Eviction ban extension may make exception for landlords ‘rehoming’

The Coalition is considering extending the current ban on evictions with additional exceptions for landlords, it is understood.

The three party leaders are due to meet on Monday evening to discuss available options, with Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien also set to attend.

It is understood that there are three options under consideration, with no final decision made yet.

The first option would be to let the evictions ban lapse at the end of March, but sources said this was politically unsavoury as the Government is under considerable pressure to protect renters.

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The second option would be to extend the current ban, with potential exemptions for landlords who want to move back into the property or allow their children to do so. The length of time of any such extension is currently the subject of intensive conversations in Government.

One source said Government figures are closely scrutinising advice from the Attorney General which is understood to raise issues around any such extension.

It is understood, however, that with an extra list of exemptions there would be legal cover for such a move.

The third option would be to have a recurring winter eviction ban but it is understood legal issues have been raised around such a move.

This is what happens in France from late October until March. The “trêve hivernale”, or the winter truce, has been a part of French law since 1956.

It comes as Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald called for an extension to the evictions ban, although she said she accepted that it could not go on forever.

“I do think that without doubt we do need an extension of the eviction ban. Quite some time back we brought forward a proposal and an amendment to legislation to provide for people who were returning home or who needed to have use of their own properties.

“I think we can look at that but what we can’t do is leave people who are vulnerable and who are in very stressful situations without the very necessary protection of the eviction ban,” she told The Irish Times.

Speaking on Sunday in Co Kerry which she was visiting for a Civil War commemorative event, she said the eviction ban was “a temporary measure, we absolutely accept that it can’t go on indefinitely, but given the Government’s absolute failure to meet the supply issues they need use this, to put it crudely, to buy some time”.

Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesman Jim O’Callaghan said the Government would have to ensure the rights of property owners are given “some recognition” when it comes to a decision on extending the moratorium on evictions.

“When you look at the eviction bans that were introduced during Covid and during last winter, I think they were merited and they were clearly constitutional. However, if there’s a permanent eviction ban, that’s going to be unconstitutional,” he told RTÉ Radio One’s This Week.