Ministers officially signed-off on a winter evictions ban that will come into force next month and last until April 1.
It came after the Government heard a stark warning at their weekly meeting that if no action was taken, there would be a predicted 2,273 evicted onto the streets this winter.
The Cabinet made the major decision at their meeting on Tuesday afternoon with Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien bringing the proposal to his colleagues.
Mr O’Brien said after the meeting: “I feel these protections are needed for the times we are in right now.”
The law change will mean that there will be a moratorium on all evictions issued through Notices of Termination (NOTs) served from now until at least April 1, after the coldest of the winter months have passed.
The reason there will be no evictions in the fortnight before the moratorium kicks-in next month is because if an order is issued over the next two weeks, minimum notice periods means they won’t fall due until at least November, when the moratorium will be in place.
Most renters will be protected under the new moratorium, including students.
However, It will still be possible to serve a Notice of Termination during the winter period and the protection introduced will not give a safety net to a tenant who simply chooses not to pay their rent or is in serious breach of other tenant obligations.
Where the tenant is at fault, the tenancy can be terminated during the winter subject to the usual notice periods being given.
Mr O’Brien said: “The Government is very aware of the increasing pressure on homeless services, the limited supply in the rental market and the struggles people are facing over the coming winter months.
“This temporary measure will protect renters who are facing homelessness by deferring any ‘no fault’ tenancy terminations from taking place this winter.
“We are also conscious of the impact of such measures on landlords, particularly our smaller or ‘accidental’ landlords and that is why we are ensuring that where a tenant willfully withholds rent or engages in antisocial or criminal behaviour they will not be protected by this legislation.
“We will continue with the implementation of Housing for All and significantly increasing the supply of housing in this country.
“While this emergency measure is necessary and will provide assistance in the short term, the long term answer to our accommodation challenges remains an increased and sustainable supply of new housing.”
The move was welcomed by leading homelessness charities and campaigners.
Peter McVerry CEO, Pat Doyle, said: “A no-fault eviction ban will keep vulnerable tenants in their homes during the coldest months of the year whilst also protecting landlords from anti-social behaviour.
“We recognise the vital role that landlords play and want to highlight the importance of addressing tax reforms to ensure that private landlords do not continue to exit the market.
“It’s crucial that this ban forms part of a co-ordinated package; to ensure that it doesn’t just postpone the problem until the spring and leads to long term reform and a reduction in the number of people living in homelessness.”
The IPOA (Irish Property Owners Association), who have been very critical of the proposed ban, said they would not be commenting any further until they had examined the proposals in detail.
Mary Conway, chair of IPOA, had said earlier in the day that her organisation was considering bringing the Government to court over the plans.
In the Dáil, the evictions ban, formally called the Residential Tenancies (Deferment of Termination Dates of Certain Tenancies) Bill 2022, was the issue of the day.
Sinn Féin leader, Mary Lou McDonald, tackled the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, on it during Leaders’ Questions.
She said: “I welcome the fact that it seems the Government has finally listened and will proceed with a ban.
“It is a first step.
“This measure must coincide with an accelerated delivery of affordable homes, tackling crisis rents, increasing income thresholds for social housing and an urgent plan to bring vacant homes into use.”
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