Irish property owners explore legality of eviction ban

A Government proposal for an eviction ban could possibly be legally challenged by the Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA).

Discussing the ban, IPOA chairperson Mary Conway has described it as an attempt by the Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien to “feel better” about the housing crisis. Conway added she felt the proposal would not make much difference and won't prevent evictions this winter.

The chairperson continued, saying that the private rental sector is already “over-regulated and over-taxed” and many landlords have or are contemplating leaving the sector due to financial distress it's causing.

According to Conway, Mr O'Brien assured representative bodies that the Finance Bill would consider “something” for landlords, but that the Minister had been “non-commital” when discussing the possibility of tax breaks.

Now, Conway says that discussed tax breaks would be “too little, too late."

Chairperson Conway spoke to both Newstalk Breakfast and Morning Ireland, where she confirmed the IPOA is “completely opposed” to the eviction ban.

IPOA (Irish Property Owners Association) tells me the temporary eviction ban is 'populist', 'kneejerk' and an example of the Government 'panicking'.

The group is leaving open the option to challenge it in the courts. @VirginMediaNews

— Richard Chambers (@newschambers) October 18, 2022

The representative said the higher interest rates and rising inflation that private landlords are facing cannot continue.

She complained that the Government has failed to provide more social housing in recent years, saying it's no longer possible for the private rental sector to fill "that void.”

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar responded to these comments from the IPOA, saying that he believes that the Government’s proposed eviction ban can be defended on the grounds of public interest.

The Tánaiste spoke to reporters in Dublin, confirming that the Irish constitution protects the right to private property, but also acknowledging that these may “as occasion requires” need to be reconciled with the common good.

“In relation to the constitutionality of it, anyone can bring a challenge to the courts, and that may well happen,” Varadkar said.

“Property rights in Ireland are subject to the common good. Bear in mind, properties themselves don’t have rights, the people who hold those properties have certain rights, but they are subject to the common good.

“And if the Attorney General and the Minister believe they can make a strong case to defend it on public interest grounds, then I think any challenge will be unsuccessful.”

The Government's proposal for a temporary eviction ban is expected to go before Cabinet on Tuesday, as the Government look to protect renters from landlords issuing these notices during the winter months.

Image: raisetheroof.ie.

From the details revealed thus far, it seems the ban could come into effect before December, with sources in Government saying that ideally it would be preferred for the measure to be introduced from November 1.

Any legislation required to allow this band to take place would first have to pass through the Oireachtas, and while it is a top priority, this does make it difficult to put a timeline on the legislation's possible introduction. It "will happen quickly," the Government source confirmed.

In the ban proposed, there are still tenancy rules that must be followed. Tenants who don't pay their rent or who damage property can still be evicted during the moratorium; conditions that were also in place during the pandemic.

Proposals on the measure have been drawn up by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, which have been examined by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan on Monday.

Expected to remain in place until the end of March 2023, the ban has been described as a “one-off” measure.

During this period, a notice to quit that was served ahead of the ban cannot take effect if the eviction date falls in this period. Tenancies of less than six months will require a 90-day notice period and tenancies of over nine years will require a notice period of over seven months.

Credit: Conor Finn.

Minister O’Brien said any new ban on evictions must be time-limited and legal or else it will drive more landlords out of the market.

“I know what's legal and what we can do," O'Brien said. "We've obviously got to be very conscious of any measures that we take, don't have any unintended consequences of further reducing supply in the private rental market.

“I've obviously worked with the Attorney General and his office and colleagues to see what we can do as a time-bound measure.

“What we're looking at is what effective time-bound measures we continue to assist whilst we're building up the overall supply.”

The proposal from O'Brien is that this ban would cover tenants for the winter period and until the end of March. At that point it would not be renewed, the Tánaiste confirmed.

Varadkar said: “There’s an obvious advantage and a good thing that people wouldn’t lose their homes over the winter period.

"But we have to balance that against the possibility that it might make more landlords sell up or sell up more quickly in which case there will be less properties available in the long term.”