House eviction ban to be discussed by Govt leaders

The Government plans to introduce an eviction ban for tenants during the current cost of living crisis, it has been confirmed. 

Minister for Housing Darrah O'Brien told RTÉ News that the issue is being discussed. 

The discussions are expected to take place on Monday night. 

"We obviously have to be conscious that any measures that we take don't have any unintended consequences of further reducing supply in the rental market," he said. 

"I have said before in relation to open and blanket bans in relation to evictions, things like that can have a negative effect with regard to reducing further supply," Minister O'Brien said. 

In anticipation of the likely implementation of an eviction ban this winter, Labour housing spokesperson Rebecca Moynihan said every moment must be utilised between now and the lifting of the ban to protect people from entering homelessness.

With evictions up 58%, Senator Moynihan said red tape must be removed around tenant in situ scheme and a mapping exercise must be undertaken by local authorities to identify households at risk of homeless and put a plan in place to protect them.

"Labour has long called for the introduction of the eviction ban and while it's introduction at this late stage does nothing to help the many hundreds of people who have been evicted out of their rental accomodation in recent months, it will protect those who remain at risk this winter," Senator Moynihan said.

"Labour first called for an eviction ban in light of the housing crisis in March of this year, when 9,825 people were living in homelessness. Since then, over 1,000 people have entered homelessness with most recent figures published by the Department in September recording 10,805 people living in homelessness. It's a disgrace. 

"During the pandemic, we saw the impact that an eviction ban can have on preventing people entering homelessness. The scale of the housing crisis is such that government has no option but to temporarily ban evictions. While the ban is in place, government must plan appropriately for its lifting in 2023," Senator Moynihan said 

Local authorities must be mandated to use these months, she said,  to map out people at risk of homelessness in the private rental sector, and to remove red tape and hesitation where there is a tenant in situ and buy the property.

A report compiling this data must be delivered to the Housing Minister in January so he can prepare for the lifting of the ban and prevent any potential crisis for those at risk, she added. 

“For the period of the emergency eviction ban, the Minister must scale up the tenant in situ scheme and remove red tape to ensure that where a landlord is leaving the market, the tenant can remain in their home. We need to shrink our reliance on the Private rental sector to fulfil our social housing needs. This is the most efficient way of doing this. We can't continue with our two tier system of social housing - propping up landlords while tenants can be evicted when their landlord decides to sell," Senator Moynihan said.

"This is a huge issue that many renters have been faced with over the past 12 months. We know that a huge volume of people entering homelessness come from the private rental sector. Local authorities must be empowered to safeguard against homelessness in this way.

“The threat of losing a home is possibly the greatest fear any household can face. Many households will be relieved by news of an eviction ban. However, it is no replacement for building homes. We know that there is no simple solution when it comes to housing. It takes two to three years to build homes. Yet Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have had over five wasted years when it comes to addressing Ireland’s housing disaster," Senator Moynihan said.