{"id":385,"date":"2018-01-17T12:07:33","date_gmt":"2018-01-17T12:07:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/social-democrats-bill-to-protect-tenants-and-stem-homelessness\/"},"modified":"2023-09-14T15:33:10","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T14:33:10","slug":"social-democrats-bill-to-protect-tenants-and-stem-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/ga\/social-democrats-bill-to-protect-tenants-and-stem-homelessness\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Democrats\u2019 Bill to protect tenants and stem homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Social Democrats today publish a Bill\u00a0to help tackle hasty evictions, unfair rent hikes and growing homelessness by strengthening tenants\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n

The party is seeking cross-party support for its Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2018 which extends the minimum notice period for terminations of tenancies and strengthens tenants\u2019 rights in relation to how rent caps are monitored and applied.<\/p>\n

Party co-leader R\u00f3is\u00edn Shortall TD will introduce the private members\u2019 bill in the D\u00e1il today.<\/p>\n

Speaking ahead of its introduction, Deputy Shortall said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe very short notice periods that are currently in place for renters \u2013 as low as 28 days in some cases \u2013 are undoubtedly a factor in driving the surge in homelessness. In the current climate, where there is a severe housing shortage, it is very difficult for tenants and the housing services that support them to find alternative accommodation in such a short space of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cLandlords\u2019 rights to end tenancies must be balanced with protections for renters, who can at the moment be asked to vacate their homes almost at the drop of a hat.\u00a0 This Bill significantly extends the minimum number of weeks\u2019 notice that tenants must be given when landlords are terminating a tenancy. Under the Bill, landlords would have to provide tenants with at least 3 months\u2019 notice before terminating tenancies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deputy Shortall added:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bill also closes off a crucial loophole in our existing laws to prevent unfair rent hikes in areas where caps are supposed to apply.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does this by giving new tenants who are taking on leases in designated Rent Pressure Zones the right to know how much rent the previous tenants had been paying. At the minute, while the RPZ rules restrict landlords from increasing rents for new tenants by more than 4 per cent, there is no legal way for incoming tenants to know how much the previous tenants actually paid.\u201d<\/p>\n

ENDS<\/p>\n

17 January 2017<\/p>\n

Want to learn what our proposals means for you? Click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to find out.<\/h3>\n

Note for Editors:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bill has three specific measures to prevent homelessness and strengthen tenants\u2019 rights when it comes to how existing rent certainty measures are applied.<\/p>\n

1. Extending minimum notice periods for landlords terminating tenancies<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bill extends notice periods for termination of tenancies by landlords.<\/p>\n

How the Bill will improve notice periods for tenants:<\/p>\n

All tenancies of under one year duration would require a 90 day notice period \u2013 this is about three times the current minimum notice period of 28 days.<\/p>\n

Tenancies of between one year and 5 years would require 120 days\u2019 notice under the Bill.<\/p>\n

Many other countries operate a minimum notice period of around 3 months. In France, it\u2019s 3-6 months. In the Netherlands, it\u2019s 3-6 months. In Germany and Sweden it\u2019s 3 months.<\/p>\n

The proposed change would amend section 66 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and provide an important extra protection for tenants to prevent homelessness.<\/p>\n

Notice periods were improved under the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act, 2015 but only for those who were resident for 5 years or more.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

2. Curbing unfair and illegal rent hikes in designated Rent Pressure Zones<\/strong><\/p>\n

Under the Bill, new tenants would have access to details of the amount of rent paid under the previous tenancy before theirs began. This would ensure that the maximum rent increases charged in designated Rent Pressure Zones is applied correctly.<\/p>\n

Currently, landlords in the country\u2019s 21 Rent Pressure Zones may not increase rents by more than 4% a year. This cap (broadly) applies whether or not there is a change of tenants during those 12 months.<\/p>\n

But rents are continuing to rise far in excess of 4%. For instance, despite the supposed 4% cap, Cork rents rose by 11% in the past year and Dublin rents rose by 10%.<\/p>\n

At the moment, there is no way in which a new tenant can test whether or not the 4% cap is being applied correctly by the landlord. This is because tenants do not have a legal right to find out how much rent the previous tenants were paying.<\/p>\n

There is very little evidence that the 4% cap is being policed adequately. The Bill seeks to address this anomaly by amending section 151 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004.<\/p>\n

3. Increasing fines for breaches of the 2004 Act in relation to minimum notice periods <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bill raises the maximum fine that may be applied under Section 9 of the 2004 Act from \u20ac4,000 to \u20ac15,000. The fines relate to offences that come under the Act including rules around the termination of tenancies. With rising rents, the penalty set down in the Act needs to be raised in order to maintain an adequate deterrent.<\/p>\n

The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2018<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Social Democrats today publish a Bill\u00a0to help tackle hasty evictions, unfair rent hikes and growing homelessness by strengthening tenants\u2019 rights. 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