Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 5:

To delete all words after "That Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that:

— the Government agreed on 7th March that the 'winter emergency period' under the Residential Tenancies (Deferment of Termination Dates of Certain Tenancies) Act 2022 would come to an end on 31st March, 2023, with deferred tenancy terminations taking effect over a staggered period from 1st April to 18th June, 2023 as planned and legislated for under that Act;

— the Government has used the past several months to increase housing supply for those most in need, and in the last quarter of 2022, approximately 6,000 new social homes were delivered, including almost 5,000 new build social housing homes;

— during the last quarter of 2022, 1,532 local authority homes were refurbished under the Voids Stimulus Programme and restored to use; the voids programme will also be intensified in 2023;

— just prior to and during the period of the moratorium local authorities opened some 500 additional homeless emergency beds and 170 cold weather beds;

— the most effective way to assist renters is to increase supply and accelerate delivery of housing for purchase and for private rental, cost rental and social rental; every effort will continue to be made to prevent people becoming homeless;

— new affordable homes for purchase and cost rental by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land Development Agency and the 'First Home' scheme are being delivered at scale and a pipeline of delivery for the coming years is established and strengthening;

— measures are being taken to put in place additional accommodation to prevent homelessness, including:

— an increase in the number of social housing acquisitions target to at least 1,500 in 2023, with a further expansion of the target as required;

— an additional 1,000 homes through targeted leasing initiatives in 2023 and 2024; and

— the amendment of the Capital Advance Leasing Facility used by AHBs to assist them in their efforts in delivering social homes;

— to reduce the number of households at risk of homelessness the Government plans to rapidly:

— give tenants the right of first refusal to buy their homes, by requiring a landlord selling a property to first offer it to the tenant on an independent valuation basis for sale;

— expand the 'First Home' scheme to support tenants to purchase under the right of refusal;

— enhance the availability of the Local Authority Home Loan to tenants utilising the right of first refusal;

— work with local authorities and AHBs to develop a cost rental model for tenants at risk of homelessness but not on social housing supports to enable them to continue to rent their home; and

— establish the cost rental scheme on an administrative basis to ensure no eligible household is left behind prior to any required legislation;

— a comprehensive review of the rental sector has commenced that will take into account the significant regulatory changes over the past several years;

— the review aims to put in place a private rental sector which gives long-term certainty to tenants while ensuring that property providers – both small and large scale – are encouraged to provide badly needed rental property for all those who depend on it;

— over the coming months, the Government will work to put together a comprehensive new budgetary package of effective measures for both tenants and landlords, that support renters and providers of accommodation both in respect of short-term measures and the longer-term certainty for renters and property providers;

— increasing social, affordable and private housing supply, for renters and those looking to purchase a home, is key to improving our housing system and eradicating homelessness, with almost 30,000 homes built last year, an increase of 45.2 per cent from 2021 (20,560) and 41.3 per cent from 2019 (21,134), and 5,250 or 21 per cent higher than the Housing for All: A New Housing Plan for Ireland target of 24,600 for 2022;

— the Government will continue to expand the provision of social and cost rental accommodation to ensure that all sectors of our society have available to them rental accommodation that meets their needs;

further notes with regards to increasing social housing:

— a total of 9,183 social homes were delivered in 2021;

— when verified and published in the coming weeks, figures will show more social housing new builds were delivered in 2022 than in any year since 1975; furthermore, in 2020 and 2021 more than €88 million was spent in bringing 6,032 vacant social homes back into use;

— a record €4.5 billion in State housing investment in 2023 will ensure the substantial uplift in supply in 2022 can be maintained and exceeded, with 9,100 direct build social homes and 5,500 affordable homes to be delivered;

— the review of the Capital Advance Leasing Facility funding model which will be formally launched later this month will allow AHBs to deliver social housing in all local authority areas;

— recent adjustments to the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, including increasing the discretionary base level of HAP, are anticipated to have a positive effect on tenancy sustainability and a corresponding mitigating effect on the Debt Management Process and cessations; and

— the Government will amend the HAP scheme to ensure sustainable tenancies including, as appropriate, secure payments to landlords where the tenant defaults with effect from 1st May, 2023;

acknowledges in relation to increasing the tenant-in-situ acquisitions:

— in light of the challenges in addressing homelessness, combined with continuing exits from the private rental market, the Government will continue to support opportunities for the acquisition of properties to prevent homelessness and will take further targeted measures to increase acquisitions of properties where a landlord is selling the property;

