Residential Tenancies and Valuation Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2020-07-31
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Peter Burke (FG), Longford-Westmeath

On the effect of amendment No. 2, the RTB has to have a mechanism and a process to identify people who are in rent arrears and it has to be brought to its attention. That is the key point. As I said, and to be very clear, if someone is in rent arrears, they are suffering because of the Covid-19 pandemic and their income is reduced they can make this case, self-declare and the RTB will adjudicate on it. We will put together a multimedia campaign to ensure that everyone is informed, that the forms will be written in plain English and that it will be very clear to people. We will also issue guidance, when the legislation is passed, in respect of social welfare but we are not putting the onus on individuals. If someone is in rent arrears, he or she has the process to deal with that but in terms of the effect of amendment No. 2, how will the RTB know who is in effect in arrears? There must be a process in place and it must be clear and defined. That is the effect of amendment No. 2.
In the context of amendment No. 3, I know that the word "significant" is subjective but it is key in terms of the identification of people and for the process they have to go through. What is significant for one person may not be significant for the next. That is why the RTB has a clear role to examine that impartially and make a determination.
On amendment No. 11, section 5(4) makes matters very clear in the context of retrospective treatment.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:31+00:00
Sitting date: 2020-07-31