LAYING THE RIGHT FOUNDATIONS THE NEED FOR SECURITY OF TENURE - AIDEEN HAYDEN, THRESHOLD November 23rd 2016 - Housing Rights

LAYING THE RIGHT FOUNDATIONS
THE NEED FOR SECURITY OF TENURE

        AIDEEN HAYDEN, THRESHOLD

                November 23rd 2016

•National housing charity - Est. 1978

•We solve people’s housing problems by providing housing
advice and advocacy
• We campaign for a better housing system using a rights-
  based approach
• 32,000 housing queries in 2015

Threshold statistics
    since 2004

The Private Rented Sector in Ireland

Collapse in Housing Supply…

Lack of Social Housing

     Rebuilding Ireland-Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, DHPCLG, July 2016

Increased demand for PRS….
.

Current Issues

Current Issues

  Lack of        Rent
  Supply      Increases

   Social   Receivership,
  Housing   Repossession
            & Buy -to-Let
   Need      Properties

Shortage of properties to rent

                        Daft.ie Rental Price Report - 2016 Q3

Rapidly rising rents….

                 Daft.ie Rental Price Report - 2016 Q3

Overreliance on PRS to meet social need

¨   It is estimated that around 99,000 households
     receive State support for housing in the private
     rented sector, or 96,207 (32%) of all RTB
     registered tenancies.
           (House of the Oireachtas, Report of the Committee on Housing and
                                                    Homelessness, June 2016)

Receivership, Repossessions & Buy-to-Let
Properties

Homeless Families

    1173
     .

         FAMILIES
                              1014
                                FAMILIES
                              WITH 2065
WITH2462    DEPENEDENTS IN
                             DEPENDENTS IN
                               HOMELESS
 HOMELESS ACCOMODATION        ACCOMATION

     NATIONALLY              DUBLIN REGION

Current Measures in the Private Rented Sector

Residential Tenancies Act 2004

¨   Clearly defines rights and obligations for landlords &
     tenants
¨   Security of tenure up to 4 years
¨   Rent review annually and cannot exceed market rent
¨   Protection against illegal eviction
¨   Means for landlord to repossess property

Limitations of 2004 RTA
¨   2004 Act regulates past and present, not future
¨   Size of rented sector doubled since Act
     ¤ PRS   rented sector still seen as ‘Cinderella sector’
¨   Regulation quickly surpassed by fallout from financial
     crisis- ‘accidental landlords’ , buy-to-let sector
     collapse, more families renting long-term, legal
     anomalies with regard to receivers
¨   Rapid rents rise - undermines security of tenure

Response to crisis

¨   Rent review period extended to 2 years- ‘Rent Freeze’.
     Sunset clause after 4 years
¨   Longer notice of rent increase from 28 to 90 days and
     provide 3 examples
¨   Extended notice period-up to eight year & statutory
     declaration with regards selling/family member
¨   100% Mortgage Interest Relief for landlords who rent to
     tenants in receipt of state housing benefits

Rebuilding Ireland
          ¨   Double the annual level
               of residential
               construction to 25,000
               homes
          ¨   47,000 new social
               housing units by 2021
          ¨   New Strategy on PRS

Budget 2017
¨   €1.2 billion to DHPCLG for housing supply
¨   €98m to homelessness services (€70m in 2016)
¨   €105m for HAP with a target of transferring further 15,000 households
     from Rent Supplement
¨   €134m for the RAS with a target of transferring 1,000 households from
     Rent Supplement to €732 million to deliver 4,450 social housing units
¨   Residential rental property relief
¨   Ceiling for tax exemption on Rent-a-Room increased

Tenancy Protection Service
¨   Dublin, Cork, Meath,
     Kildare, Wicklow, Galway,
     Mayo & Roscommon
¨   Seeks enhanced rent
     supplement payment for
     tenants at risk of
     homelessness due to a rent
     increase.

Laying the Right Foundations?

Issues in relation to Security of Tenure

What is needed for security of tenure?

                National
  Rent          Strategy       Secure
Certainty        for the      Occupancy
                   PRS

Rent Certainty

 “In the absence of some binding rule for the
¨

updating of rents for sitting tenants, a landlord could
easily circumvent tenure security by a sufficiently
drastic raise in rent (economic eviction).”
                                  (Franz Hubert, 2003)

Rent Certainty
¨   Link rent certainty measures to the cost of living

Protection from Termination of Tenancies

¨   Introduction of indefinite tenancies
¨   Removal of sale of property ground
¨   “Tyrellstown Amendment”
¨   National rollout of Tenancy Protection Service

Other Measures

¨   Broaden the definition of landlord

¨   Clear plan for long-term affordable rental supply,
     especially for low to mid range

THANK YOU