Real Estate

HOUSING

Housing for All Update

The Government has published a Housing for All update. It includes data on the completion of new homes, Government measures to increase housing availability and affordability (including Budget 2024 and recent taxation measures), as well as the Government’s proposed legislative and systemic measures to increase housing supply and assist residential tenants over the next 12 months. These include:

• consideration of the financing of the LDA;
• publishing the private rental sector review;
• publishing the Planning and Development (Land Value Sharing and Urban Development Zones) Bill (only the general scheme has been published to date);
• consideration of proposals for a new profession of conveyancer;
• increasing the Housing Finance Agency’s borrowing capacity;
• reducing delays and making efficiencies in the conveyancing and probate processes;
• regulation of short-term lettings (see below);
• reviewing property funds (REITs and IREFs);
• publishing the Residential Tenancies (Tenant Right to Purchase) Bill (see below); and
• reform of planning law with the publication of the Planning and Development Bill.

See: Government press release.

Regulation of Short-Term Letting

The Government is expected to progress the Registration of Short-Term Tourism Letting Bill in the coming months following the decision by the EU to approve (with some modifications) the Government’s proposals to regulate short-term lettings.

The Bill underpins the creation of the register and would require any party offering accommodation on a short-term basis to tourists (21 days or less) to be registered and to hold a valid registration number issued by Fáilte Ireland. The Government is aiming to have the register in place by Q2 2024.

Tenant Right to Purchase

The Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill would give tenants a right of first refusal to buy their homes by requiring a landlord selling a property to first offer it to the tenant. On 24 October 2023, the Government approved the General Scheme of the Bill for priority drafting. The latest Housing for All update states that the aim is to publish the Bill before the end of the year.

The Bill was discussed by the Joint Committee on Housing in early December. The Committee confirmed some details of the draft Bill including that, where a notice of termination is given to a tenant based on the landlord’s intention to sell the dwelling, the landlord would be obliged to also serve a notice inviting the tenant to make a bid on the dwelling. The tenant would be able to make any number of bids during a 90-day period, after which the landlord would be obliged to invite the tenant to make a further bid where the landlord has agreed to sell the property to a third party for less than or equal to the tenant’s highest offer. Immediately prior to the sale being agreed, the landlord would be obliged to give the tenant 10 days to match the highest bid and would be obliged to accept it if the bid was fact matched by the tenant.

There would be exceptions to the landlord’s obligation to invite the tenant to bid including:

• where the dwelling is being transferred to a spouse or family member for partial or nil consideration;
• where the transfer of the dwelling follows a death;
• where the property is being transferred within the same corporate group;
• where the tenant does not have security of tenure (i.e. has not been in occupation for at least six months and so does not hold a Part 4 tenancy in the dwelling);
• where a landlord terminates tenancies under the so called ‘Tryellstown amendment’ (which limits a landlord’s ability to terminate Part 4 tenancies in ten or more dwellings on the ground that the landlord proposes to enter into an enforceable contract for sale of the dwellings within nine months of the expiry of the notice period. The restriction does not apply where the landlord can demonstrate that: (i) leaving the Part 4 tenancies in situ means that the price achievable would be 20% below the market value of the properties with vacant possession; and (ii) the application of the relevant section would be unduly onerous on the landlord or cause the landlord undue hardship).