Residential Tenancies and Valuation Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2020-07-31
============================================================

Alice-Mary Higgins (IND), National University of Ireland

I move amendment No. 29:
In page 9, line 8, to delete "28 days" and substitute "60 days".
This amendment relates to the termination of a Part 4 tenancy. The notice period that is allowed in such cases is too narrow, and this is an example of the right balance not being struck. Regardless of the duration of tenancy, people are being given only 28 days' notice. Again, this is not Covid-specific but something that will apply all the time. In a situation where an amount of rent is due, even if the tenant has been in the property for ten or 20 years and it is the first time the rent has not been paid, for which there may be many reasons, a notification period of 28 days is far too short and is not appropriate. Moreover, there is no consideration given to the amount due. If there is to be a fair balance, we should be looking at how much rent is owed over how long a period of time. We should have the same kinds of complicated grids that we have around Part 4 tenancies and evictions.
Where there is a failure by the tenant to pay an amount of rent due, 28 days - or less than a month - is too short a period to allow for the payment to be made. I am proposing in amendment No. 29 that the period be extended to 60 days. This would give people time to get the notification, see how much rent is due and seek confirmation if they do not believe they owe the amount indicated. It gives them time to talk to Threshold, which runs a busy service and cannot always offer 12 hours of help to somebody immediately, and whomever else they need to consult. It allows them time to confirm whether the right amount of rent due is being sought and to challenge it if they do not believe it is correct. Where they are asked to leave the property, it gives them time to try to make other arrangements. A notice period of 28 days is too short and it is not enough time to allow people to pay back any rent owed. It does not even give enough time for them to put their entire next pay cheque into paying off whatever rent might be due.
I hate to be dramatic but this calls to mind the classic stories of debtors' prison and the loopholes that arose under that system. At times when money was short, such as just after Christmas, people fall into arrears. I know there are processes in place to deal with that and I recognise that 80% or 90% of landlords will work with their tenants to address those situations. However, I am worried that the space afforded here is too narrow and that it may create a dangerous situation where a landlord who has been waiting a very long time to get somebody out of a building could exploit it. A notice period of 60 days would offer a more reasonable balance and I hope the Minister of State will review it.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

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