Rose Conway-Walsh Challenges Landlords Over Upfront Student Rent

Chair, the first thing I want to do is I want to commend as well, like yourself, Minister, the collaboration that has happened and the huge collaborative efforts across the third level sector. I think we've all witnessed it over the year and a year and a half, nearly two years now. And I really do hope that that will continue. And I have no reason to think that it won't continue because I think that is the way that we develop and we bring forward the third level sector right across the country, right across the 32 counties. mind you. So I just want to acknowledge that. I also want to acknowledge the extra funding, particularly the funding for student support. And I hope that that money gets directly to the students and to the families who most need it. And I think that's probably the next challenge for us on that. Now, Minister, there's a couple of things. This is a really good opportunity for you to set out, as you set out in the statement in terms of the safe return, but to address some of the anxieties that students are experiencing right at the moment. One of those is in relation to the accommodation and in terms of the new legislation, you might be aware that obviously you're going to be aware of the legislation, the new legislation that was brought in on the 9th of July. Now, there's a month in that legislation for that legislation to be to come into force, if you like. And I am extremely concerned that I am getting reports from families and from parents where accommodation providers are putting pressure on them to pay large sums of money up front. So they're trying to get ahead of the legislation in that regard. And there seems, it seems like the there's a loophole there. So could you confirm to me in the first instance, the date that the law to limit the landlord's ability to ask for multiple months rent in advance comes into effect. And as the legislation allows for students to opt out and to pay multiple months upfront if they wish to, what safeguards are in place to ensure that landlords don't simply favour students that opt out? Making the legislation is to make them in place. And I'm really concerned, and I understand that this doesn't come directly under yourself, but I know you would share my concern. A Kerry woman put it to me yesterday that it's a bit like telling the fox not to eat the chickens when you let them into the into the hen house. And that's what it seems to be that students are trapped in that at the moment. So maybe you could just speak to that in the first instance, in terms of speaking to the families and to the students and speaking to the accommodation providers. Thanks, thanks, Chair. Thanks very much, Deputy Conway Wilson. I want to acknowledge on the extra funding. I mean, this is the work you did and the survey that you did and the helpful way that did inform a lot of the discussion. In relation to the accommodation legislation, I mean, I really welcome the change of legislation. For anybody watching, it does, it does two things. And I know it had cross partial support right across the arathus. But it does, it does two things. It limits the amount of upfront deposits that any renter can be asked for, to no more than one month plus a one month deposit. So no more than two months in reality. And secondly, and crucially, in relation to students in student accommodation, it means that they don't have to give more than 28 days notice to terminate their rental agreement. And my understanding and you're right, it doesn't come from the under my direct remit. But from checking with the residential tenancies board, the information available to me suggests that the legislation was signed into law on the 9th of July. All parts of it except section six came into operation on the 9th of July and section six, which deals with rent setting came into operation on the 16th of July. So I'd be very concerned if, and I'm not suggesting what you're hearing is not true, but I'd be very concerned if that was the case, because my understanding is that all the land is clear now since the 16th of July. But I'd be very happy to engage with you directly on any, on any cases. In relation to any, any issue any renter has, as was the, the arbitrator or the, or the agency to assist is always the residential tenancies board. I know that, I know that we saw, and you and I, I think share this view. I mean, I do think we need to look at how we can build more purpose-built student accommodation, college owned accommodation. And I mean, very active discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform now around what we call the borrowing framework, particularly for technological universities. Grand Minister, thank you for that. And what, what is happening, it seems to be that there's a key part in section, section seven, subsection five of the legislation, which says that this section shall apply to a tenancy created, not earlier than one month after the passing of the residential tenancies number two act 2021. So that would seem to be the section that's been exploited. And I am glad because I, I'm glad that you're sending out that message that because what you're saying is that it's illegal for landlords or landlords, student provide accommodation providers to force students and families to pay multiples, multiple months upfront. That is what you're saying, isn't it? Well, I'm saying that we all, we all worked at rapid speed across the parties in both houses of the Oireachtas to pass this legislation to provide these protection for students. And I'd take a very grim view of anybody not rigidly applying both the letter and the spirit of the legislation. I would be aware that a lot of the, a lot of the issues that students would have highlighted to me in relation to being asked for many months of rent upfront would have actually been from college owned accommodation, being honest. And I have discussed with their representative bodies and I know they're very satisfied and determined to implement the legislation. As you said, there is an exemption, some students, and I don't, I don't know many of these students being honest, but some students and perhaps international students may wish to pay more than one month upfront. But, but, but, but, and there is that option to do that, but that should own, that is only ever an option. The law says they can never be asked to pay more than one month plus one month's deposit. Yeah. I'd be happy to discuss any individual cases also. Yeah. And if you raise with, with Daryl O'Brien, it does seem to be kind of confined to around the Limerick area, Limerick University. So Kerry, Limerick, Clare and, and people attending the University of Limerick. Now, I, I, I thank you for previously in terms of Susie and in terms of what we're trying to do on, on getting the, the current circumstances assessed so that people, students on PUP wouldn't be excluded. Now, as you can imagine, I've had much to and fro on with Susie since that time. And I think we need to communicate with students and their families that even if they, their, their grant or their partial grant has been allocated from Susie. Once they stop the PUP, they can request an internal review by emailing the support desk of Susie. Now, I suppose my question to you around that. Now they need to put in the subject line as well, internal review request when they contact Susie. So I think we need to make it as clear as we possibly can. My concern is minister that Susie are expecting about 50,000 internal review requests. So that will be a workload on top of the workload that's already there in September. What are we doing to ensure that there won't be a bottleneck at that time and that those requesting the internal review request won't be put to the back of the queue? Thanks. Yeah, and I want to thank you for your very constructive engagement on this. And we discussed this on the floor of the DAW on many occasions. I might just take the opportunity, if you don't mind, Deputy, to give you the latest statistics from Susie as of the 11th of July. So as of the 11th of July, over 80,000 applications have been received from new and returning students. 56,000 of these applications have now been processed and 49,500 of those students. So 49,500 of the 56,000 have been deemed eligible for support. In the last academic year, Susie processed 96,000 applications with 76,000 students awarded funding. Susie are estimating an overall 2% increase in applications compared to last year. It should be noted the increase of the postgraduate fee grant and the increase in the fee threshold for postgraduate students has also made a significant impact on applications. And to date, Susie are forecasting a 133% increase in grant approval this year. I want to echo exactly what you've said in relation to the PUP because what you've said and how you've said it is correct. The way the change of circumstances review works within Susie is if you have been receiving a fund, a type of money, an income, whatever, and you're no longer now receiving that, you can say to Susie, please review my application because it's not fair or accurate to assess me on income that I no longer have. And that is the way the PUP would be treated. For better or worse, students will not be in a position to receive the pandemic unemployment payment from the start of the new academic year. Therefore, that pandemic unemployment payment page to them cannot be used against them. The system can't have it both ways. I am talking to Susie quite directly and with my officials in relation to making this as easy as possible for students. I can't give you a very specific answer on how they intend to do that now. But I personally would like them, for example, to email all the students and say, if you have been on PUP, here's what to do. And I'm working with them to see if they can get a direct communication to all students to make it as clear and as simple as you've done there in relation to that. And the issue of just you touched on the issue of the fact that this is going to have a big impact on Susie and it is. So Susie often take on temporary staff for a very limited period of time. They've now kept on those staff. And so they're satisfied and have informed my department that they're satisfied that they're adequately resourced to deal with the volume of applications and volume of change of circumstances. And should they require any more assistance in that regard, it will certainly be forthcoming. OK.