Residential Tenancies and Valuation Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2020-07-31
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Alice-Mary Higgins (IND), National University of Ireland

I move amendment No. 28:
In page 9, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following:
"(5) If the amount of rent sought in a Tribunal dispute is found to be in contravention of any other enactment, including rent pressure zone rates, the claim shall be deemed invalid.".
This amendment relates to situations where the amount of rent that is sought in a dispute is found to be in contravention of any other enactment. In section 16( a ) of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, which is being used as the basis for notifications of termination of tenancy arising out of the non-payment of rent, there is an explicit reference that the amount of rent being sought should not be incompatible with other enactments. Will the Minister of State provide clarity in this regard? The amount of rent sought by way of a notice served under the authority of section 16( a ) must be compatible with other enactments, which would, I assume, include enactments in respect of rental pressure zones. If the amount sought is incompatible with the rules under the rental pressure zones provisions, does that mean the claim is not eligible? My concern is that once the process is under way and the matter is under consideration by the tribunal, the claim could be seen to be invalid. I want to know what the mechanisms are for dealing with a false claim in that sense.
My fundamental concern, which I will address in my amendment No. 29, is that the process being put in place will move too quickly. The Bill introduces new grounds of non-payment of rent but the timeline involved for dealing with such cases is extremely short. People are being given only 28 days' notice to pay back-----

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2020-07-31/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:31+00:00
Sitting date: 2020-07-31