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HOUSING MINISTER DARRAGH O’Brien has received government approval for the text of a bill that provides a legislative basis for tenants to have the first right of refusal when their landlord puts their rented home up for sale.
Where a notice of termination is served on the basis of that a landlord intends to sell the rented home, they are obliged under the legislation to invite the tenant to make a bid to purchase the property within 90 days.
After the 90-day period, the landlord will be obliged to invite any tenant who made an unsuccessful bid within that time to make a further bid to purchase the property at a price equal to the final sales price that the landlord is willing to agree with another party on the open market.
The landlord would be obliged to accept the matching bid from the tenant under this law.
The minister had previously promised to push the new tenant right to first refusal legislation through the Dáil last summer, having first made the commitment to bring in such rules at the time the government lifted the eviction ban.
The government said it is important to note tenants are already availing of opportunities to purchase or indeed to remain as long-term tenants in their home under the current measures which are in place such as the Tenant in Situ Scheme, the Cost Rental Tenant in Situ Scheme and the expanded First Home Scheme for Tenants who receive a Notice to Quit.
This legislation differs from the other schemes as it applies to tenants in private rented accommodation who do not receive housing supports. While other scheme largely relate to the sale of properties to local authorities.
In addition to the government approving the text of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment)(No.3) Bill 2024, the minister also published a review into the private rental sector.
The report, published today, stated that the delivery of cost rental homes needs to be accelerated.
The review, which is a commitment under Housing for All, also recommends that government consider if Rent Pressure Zones (RPZ) should remain in place, be modified or removed.
Addressing the issue of affordability, the review found that more affordable rental solutions for households are needed.
It noted that at present cost rental rents are set by reference to being at least 25% below market rents. However, as overall construction costs and market rents rise, the level of rents required for the scheme has risen.
“There is a need to ensure that there is a supply of cost rental properties that can continue to be accessed by households in income cohorts immediately above the income limits for social housing,” the report stated.
In most cases, cost rental accommodation is rarely below €1,000, with Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin criticising the cost of the rents, stating that they should not be dubbed ‘affordable’.
He said €1,390 for a 1-bed; €1,580 for a 2-bed; and €1,750 for a 3-bed “are not affordable rental”.
“Buying expensive turnkey units from developers is not cost rental,” he said.
The review said that there is a need to ensure lower rental costs can help recipient households access their tenure of choice, whether that means continuing to rent in the market or accruing a deposit and becoming homeowners.
In addition, the review said that any examination of the RPZ system should consider whether it should remain, be modified or scrapped altogether before the scheme comes to its deadline at the end of 2025.
“A further consideration is whether the incomes of tenant households are growing relative to inflation in line with the 2% per annum cap on rent increases when HICP (Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices) is higher than this,” stated the report.
It stated it is “clear that the calibration of the Rent Pressure Zone system is imperfect in certain respects”.
The review also looked at the best balance of rights between tenants and landlords in respect of tenure security and evictions, the tax treatment of non-corporate landlords as well as the need to incentivise investment in the rental sector.
Mary Conway, chair of the Irish Property Owners Association said it rejects any proposal that tax reform for landlords should be contingent on energy upgrades or properties remaining in the market for a set time is another example of unfair, costly and conditional policies being put forward.
Further measures to provide security of tenure is also not welcomed by the association, with Conway stating that the “continuous infringement on the constitutional rights of property owners is inexcusable”.
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Totally true, being an Olympian is what we all dreamed of when we were young.
For the next fortnight those who have been selected to represent Ireland are fulfilling that dream, some maybe for several times beforehand.
Congratulations and best wishes to them all, and here’s hoping that they all exceed their expectations.
@Garry Coll: most young lads dream of snorting cocaine off hookers
What a load of bollix( sorry only stirring) It was fab.Best of luck to all our athletes.
@Willie Marty: LOL… Love it!
@Regular John: Merci.. !!
Pure dedication and sacrifice. Bring it on home, Snoop.
Give the whole lot of them a yard of ash, and let them Hurl. All that public money going to Foreign soil and Foreign games should be stopped, immediately !!
@Sean O’Callaghan: meanwhile, the GAA rob the poor to pay the rich. Nice!!
@Paul Gorry: You’re some eejit taking the bait to the most obvious troll.
Panen et circenses!
The opening ceremony seemed horrible to me… In fact, I think France today is just a garbage dump and the Olympic Games have become a kind of Eurovision Song Contest…
@TheLost Traveller: Why did you watch it then ?
You obviously know nothing about France. If the comments section on the journal is anything to go by regarding Ireland ; I’m living in paradise over here !!!
Clown
@offside again: A good question….I watched the opening, I don’t follow the competitions anymore….As for France, I just came back from a business trip, for a week, in Marseille….It’s a disaster. Thanks to my job, I know France very well, from before the 90s. Napoleon is probably rolling in his grave watching what is happening now in his country,from all points of view. Have a nice day.
@TheLost Traveller: You are indeed a lost traveller ! Marseille/Paris/Nantes/Lyon/Lille etc are not France. I don’t think you know it as much as you believe you do.
No more than Dublin is Ireland.
As for Napoléon ; the French do admire him, but they have moved on from that time.
I don’t believe you
@TheLost Traveller: france is better than ireland in every meaningful metric. Healthcare, education, cost of living, public transport infrastructure.
I can’t wait for the track races, especially 100 metres sprint which is the pinnacle!
@Sean Money: yes and the 1500 metres which used to be referred to as the blue riband although the 100 probably just shades it as it gives us the fastest man/woman in the world..
@James Leahy: Fastest over 100m! Then there is the fastest over 200/400/800/1500m .. etc !!! But I know what you mean !
@offside again: good point although the names roll off the top of the tounge Florence joiner smith Carl Lewis Usain Bolt.
@James Leahy: bit cotraversial but it was the blue riband event until it started to be dominated by African countries .. post Coe/Ovett/Kramm/Coughlin the 100 took over more and more … Lewis/Christie eh hem Johnson etc
@Pad: interesting take on things. ‘burst of energy’ Indeed !!!
@offside again: I’m a cycling fan so I prefer the tactical positioning over a distance and sprint at the end !
Great show from Gojira Sinéad! Hon Ireland!
@G: Because the man with the task of delivering the Paris 2024 Olympic Games’ opening ceremony said he wants everyone to feel represented. He also wanted to ensure his celebrations showed that there ‘is room for everyone in Paris’. The opening ceremony would only be a success in his view ‘if everyone feels represented in it’. He was bullied growing up (a harsher type of bullying than you would do or are doing here), so it was important to him (and should be to all and to what the Games represent). Least of all, one only has to know something of beliefs, practices etc. in Ancient Greece to see how all of this might bear some relevance.
@Jack Hayes:
Excellent comment ! The French did well,
considering the circumstances. Now let the games commence !
@Jack Hayes: it’s almost refreshing to see how somebody can squeeze so much rubbish into a reply. Referencing ancient Greek practices. Making out I am a bully by asking a question(which is now deleted thanks to the journal).
Tell me, how does a male with one ball hanging out mere metres from a teenage girl represent inclusion? Or am I hand picking to suit my own query? Like you have clearly done.
@ Sean O’Callaghan: You keep being a bigoted GAA-Head. Your vile sectarian attitude and the same mindset shared by many of those invoiled in the GAA, from supporters to those who play and run the game is a disease in modern day Ireland.
You personify everything that is wrong with the GAA.
Thank you for highlighting this in public for all to see.
have your say