Protection for families in buy-to-let arrears
Deputy McDonald warned that rising homelessness and buy-to-let sales were leaving families at risk and asked for legislation to protect them. The Minister said homelessness remained a major challenge and pointed to existing housing amendments aimed at preventing certain evictions.
Commitments contained in the recent strategy for the private rental sector, published as per the programme for Government, aim to encourage banks and landlord borrowers to agree solutions to buy-to-let arrears. The latest figures show that 7,148 people, including over 2,500 children, were in emergency accommodation in the week before Christmas 2016. That is an increase of 36% year on year and a 91% hike on figures seen two years ago. It is out of control. We know that the single greatest cause of families losing their homes at present is the sale of buy-to-let properties in the rented sector.
At the end of last year, Focus Ireland proposed an amendment to the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill that would have made it more difficult for professional landlords to evict tenants on those grounds. We supported the amendment, but it was blocked by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
We do not believe that it will be possible to get agreement between landlords and banks on the basis of the current rental strategy.
Comment on this
Will the Minister introduce legislation in the coming term to give the necessary protection to these families, as per the amendment put forward by Focus Ireland and supported by Sinn Féin?
Comment on this
You have to consider other Deputies. There are others in your group. We have to give backbenchers an opportunity. The Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coveney, will give a short answer.
Comment on this
Deputy McDonald referred to the figures for December. They are a stark reminder to the Government that a great deal of work remains to be done to solve the problem of homelessness. The family figures remained more or less the same. In fact, the number of dependants reduced by 44. That is understandable since in many cases children will stay with extended family during the Christmas period.
The Deputy raised the issue of protecting tenants. We introduced a new amendment to prevent tenants from being evicted when one institutional investor sells a development property to another institutional investor. That is exactly what we did. There were limits to it on the basis of advice from the Attorney General’s office. The Deputy is or should be familiar with that.
The Deputy referred to further protections for tenants in rental properties that may be in receivership. We have given a commitment that, by the end of the first quarter of this year, my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality would examine ways to transfer the kind of legal responsibilities that landlords have to receivers. That process is under way.