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22 2009

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009

Chapter 4

Rental Accommodation Arrangements

Interpretation (Chapter 4).

23 .— In this Chapter—

“ Act of 2004 ” means the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 ;

“ authorised agent ” has the same meaning as in the Act of 2004;

“ dwelling to which this Chapter applies ” means a dwelling which is the subject of a rental accommodation availability agreement;

“ qualified tenant ” means a household assessed under section 20 as being qualified for social housing support;

“ rental accommodation availability agreement ” has the meaning given to it by section 24 and references to “availability agreement” shall be construed accordingly;

“ rental accommodation provider ” means a person who makes a dwelling, of which he or she is the owner, available under a rental accommodation availability agreement for the purposes of letting to a qualified tenant in accordance with this Chapter, and references to “provider” shall be construed accordingly;

“ rent contribution ” has the meaning given to it by section 25 .

Rental accommodation availability agreement.

24 .— (1) Subject to such regulations as may be made for the purposes of this section and such terms and conditions as may be prescribed, a housing authority may, by order of the manager, enter into an agreement (in this Act referred to as a “rental accommodation availability agreement” ) with a rental accommodation provider pursuant to the terms and conditions of which availability agreement the provider agrees to—

(a) make the dwelling available for a specified period for the purposes of this Chapter, and

(b) let the dwelling pursuant to a tenancy agreement—

(i) to such qualified tenant as the housing authority may from time to time allocate to the tenancy in accordance with section 22 , or to the housing authority, or

(ii) to the qualified tenant specified in the availability agreement,

in consideration of which availability agreement and subject to the terms and conditions thereof and the tenancy agreement, the housing authority guarantees the payment of the rent specified in the tenancy agreement and agrees to pay any other moneys, payable by the housing authority, specified in the availability agreement or the tenancy agreement, as the case may be.

(2) A housing authority shall not enter into a rental accommodation availability agreement unless the provider—

(a) satisfies the housing authority, in accordance with regulations made for the purposes of this section, that the dwelling complies with any standards for dwellings for the time being prescribed under section 18 of the Act of 1992, and

(b) gives to the housing authority—

(i) his or her tax reference number within the meaning of section 888 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 , and

(ii) a current tax clearance certificate issued under section 1095 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 .

(3) A rental accommodation availability agreement shall be in writing and shall include the following information—

(a) the address of the dwelling,

(b) the name and address for correspondence of the provider and of the housing authority,

(c) the name and address for correspondence of the provider’s authorised agent (if any),

(d) if the provider or his or her authorised agent, as the case may be, is a company, the registered number and registered office of the company,

(e) a description of the dwelling, indicating—

(i) the estimated floor area,

(ii) the number of bed spaces,

(iii) a statement as to which of the following categories it belongs, namely, a whole or part of a house, a maisonette, an apartment or a flat and, where it is within the category of a house or maisonette, an indication as to whether the house or maisonette is detached, semi-detached or terraced, and

(iv) the number of bedrooms,

and

(f) the term of the availability agreement.

(4) An availability agreement shall include terms and conditions relating to—

(a) the payment of the rent and any other moneys, payable by the housing authority, specified in the tenancy agreement,

(b) the responsibility of the provider in relation to any works to be carried out, as are necessary to ensure that the dwelling complies with the standards for dwellings for the time being prescribed under section 18 of the Act of 1992, before the commencement of the tenancy or where there is more than one tenancy during the term of the availability agreement, before each such tenancy,

(c) the registration by the provider under Part 7 of the Act of 2004 of the tenancy or each tenancy entered into during the term of the availability agreement,

(d) such access as may reasonably be required by officers or agents authorised by the housing authority for the purposes of inspection of the dwelling during the term of the availability agreement,

(e) termination of the availability agreement by the housing authority or the provider, as the case may be, and

(f) such other matters as the housing authority considers necessary and appropriate relating to the standard of the accommodation concerned.

(5) The Minister may make regulations for the purposes of this section providing for, but not necessarily limited to, the following:

(a) the manner in which a provider shall satisfy the housing authority for the purposes of subsection (2) (a), including by the provision of a certificate of compliance;

(b) the class or classes of persons who may provide a certificate of compliance referred to in paragraph (a);

(c) the information to be provided by a provider to the housing authority before entering into an availability agreement including information relating to the provider, his or her authorised agent (if any) and the dwelling concerned;

(d) in relation to the termination of an availability agreement by the housing authority or the provider—

(i) the terms and conditions relating to, and procedures for, termination,

(ii) the grounds on which an availability agreement may be terminated,

(iii) the giving of notice and notice periods, and

(iv) the procedure for resolution of any dispute arising from the proposed termination of the availability agreement including appeal procedures,

and

(e) the period within which a provider shall serve a notice of termination on a qualified tenant pursuant to section 25 (6).

