
McGrath said regulation is never the best way to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants and preferred goodwill and a two-way street. He noted over 80% (he estimated about 86%) of landlords are ordinary small landlords and that a vast majority (he suggested 99.9%) are decent people, not in it for a quick buck.
Cases of damage and eviction
He described cases where a small minority of tenants caused severe damage to properties, recounting a local example that took two years to resolve through the courts and ended with demolition and rehousing. He said such tenants need rehabilitation when they cannot look after a house and that landlords can be unfairly blamed.
Critique of scheme rollouts
McGrath criticised how schemes are announced without consultation or follow-through, citing an announcement by the minister at the Plough Match and saying county councils received no knock-on support. He warned that announcements without implementation leave people waiting and frustrated.
Calls for practical measures
He urged more educational programmes for landlords and tenants, clearer respect for property rights and an emphasis on amicable relations rather than blunt legislation. He also raised concerns about exploitation of students and "different foreign language people coming in here," and warned that continuing short-term extensions will prolong the problem.
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I too am here and I'm a bit perplexed about this legislation really as to what to do because I try to grapple with it, my staff in the office, Cathy especially and my daughter Councillor Maureen and all the girls that are there are dealing with a terrible situation on a daily basis, they're just flocking in, we don't know where to go, no to the quit letters and you name it and yet successive governments have failed to grapple with this scheme but regulation is never the best way to, taking a business and an employer and his employees you're better off if you can have goodwill and you have a two-way street and over 80% of the landlords, I think about 86% of them are ordinary small landlords and their vast 99.9% of them are decent people, they're not in it for quick buck or for gain, some of them inherited a house, some of them maybe bought a house as a kind of a pension plan and they do their best but having this, then you have a tiny minority of terrible bad tenants as well and there need to be a room and we had one of them in my own county, in my own town, it took two years and the house was then demolished, on a daily basis, it took two years, I couldn't understand how any human beings would do such damage to a house and they came in and sat in front of me after being through the courts and after being evicted and got them into hospital and thankfully they've been rehoused again now but they need to be rehabilitated, I mean if they're not able to mind the house and look after it and I don't want to and damage it and dig up the cables and dig up the the the boil pipes and god knows what and try to blame the landlord, it's a horrible case and there are many cases like that, so eventually the court and all found in favour, so there had to be and there was a little head of steam by people, groups trying to have a protest that this family being evicted but you must understand the situation the landlords find themselves in and they're not business with many of them, they're ordinary decent people, no fuss and they have as Deputy Connery Moss said a good relation for tenants and don't want to put up the rent, but the properties have been damaged and other things like that, so Minister you announced in Cree Kiena here at the Plough Match, you were out ploughing, you went off your state ploughing, because you love to announce these schemes and you have no consultation with the departments or the county councils, none, none, since, and so now that's the grand scheme going to create so many places, so many people were delighted because they have buildings that they wanted to upgrade and do up and maybe semi derelict and everything, but sure as I said the people are waiting since a long time for it, but now they're waiting since the Plough Match which is well over a month ago and it started this month, so you're great at announcing these schemes and no follow up, no follow through, no knock on down to the county councils, then divides that are out there and not being brought back, so I know we're talking about tendencies this evening, so I'm perplexed as I said about this legislation, but it's a good or bad thing, I would prefer that there could be amicable relations between the tenant and the renter, I hate condom land laws because they're not, they're accidental or acquire the property, as I said earlier, so we need to be understanding here, and the blunt force of legislation, because this is going to come to a crescendo again in a couple of months time, and what are we going to do then, and this is going to go on for another three months extension, so there lies the real problem, so we need to be, as I said, encouraging and have more educational programs for landlords and tenants, and understanding, and people don't say, I know it would be an awful thing to be evicted, but if you go through a court process and everything is stacked against you, sorry, found against you, look, the landlord has to have, the renter has to have rights as well, and has to have respect for his property, so it's a two-way street, I agree also that some students are exploited and, you know, with different foreign language people coming in here, and what kind of a sense is that going to come to us as a nation, of the thousand welcome, and this kind of bad measures are going back, so, there's a lot of upper, it's a rule to be done here, Minister, and I think we just don't seem to be wrapping up with it, and announcing schemes, one after the other, or a succession, and not dealing with them, is not the answer, thank you.
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