— in April 2022, the Government reinstated the delegated sanction to local authorities in respect of social housing acquisitions; and the reinstatement of delegated sanction has allowed local authorities to respond with more flexibility to secure acquisitions which support a household to exit, or to prevent, homelessness;

— the Government will support local authorities to acquire at least 1,500 social homes in 2023, with a further expansion of that target as required, and the majority of these will be focused on properties where landlords are exiting the market and there is already a social housing tenant in place;

— the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has written to each local authority to instruct them to target acquisitions on HAP or Rental Accommodation Scheme tenants under aNotices to Quit, to develop their own acquisition plan and seek a report on acquisitions in train for 2023 which is due to be received by the end of March;

— the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is setting up an 'acquisition delivery team' to ensure each Local Authority meets its tenant-in-situ purchase targets; and

— a cost rental tenant-in-situ backstop will be applied on an administrative basis from 1 April prior to legislative enactment with a view to supporting households at risk of homelessness.

in relation to increasing affordable housing further acknowledges that:

— 2022 was the first full year of affordable housing delivery in a generation, and supply at scale will be achieved through a mix of new or extended initiatives, including the 'First Home' scheme, local authority-provided affordable purchase schemes, the Help to Buy initiative, and the expanded Local Authority Home Loan;

— Cost Rental housing, a new form of State-backed secure, long-term rental tenure, with rents targeted at a minimum of 25 per cent below open market rates, is being delivered at scale, with hundreds of Cost Rental homes tenanted, and the investment of over €1 billion to support affordability measures and deliver more affordable purchase and cost rental homes in 2023; and

— the Government is developing proposals for a bespoke Cost Rental model which would see a provider avail of the right of first refusal, to allow tenants who have received such a notice and who are at risk of homelessness, but not on social housing supports, continue to reside in the property, and this would involve an option for AHBs and local authorities to purchase the property and to continue to let it with financial support from the Government, and this will be rapidly established on an administrative basis prior to legislation:

in relation to improving viability notes:

— following consultation with stakeholders, the Government is taking steps to address viability in the provision of apartments, including activating uncommenced planning permission by engaging with site owners through the expansion of the Project Tosaigh and the Housing Agency's Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme, which will help to deliver increased supply over the next few years;

— additionally, proposals are being prepared by Government for a new viability measure to activate stalled planning permissions and bring forward Cost Rental at scale for consideration in April;

in relation to reducing vacancy notes:

— the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage recently published the Vacant Homes Action Plan, which outlines progress and details new actions that will be implemented to continue to return as many vacant properties back in to use as possible, increasing the supply of housing available, and revitalising local communities;

— measures already taken by the Government include expanding the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, funding full-time vacant homes officers in every local authority, exemptions to planning permissions to convert vacant commercial premises to residential use, and enhancing the Fair Deal scheme to incentivise the selling or renting of unused homes;

— measures in the action plan include a €150 million Urban Regeneration Development Fund, for local authorities to acquire vacant or derelict properties and sites for re-use or sale and a new local authority-led programme is being developed to help them buy or compulsory purchase vacant homes in their areas and resell them on the open market;

— the Government is building on the initial success of the Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund vacanct property refurbishment scheme and will change the eligibility date for properties to include properties built prior to 2007, with effect from 1st May,2023;

— these steps will include the extension of the Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund refurbishment scheme, to include properties which are made available for rent and not just owner occupied from 1st May,2023, grant rates will also be reviewed;

in relation to enhancing Tenants rights notes:

— there is on-going reform and resourcing of the RTB to ensure it is fit for purpose for regulating the rental sector;

— there has been major expansion of tenants' rights including tenancies of indefinite duration and increase in notice to quit periods;

— there has also been an extension of the Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) system to 2024 and a 2 per cent rent cap; and

— the upcoming Residential Tenancies Bill is a further opportunity to strengthen tenants' rights;

supporting the use of new building technologies funding of €94 million has been allocated to pay down local authority loans on legacy indebted sites, which can deliver social housing projects through the use of accelerated delivery models, principally offsite/Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), and by paying down the outstanding loans, the fund will free up these sites for immediate development, with local authorities recouping the cost of repaying loans on 26 separate sites, all of which will be developed using MMC;

in relation to preventing and addressing homelessness notes that:

— the continuing increase in the numbers accessing emergency accommodation throughout the country is a serious concern; and the Government, local authorities and others are making every effort to reduce homelessness;