Chapter 4 tenancy agreement.

25 .— (1) A housing authority may allocate a dwelling to which this Chapter applies to a qualified tenant in accordance with section 22 .

(2) The provider shall, subject to the terms and conditions of the rental accommodation availability agreement enter into a tenancy agreement (in this Act referred to as a “Chapter 4 tenancy agreement”) with the qualified tenant to whom the dwelling concerned is allocated.

(3) A dwelling to which this Chapter applies which is the subject of a Chapter 4 tenancy agreement shall not be construed as a dwelling let by or to a public authority for the purposes of section 3(2)(c) of the Act of 2004.

(4) A Chapter 4 tenancy agreement shall be in writing, for such period as may be specified therein, and shall include the following particulars relating to the parties to the tenancy, the tenancy and the dwelling concerned:

(a) the address of the dwelling;

(b) the name of the tenant;

(c) the name and address for correspondence of the provider and of the housing authority;

(d) the name and address for correspondence of the provider’s authorised agent (if any);

(e) if the provider or his or her authorised agent, as the case may be, is a company, the registered number and registered office of the company;

(f) a description of the dwelling;

(g) the date of commencement of the tenancy;

(h) where the tenancy is for a fixed term, the period of that term.

(5) A Chapter 4 tenancy agreement shall, in addition to the obligations imposed under Part 2 of the Act of 2004, include terms and conditions relating to—

(a) occupation of the dwelling,

(b) the payment by the qualified tenant to the housing authority of an amount specified in the tenancy agreement (in this Act referred to as the “rent contribution”) at such times as may be specified therein, and

(c) termination of the tenancy for—

(i) failure to pay the rent contribution in accordance with the terms and conditions of the tenancy agreement,

(ii) breach of the terms and conditions relating to occupation of the dwelling under paragraph (a), or

(iii) knowingly permitting a person, against whom an excluding order under section 3 of the Act of 1997 or an interim excluding order under section 4 of that Act is in force in respect of the dwelling concerned, to enter the dwelling in breach of the excluding order or interim excluding order, as the case may be.

(6) (a) Where a qualified tenant does any of the things specified in subsection (5) (c), he or she shall have failed to comply with the obligations of the tenancy for the purposes of section 67 of the Act of 2004.

(b) Where it comes to the notice of the housing authority that a tenant is doing or has done any of the things specified in subsection (5) (c) or is or was behaving in a way that is anti-social in breach of the obligation specified in section 16(h) of the Act of 2004, the housing authority may notify the provider in writing regarding the failure to comply with the said obligations.

(c) A provider, having received notification from the housing authority under paragraph (b), shall, within such period as may be prescribed under section 24 (5) (e), if the provider has not already done so under section 67 of the Act of 2004, serve a notice of termination on the qualified tenant in accordance with subsection (2) of the said section 67.

(7) Where a provider serves a notice of termination on a qualified tenant pursuant to a notice from a housing authority under subsection (6) (b), the provider shall give a copy of the notice to the housing authority as soon as practicable thereafter.

(8) Where the provider intends to serve notice of termination on a qualified tenant in accordance with the terms and conditions of the tenancy agreement, other than pursuant to a notice from the housing authority under subsection (6) (b), the provider shall give notice in writing to the housing authority not less than 14 days before serving the notice of termination on the qualified tenant.

(9) Where the housing authority intends to apply to the District Court for an excluding order against a person under section 3(2) of the Act of 1997, in respect of a dwelling the subject of a Chapter 4 tenancy agreement, the housing authority shall give notice in writing to the provider of its intention to apply not less than 14 days before making the application.

(10) The rent contribution shall be determined by a housing authority in accordance with a rent scheme under section 31 .

(11) A housing authority may reduce the rent contribution payable under a Chapter 4 tenancy agreement, for a specified period of the tenancy, where the costs of the accommodation to the tenant before the tenancy agreement was entered into were substantially lower than the costs under the tenancy agreement, resulting in hardship to the household.

Expenses incurred by housing authority.

26 .— The Minister may, subject to the prior consent of the Minister for Finance, make payments, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, to a housing authority in respect of some or all of the expenses, including administrative expenses, incurred by the authority by virtue of this Chapter.

Non-application of certain provisions to disposals for purposes of this Chapter.

27 .— Section 211 (2) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 and section 183 of the Local Government Act 2001 shall not apply to the disposal, for any of the purposes of this Chapter, of land or a dwelling by a housing authority.