Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing, Eoin Ó Broin TD, has today published legislation on the issue of illegal evictions.
The Bill seeks to put into law the recommendations by the Residential Tenancies Board to the Minister for Housing from November 2022.
The Bill if enacted would; make illegal evictions an offence; give the Gardaí the power to arrest those involved in illegal evictions; allow the Residential Tenancies Board to fine those involved in such evictions up to €40,000; facilitate data sharing between the RTB, the Property Services Regulatory Authority and Revenue; and expand the definition of improper conduct by a landlord to include the use of force or intimidation to illegally evict a tenant.
Teachta Ó Broin said:
“Last year, almost 20,000 eviction notices were issued by landlords to tenants. During the year, I and my colleagues and other tenant rights advocates were aware of illegal evictions taking place across the country. While the number of illegal evictions is not known, there is a strong case for changing the law to protect tenants from illegal evictions.
“In 2020, following a high-profile illegal eviction in Berkley Road, Dublin, the Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien wrote to the Residential Tenancies Board asking them to ‘investigate this incident and to make a report to me, with recommendations, as soon as possible’. The Minister said that he was ‘deeply concerned about the treatment of the tenants concerned’.
“The RTB’s report was concluded in September 2021 but for legal reasons could not be forwarded to the Minister until November 2022. In addition to the initial report’s recommendations, the RTB also urged the Minister to introduce legislation to make illegal evictions a specific offence under the Residential Tenancies Act, to create a power of arrest for An Garda Siochana of anyone involved in an illegal eviction and for fines of up to €40,000 to be made in such cases.
“Despite the urgency of both the Minister’s initial request to the RTB and the agency’s own recommendations to the Minister, no action has been taken by the Minister to date. With eviction notices at record levels and illegal evictions becoming more common, the case for urgent action is indisputable.
“Today I am publishing legislation that gives effect to the key recommendations of the Residential Tenancies Board as set out in their correspondence to the Minister in November 2022.
“The Bill if enacted would; make illegal evictions an offence; give the Gardai the power to arrest those involved in illegal evictions; allow the Residential Tenancies Board to fine those involved in such evictions up to €40,000; facilitate data sharing between the RTB, the Property Services Regulatory Authority and Revenue; and expand the definition of improper conduct by a landlord to include the use of force or intimidation to illegally evict a tenant.
“A Sinn Féin government would stand up for renters. We would ensure that the recommendations of the Residential Tenancies Board on this issue would be fully implemented and that landlords breaking the law would be prosecuted and fined.
“We will be introducing the Bill at first stage as soon as possible and bring the Bill forward in Primate Members Time as soon as possible.”
