A short update to confirm that the legislation referred to in our last post, which limits the letting / licensing of student-specific accommodation to the academic year, passed all remaining stages of the legislative process on Thursday 11 June, without amendment.

The Seanad has also passed a motion for early signature by the President

In a development of interest to those owning and managing student accommodation, the Irish Government has recently announced its intention to introduce legislative changes aimed at “protecting” students from year-long leases.

Background to the announcement

The announcement was made by Simon Harris TD, then Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and

The Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage has just published its report (the Report) on its pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill 2023 (the General Scheme).

Background

On 7 March 2023, the Government agreed in principle to the introduction of a new legislative

The Department of Housing has this month launched a consultation process on the role of the Private Rental Sector (PRS) in Government’s housing policy and the wider economy. The Department’s press release and the consultation paper can be found here. Some of the key points noted in the consultation paper are as

In an earlier post we highlighted the introduction, in November 2022, of a temporary moratorium on the termination of residential tenancies during what was referred to as the “winter emergency period”. The legislation was intended to help reduce homelessness numbers over the course of the winter and was due to expire on 31 March 2023.

On 17 November 2022, the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) published its 2021 Annual Report and Accounts.

The report is available here and deals with issues such as:

  1. How the RTB communicates with customers
  2. How the RTB helps resolve rental disputes
  3. How the RTB regulates the rental sector
  4. How the RTB monitors trends
  5. How