I thank the Minister of State for being here and facilitating the discussion this evening. I commend him and the Minister, Deputy Browne, on having the courage to undertake a fundamental reform of the rental sector, which was long overdue. It is critically important that reform has taken place in accordance with what is proposed here. As we know, there is a chronic shortage of properties in the rental sector. Demand far exceeds supply and in a situation like that, there will of course be rising rents. They will continue to rise unless an intervention is made and the Government is seeking to do that. The Minister and the Minister of State have had the conviction of their beliefs to try to set about that reform. I am not saying it is perfect or absolutely rock solid in terms of what is on the table, but it is a good effort. We certainly need to listen to the proposals that are coming forward here this evening and tomorrow from the floor of the Dáil in relation to this legislation and take on board good measures. Before we pass this, we have to ensure it is done correctly because we have to strike the right balance and this is all about striking a balance. That phrase is overused, but it is critical we strike the balance between the rights of tenants and the needs of landlords because that is the only thing that will deliver a functional rental sector. There is a lot in the legislation to protect tenants. If we take the case of a tenant under a small landlord, for example, they will have far greater certainty now with a tenancy of six-year duration. They will, of course, have the protection of the rent pressure zone, which is critical, and that security of tenure is very important. Indeed, there will be additional resources for the Residential Tenancies Board so that disputes can be resolved in a much timelier manner, which is critically important. Equally, tenants under large landlords, according to the legislation, will also have the protections of the rent pressure zone and effectively ultimate security of tenure because no-fault evictions are effectively banned under the large landlord proposal. That is very significant for those tenants. There is the category of new apartments after 1 March. That is designed to stimulate investment and activity around the delivery of additional apartments. It must be remembered that these are new tenancies for new apartments. They do not exist at present and it is all about adding to the supply, which is very important so that we can increase the supply overall because, ultimately, that is the only thing that will help moderate rent prices. The set of proposals before us offer a lot to landlords as well insofar as they give policy certainty. The resourcing of the Residential Tenancies Board is also very important to landlords and in certain circumstances the Bill gives the right to reset rents, which is something that landlords have called for. Again, it is about striking that balance. If we do not have both sides to this equation, if we do not have tenants and landlords as part of the rental sector that are reasonably satisfied with the sector, it will not function correctly and I believe that is what the Government is setting out to do. Overall, there are ongoing issues. I sit on the housing committee and I have listened to those who are advocating for property owners, such as the Irish Property Owners Association, and those who are advocating for tenants, such as Threshold. We have to listen to the points they are making and that they have made at committee. I know they have been making submissions in recent days as well. It is important we get this right before the Bill passes through the Houses because it is one opportunity we have to get this right. Valid points are being made on both sides of the debate. We have to listen to them and try to get it right. One point I want to highlight tonight, which I have made previously, relates to the definition of a small landlord as having three properties or fewer. We need to look at that because it has the potential to drive many of our Irish, domestic landlords out of the market and that would be regrettable. We need a mix in the rental sector. We need landlords that are domestic and Irish in our towns and villages across the country as well as those institutional investors that may come in with international finance. Defining a landlord who may own four or five houses in the same category as an institutional investor that has hundreds of apartments, for example, is not appropriate and should be something we are prepared to look at. It is important we have a mix of landlords across the sector. While many institutional investors will invest in places like Dublin and some of our other cities, they will not do so across the country in all towns and villages and we need landlords in all our towns and villages because there are tenants there who have needs and demands for rental accommodation. That is something we need to look at. It is important to point out we are talking about new tenancies. Existing tenancies are not impacted by the proposals before us and that is a fundamental point. There has been a lot of confusion regarding the proposals in recent weeks and months, and I believe notices to quit have issued on the basis of misinformation. It is very important that at this point we continue to set the record straight in that we are talking about new tenancies after 1 March and new relationships between landlords and tenants. Whatever side of the argument one may be on, nothing is dramatically going to change after 1 March. It will take time for this to flush its way through the system because existing tenancies are not impacted and that is a fundamental point that has to be made. It is important that we communicate that message and that we try to take on board the proposals that are coming. The overall fundamental issue at present with the rental sector, as all public representatives in the House know, is the inability of tenants to find accommodation. That is the overall issue. Any set of proposals that aims to increase the supply and tries to rebalance the supply of properties against the present demand is ultimately what is needed, and that is what the legislation before us seeks to do. It is not perfect, and there is time to bring about certain changes to it before it passes, but overall it is a good effort and I commend the Minister of State, the Minister and the Department on bringing it forward. I urge them to listen to the submissions that are being made on both sides of the argument, from those representing tenants and from property owners. Let us get this set of proposals as right as possible before we sign the Bill into law.

Sentiment score: 0.16