— while the eviction moratorium slowed down the numbers entering homelessness, it did not prevent it; and additional measures are underway to urgently and substantially scale up housing delivery, including emergency accommodation, affordable housing, cost rental accommodation and social housing;

— the Government is aware of the challenges faced in sourcing emergency accommodation throughout the country, and local authorities are working with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to further increase capacity;

— the homeless emergency accommodation budget for 2023 makes provision for €215 million in funding for homeless services, an increase from €194 million in 2022; and the extra funding for homelessness reflects the priority that this Government is giving to homelessness;

— the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has made it clear that funding and resources are not an obstacle to the urgent efforts required to address homelessness; the Government is committed to ensuring emergency accommodation is provided wherever needed through a range of mechanisms including direct purchasing and leasing;

— the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is currently working with local authorities to bring on stream an additional 2,000 beds in 2023; to date in 2023, almost 200 new beds have opened in the Dublin Region; and the Department is actively working with all local authorities to ensure there is sufficient emergency accommodation available to people presenting as homeless and it is expected that a further 1,000 beds will open in Q2;

— local authorities can avail of commercial accommodation such as hotels and bed and breakfasts to accommodate those seeking emergency homeless accommodation in cases where no other appropriate emergency accommodation is available; and

— to tackle accommodation shortages in the rental market, the Government is strengthening regulatory controls on short-term lets with a ban on the advertising of non-principal private residences in RPZs for short-term letting purposes, where the necessary planning permission is not in place;

with regards to tax measures notes that:

— the Government has introduced a new rent tax credit valued at €500 per renter per year for those taxpayers who are paying for rental accommodation during the years 2022 to 2025;

— if a taxpayer lets a room in his or her home, they may claim a tax exemption in respect of the rental income; the rental income cannot exceed the exemption limit of €14,000; otherwise, the total rental income is taxable;

— the Government will extend the Rent-a-Room scheme disregard for social welfare recipients and extend the disregard into medical card criteria from 1st May, 2023 and allow local authority tenancies to access the scheme;

— the doubling of the cap on deductibility for a landlord's pre-letting expenditure for previously vacant properties to €10,000 per property;

— the Government provided for a new tax deduction (of up to €10,000) for landlords who undertake retrofitting works while the tenant remains in situ;

— reforms of the Fair Deal Scheme reduced disincentives to renting out and selling a home vacated when its owner enters a nursing home including a disregard of 60 per cent (rather than the previous 20 per cent) of any rental income derived from the principal private residence (PPR) and a three year cap on contributions on the sale of a home;

— the Government will further move to eliminate remaining barriers to older people utilising the Fair Deal Scheme who wish to rent out their homes; and

— the Government is committed to the introduction of a meaningful and effective Budgetary package for the rental sector to include both taxation and expenditure measures;

in relation to the planning powers, to help expedite the provision of housing by local authorities, new provisions came into effect from 8th March, 2023 and will provide a temporary exemption from the 'Part 8' planning approval process by elected members for local authority own developments for social and affordable (including cost rental) housing which commence construction before the end of 2024; and

having regard to progress already made, the Housing for All: Action Plan Update commits the Government to reviewing the national housing targets and projections when the full Census 2022 is published later this year; and this will include refreshed targets with subsets for social, affordable and market delivery that reflect need and demand, and a scaling up to ensure optimal levels of sustainable supply over the lifetime of the plan in line with increased capacity in the construction sector".

I will begin by saying that the Government's decision to do what we said we would do, which was to bring the winter eviction ban to an end as planned on a phased basis from 31 March, was not one that we took lightly but we believe it is the correct decision.

We know there are people who are facing significant challenges, including renters who are in receipt of State assistance while waiting for a transfer to a more secure social home, renters in tenancies where their landlord is considering leaving the market and renters who want, more than anything, to buy their own home. This Government is doing and will continue to do everything it can to help these people. At the crux of everything we do is the need to increase the supply of housing. Extending the eviction ban would not do that. If we were to do as Sinn Féin asks and extend the moratorium to the end of January, we would only serve to shrink the number of homes available to rent. If we were to do what the Sinn Féin motion calls for, we would be having this very same debate in the middle of winter and there would be no phasing-out period but rather a hard cliff-edge of evictions in the weeks after Christmas. The Opposition knows this, but it is more interested in politicising the housing crisis than putting forward pragmatic solutions. Sinn Féin knows that its proposition would only serve to make a difficult situation even worse. This motion very clearly shows that Sinn Féin is not against evictions. Rather, it will ensure there are evictions when the situation would be much worse.

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