THE Government has confirmed that a temporary ban on evictions and rent increases will be introduced for the duration of the Coronavirus crisis.

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy has also said that the notice period for rental tenancies of less than six months will be increased from 28 to 90 days.

The Government will publish legislation next week to amend the Residential Tenancies Act to give effect to the changes which were revealed by Independent.ie earlier.

“A moratorium on notices to leave rental accommodation is being introduced as is a moratorium on rent increases so that people will be safe in their homes during this period,” Mr Murphy confirmed.

He said there were further supports for renters struggling with meeting their obligations because of a fall in income through the Department of Social Protection, including rent supplement.

The Department of Housing said in a statement that the changes being drafted will be temporary in nature, and will last for the duration of the Covid 19 crisis, after which residential tenancies will revert to the current legislative arrangements.

The Dáil earlier heard calls from several opposition TDs to introduce such measures in the wake of the unprecedented crisis. Tánaiste Simon Coveney confirmed in the chamber that the Government would legislate to ensure that there are no evictions in this period and to "ensure renters are protected".

Fianna Fáil’s housing spokesperson Darragh O’Brien said the measures such as a rent freeze would only apply to people who lost their income due to social distancing measures introduced by the Government.

“We have to ban evictions during the crisis and introduce a moratorium on rent in the short-term but only on the basis that a person can’t work because of the Covid 19 crisis,” Mr O’Brien told Independent.ie.

“People have to treat these measures fairly and honestly and we need to implement them for a time-limited.”

The temporary nature of the measures are being seen as a way of getting around concerns that an outright ban on evictions would be unconstitutional as it infringes on a person’s private property rights.

A government source said "the public good outweighs private property” during the emergency. “It will be illegal to evict during the crisis,” they said. A separate government source said an announcement was “imminent”.

Mr Murphy has been working with housing bodies and NGOs in recent days in a bid to find solutions for renters whose incomes have been affected by the crisis.

There have been widespread calls for a ban on all evictions as increasing numbers of people are being forced to self-isolate in their homes. Housing charity Threshold has called for emergency legislation to put in place a ban until the end of April.

The temporary ban follows the announcement on Wednesday that landlords and other homeowners will be given a three-month break on their mortgage repayments if their income has been hit by the restrictions in place as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

At present schools, childcare facilities, pubs and other public facilities are closed and the holding of mass indoor and outdoor gatherings is effectively banned. Emergency legislation being debated in the Dáil on Thursday will give the Minister for Health special powers to enforce these closures and restrictions.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe warned landlords who avail of a break in loan or mortgage repayments being offered by banks for the next three months against evicting any tenants - but he acknowledged that the Government could not enforce this. He said he would examine enforcement measures to ensure people are not given notice to quit during the crisis.

“In relation to our ability to enforce the use of this flexibility with landlords, I'm going to be talking to my colleague minister Eoghan Murphy in relation to this. As you know, from all of the discussions in relation to rent freeze and rent pressure zones there are legal constraints in place in relation to the ability of any government to intervene in the contract between landlords and tenants," Mr Donohoe.

“But what I will be doing is through our banks and through the Department of Housing, I will look at any data source that is available to us, to ensure, to see and monitor is there any evidence at all of any landlord using this flexibility and during that period of flexibility going ahead with an eviction.

"We are putting in place really significant measures to our banking system to help those who have loans and mortgages at a time of great risk.

"For any landlord then to use that to treat their tenants in a way that is not fair to them, I believe, will not be accepted by broader society and will raise great concerns. We don't at the moment have the legal ability to enforce that, but I will work on that issue with Minister Murphy and see are there any steps that we can take."

The Department of Housing declined to comment when contacted.

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