Rory Hearne TD: ‘The case for a no-fault eviction ban’
Writing in eolas Magazine, Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne TD outlines the impact of notices to quit and argues for the introduction of a ban on ‘no-fault evictions’ to tackle homelessness.
We are seeing evictions increasing on a scale we have not seen in this country. Last year there were just under 20,000 eviction notices issued to private renters. That is the highest number of evictions since the Great Famine.
That is upwards of 50,000 people, including thousands of children, being forced to leave their home and try to find somewhere else in the middle of the worst housing crisis this country has experienced.
While some might argue that a notice to quit is not equivalent to a forced eviction, I would disagree. Getting a notice to quit means you are being evicted. You have to leave your rental home by requirement of the landlord, not by your choice.
The overwhelming majority of these evictions are no-fault evictions. In other words, the tenant has paid their rent and not engaged in anti-social behaviour. The landlord has just decided to either sell up, move a family member in, or engage in extensive refurbishment, among other reasons.
The Government’s rental changes, which came into effect in March 2026, are pointed to as offering enhanced security of tenure for renters, but, unfortunately, they do not change existing eviction laws for all current renters. That means, without a policy change to prevent no-fault evictions of existing renters, in the region of 250,000 households are still at risk of no-fault evictions.
These evictions are causing trauma to every person who is experiencing them. They are also hugely expensive for people as they have all the associated costs of moving house. This is even harder in this cost-of-living crisis.
These evictions are one of the main causes of record homelessness. Notices to quit are cited by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive as the largest reason for families presenting as homeless.
The latest homelessness figures show there were a record 17,308 people living in homeless emergency accommodation at the end of February 2026. Shockingly, 5,457 of them are children, a devastating record.
The Government states it is taking all action to prevent homelessness. A vital action to prevent homelessness would be to stop the creation of new homeless families and individuals through introducing a no-fault evictions ban in the private rental sector.
“That over 5,000 children are homeless is a national scandal. A no-fault eviction ban is required as an immediate step.” Rory Hearne TD
Levels of evictions and homelessness need to be treated with the urgency and gravity they demand. I currently do not see that. I see emergency legislation being brought through to allow rents to rise higher, such as the removal of the inter tenancy rent cap, to incentivise a supply of more rental housing through institutional investors.
However, I do not see such radical action by the Government, the Minister for Housing, and the Department of Housing to prevent homelessness. This level of housing insecurity, evictions, and homelessness is a social disaster.
At this rate, we could be faced with a quarter of a million evictions in the coming decade if major policy changes are not introduced at speed and at scale.
We are seeing mass evictions take place again in this country. We have seen the cases in Wexford, Galway, Kerry, and in my own constituency in Dublin in Santry. We saw the outrageous situation of sick, elderly, and disabled people in a retirement village in Sligo being issued eviction notices.
We do not hear about all the individual 20,000 households who are being evicted – how many disabled people, how many elderly, how many children – are among those being evicted. Each with their own story of stress, worry, trauma, and hopelessness.
Because we know that many are ending up homeless or entering hidden homelessness. They cannot afford the high rents in new properties. Some being evicted are also recipients of the housing assistance payment (HAP), and we know the HAP limits are nowhere near the existing market rents.
The Simon Communities Locked Out of the Market research shows that very few properties to rent are within HAP limits. Yet these households in receipt of HAP who are being evicted and cannot find anywhere to rent are currently classed as having their housing needs met by housing and Government policy. There are almost 60,000 households in receipt of HAP who are all vulnerable to eviction and at very real risk of homelessness.
Without taking emergency action on evictions this homelessness crisis will spiral way beyond the current disastrous levels. How is that acceptable or allowed?
That is why we in the Social Democrats believe that the Government must immediately introduce a no-fault ban on evictions to cover all tenancies, including all existing tenancies. It should be for a minimum of three years and extended as necessary until the homelessness emergency is over.
If the Government is unwilling to implement an outright ban on no-fault evictions, at minimum it should implement a ban on no-fault evictions into homelessness, applied immediately for all families and individuals at risk of homelessness.
People at risk of homelessness from an eviction would contact their local authorities and then the local authority would outline to the Residential Tenancies Board that the eviction cannot not go ahead.
There needs to be much earlier engagement with families and individuals at risk of homelessness, to prevent them from becoming homeless.
We, as a republic, as a wealthy society, cannot and should not accept any child being homeless. That over 5,000 children are homeless is a national scandal. A no-fault eviction ban is required as an immediate step.
