Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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298. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will review correspondence (details supplied) and advise accordingly; if he will reply to same and provide a copy to this Deputy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32968/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The correspondence referred to in the question was received by my office on 14 June 2021 and a response will issue at the shortly.

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2021 to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants. A tenant or a landlord may refer a matter to the RTB for dispute resolution services, including non-payment of rent. Due to the quasi-judicial nature of work of the RTB, it would be inappropriate for me as Minister, or my Department to comment on, or to intervene in the specifics of any individual case.

The Residential Tenancies Acts regulate the landlord-tenant relationship in the private rented sector and sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. Under section 16(a) of the Residential Tenancies Acts tenants are obliged to pay rent. Section 34 of the Acts sets out clearly defined grounds for termination of a tenancy, one of which is the tenant has failed to comply with the obligation to pay rent under the tenancy.

Where a tenancy is to be terminated on grounds of rent arrears, enhanced protections and procedures apply for tenants and landlords under Part 3 (Residential Tenancies) of the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 (the PDRTA).  The PDRTA provides for temporary modifications to the operation of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 to provide, subject to certain conditions, that during the period from 11 January to 12 July 2021 a 90 day (rather than the usual 28 days) termination notice period applies, where a tenant is in rent arrears due to Covid-19 and is at risk of losing their tenancy. The earliest termination date allowed in such circumstances is 13 July 2021. Rent increases are also prohibited for relevant tenancies until 13 July 2021.

The protections under the PDRTA do not apply to a tenant who owed an amount of rent equal to 5 or more months’ rent on 10 January 2021 or builds rent arrears to such an amount.  The PDRTA provides for a number of scenarios, set out at the weblink below - in which a landlord can make a declaration to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) and to the tenant with the effect that the PDRTA protections cease to apply in respect of the tenant - https://www.rtb.ie/emergency-measures-ended-new-protections-introduced-for-the-rental-sector/latest-rent-arrears-procedures-requirements-and-protections. 

The Government has recently published the Residential Tenancies (No. 2) Bill 2021, which includes the extension of the targeted protections of the PDRTA until 12 January 2022, to afford more time to the most vulnerable tenants to recover their financial stability.

The Residential Tenancies Board displays comprehensive information on its website - www.rtb.ie - including guidance and frequently asked questions documents relating to terminating tenancies during the Covid-19 pandemic.