Covid rent protections to extend to summer
Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien said 'there are no guarantees' that construction sites will open next month. Picture: Moya Nolan
Protections for tenants economically affected by Covid-19 will be extended into the summer.
Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien will bring a memo to Cabinet this week to extend the protections, which are due to expire next month.
The decision has been made as level 5 restrictions and business closures are set to last for some time.
It will not, however, extend the moratorium on evictions which is linked to a 5km travel restriction.
A spokesperson for the minister said: "The Residential Tenancies and Valuation Act 2020 came into effect in August 2020 and protects tenants negatively affected by Covid and experiencing rent arrears due from eviction up to April 12, 2021.
"The protections under that act apply nationwide, subject to the tenant making an appropriate declaration to the Residential Tenancies Board.
"This memo seeks to extend the protections by a further three months."
Speaking on Friday, Mr O'Brien said that while the Government aims to get construction sites open next month, he could not guarantee it.
“There are no guarantees and it will obviously be based on public health advice.
“The Nphet advice that we made our decision on to extend the restrictions was very stark. I’m not going to speculate one way or the other, only to say that it is a priority for me and the Government that we can move to get certain parts of the sector open.”
Government sources have said that there is growing confidence that housing construction, at minimum, will be opened in April if Covid trends continue.
