The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2021 provides for:
- an amendment to the current prohibition on any rent increase in a Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) from exceeding general inflation (as recorded by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP)) to insert a new condition that the rent last set cannot increase by more than 2% per annum pro rata.
- enhanced protections for tenancies commencing 6 months from enactment, on the basis that after 6 months’ duration, a ‘Part 4 tenancy’ is established for an unlimited duration, until termination by the tenant or by the landlord under section 34 (selling, family use, breach, overcrowding etc).
- The provision will apply prospectively in respect of new tenancies commencing 6 or more months after the passing of this Bill. As existing Part 4/further Part 4 tenancies terminate/expire over time or are renewed, it will involve the creation of a new tenancy of unlimited duration in respect of any such dwelling, should it remain in the rental sector. Within 6 years and 6 months of the passing of this Bill, all residential tenancies will have converted to being of unlimited duration.
The Bill is available here