The Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Cullen, has described the new Residential Tenancies Bill as "a major and overdue advancement in tenants' rights." Overdue, certainly. A major advance, perhaps.
The situation facing residential tenants in this State has been notorious and redolent of the 19th century, with the power of eviction and control weighted overwhelmingly in favour of the landlord. The Bill proposes that, after six months residency, a tenant can have security of tenure for four years. But anti-social behaviour will be grounds for eviction. Rents will be set at market rates on appeal to a Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) and they will normally be reviewed on an annual basis.
It should come as no surprise that the Irish Property Owners' Association has objected to the Bill as being biased against landlords and excessive in its interference with traditional rights. In particular, landlords have objected to the establishment of a new system of registration for rented properties, linked to the operation of the PRTB. Evictions and tenancy disputes will have to be processed through the new board, instead of by way of the District Court, placing it centre stage in landlord/tenant relations.
The proposed measures have been welcomed with reservations by Threshold, the housing organisation. Calling for serious sanctions to be applied against those who flout the proposed laws, Threshold was concerned that too many loopholes still remained available to unscrupulous landlords. The Opposition parties also argued that the Bill did not go far enough in protecting tenants and in re-balancing traditional rights.
The commitment within the Bill to keeping information concerning rents and rented accommodation away from the Revenue Commissioners is outrageous. After all the inquiries and public scandals linked to tax evasion in recent years, here is a provision from the Irish Dark Ages. It effectively reassures wealthy property owners that they need not worry about disclosure of their affairs to the Revenue Commissioners and, by extension, paying their legitimate taxes. It should not be allowed to stand.
The Department of the Environment appears to have taken the view that the disclosure of such information would act as a deterrent to landlords registering their properties and tenancies with the new PRTB. Such an inference will be deeply resented by those citizens who provide good quality accommodation and pay their taxes, while those operating within the black economy will continue to behave as they see fit. Certainly, the latter group will not be motivated to register by the ludicrous penalty of €140 that has been set out in the Bill.
This legislation continues to cosset unscrupulous landlords and needs to be amended. But it also, for the first time, introduces valuable protection for vulnerable tenants and provides them with a simple and accessible mechanism for dispute resolution.