Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien has said that an evictions ban, signed off by Government today, will protect people during the winter months, whilst also respecting the rights of property owners.
The eviction ban will mean that notices issued from November 1 to March 31, 2023, cannot be implemented until April.
Cabinet has recognised the current “exceptional” times the country is experiencing with this decision, Darragh O’Brien said, with “severe pressure” on emergency accommodation.
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The aim of the eviction ban is to protect tenancies through the winter months, while also respecting the rights of property owners.
The Minister said: “Effectively, what is in place is a temporary time-bound pause on the effecting of notices of terminations. Notices to quit can still be issued but they will not take effect until it's scaled.”
What this means is that the earliest a notice to quit can be effected would be April 15 of next year.
“What this does is protect quite a significant cohort of people who already would have received tenancy terminations in Q1 and Q2 of this year that were due to take place in this quarter, about 2,273 tenancies, so no tenancy termination can be effected during the period of the moratorium,” the Housing Minister told Bryan Dobson on RTE’s News at One.
There are some exceptions to the eviction ban, as O’Brien explained: “Obviously, the non-payment of rent, antisocial or criminal behaviour or using a property for the purposes that it is not let for will be the exceptions to that, which was normal in previous moratoriums.”
These exceptions are in place in a bid to “be fair to property owners as well”.
The Government “collectively” decided today to implement the ban in order to “give a bit of breathing space” with regards to new social and affordable housing developments, on top of protecting tenants.
“Government took a decision collectively today to make this intervention on the basis of the exceptional winter that we are facing into, to provide that protection for those tenancies whilst were creating additional space for people and newer properties and older properties back into use,” he said.
When asked by journalist and host of News at One Byran Dobson about property owners attempting to act before the ban comes into play on November 1, O’Brien said: “If you look at the changes I made in July this year to the duration of tenancy notice period, the shortest notice period is actually for tenancies of less than 6 months - 90 days.
“Most tenancies will be over six months which gives a notice period of 152 days and it scales up depending on the length of your tenancy, so the moratorium will have real effect in that space.
“If someone [is] entitled to do so on legal notice to quit, it cannot be affected during the period of moratorium.”
Minister O’Brien finished by saying that the Government has done their “level best” to balance both sides, and said Ireland has seen a reduction in landlords since 2016.
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