LAST UPDATE | 3 Mar

TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has said the planned evictions of 36 households in Co Wexford came before the government’s new rental rules were implemented.

Some 100 residents in the Hazelwood estate in Bridgetown in south Wexford got the notifications of termination on Friday from the same landlord, just two days before the government’s sweeping reforms to the rental sector came into effect.

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) are now examining whether the eviction notices are valid. 

Taking questions on the matter in the Dáil this afternoon, Martin said it was a “very serious concern” that a landlord would behave this way. 

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald asked Martin where the families are supposed to go, saying “big talk” from Minister for Housing and Wexford TD James Browne “won’t keep these families in their homes”. 

Martin said Browne had asked the RTB to engage with the affected tenants and ensure that their rights are protected, and had also spoken to Wexford County Council to support them. 

“I haven’t seen the report back from the RTB yet and I will work with the Minister for Housing in terms of getting access to that report to see where the situation now lies,” he said. 

He was pressed further on the matter by Labour leader Ivana Bacik, who said the “appalling” new rental rules were “unleashing fears on people you’re meant to represent”. 

Bacik said there was “a real-time surge in notices to quit” and asked if the government were monitoring the notices. 

Responding, the Fianna Fáil leader said: “Well, of course, these eviction notices came before the new rules. I didn’t have to explain that to you.

“You should have known that, and you didn’t acknowledge that,” he said, adding that the new laws “provide far greater, stronger protection than the old system did”. 

Yesterday, James Browne denied that the new rental rules may have been a factor and called it “misinformation” and said that he was “very concerned” by the case.

The Housing Minister pointed to legislation seeking to prevent landlords from resetting rent for a new tenancy if the previous contract ended via a ‘no-fault eviction’ within the last two years.

This applies even in the case where the property has been sold to a new landlord, as is proposed under the terms of terminations in the Bridgetown case.

‘Peculiar’

Speaking to reporters on his way into Cabinet this morning, Tánaiste Simon Harris said the planned eviction is “peculiar”, but maintained that the government’s new rental rules will hold greater benefits in the long-term for the private renting sector.

Tánaiste Simon Harris speaking on his way into Cabinet this morning. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Harris said that he was reluctant to comment further on the Wexford case as the RTB had got involved, but he said he knew Browne was looking at the case.

“I know he’s seeking further information on that. It does seem to be a very peculiar situation, I don’t want to say anything that may cut across any actions,” he said.

Speaking broadly, the Fine Gael leader said the measures brought in by the government “are about protecting tenants”, as they will provide contracts that are “locked in for six years in a way that wasn’t previously there”.

The Fine Gael leader said the reforms are supported by experts as providing tenants with a “greater degree of protection”, and added that they benefit from strengthened no-fault eviction measures.

Harris accepted that the new rules are “complex” but stressed that they will lead to greater protections and improved supply of housing over the coming years.

“There have been criticisms in both directions,” Harris said, adding that it has been based around the changes not going far enough for renters and others believing that it hasn’t done enough to support smaller landlords.

“Often, that’s an indication that you’re trying to get a balanced package right and the ultimate aim here is to increase housing supply in the time ahead, because renters want places to rent, homeowners want places to rent as well.”

With reporting from Jane Moore