The Irish Government has approved the publication of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill for priority passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas this week, with the aim of enacting the Bill before the Oireachtas rises for the summer recess on Thursday 11 July.
SSA contracts cannot exceed 41 weeks
The Bill aims to enhance protections for students in the student-specific accommodation (SSA) market by providing that the duration of SSA contracts (both tenancies and licences) cannot exceed 41 weeks unless a student requests to occupy the accommodation for a longer period with the landlord's or licensor's agreement. The 41-week maximum reflects the academic year, which traditionally runs from September to May annually, and means that students cannot be required to pay for SSA during the summer months when students are less likely to require accommodation.
Furthermore, a landlord cannot request that a person enters into an SSA tenancy or licence, the duration of which exceeds of 41 weeks. It appears from Dáil debates that this is designed to prohibit the practice of some SSA providers of operating booking portals seeking payments exceeding those that can be legally sought under Section 19B of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 to secure a tenancy or licence agreement as an alternative to, but not exclusive to, the option of paying the amount that can legally be required (i.e. a deposit of one month's rent and one month's rent in advance).
Advance payments can only be made to the same provider for accommodation and tuition fees
The Bill provides that student tenants and licensees may agree to an advance rent or licence fee payment of greater than one month's rent only where such a payment is part of a combined payment to the same relevant provider in respect of rent or licence fee for accommodation and tuition fees. Relevant providers include public and private educational providers.
Application to non-owning SSA providers
For the purpose of the above amendments, 'landlord' includes a person holding themselves out as having a dwelling available for occupation under a tenancy or licence. This is presumably aimed at including SSA providers who do not own the relevant dwelling but provide accommodation through nomination or other agreements with the owner.
New student termination right
The Bill also enables an SSA tenant or licensee to serve a termination notice on a landlord between 1 May and 1 October in any year, whether or not a landlord has failed to comply with its tenancy obligations.
Not retrospective
The amendments set out above will not be retrospective and will only apply to SSA tenancies and licences created after the legislation is commenced, which will require a commencement order by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Next steps
The Bill is due for second stage discussion in the Dáil tomorrow Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 July. The Seanad is due to discuss all stages of the Bill on Thursday 11 July. The Government's press release is here.
This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.