Ban on evictions set to expire by the end of March

By Rebecca Black and Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

Updated at 08:22

The ban on evictions will end on March 31st but "phased protections" will remain in place for some renters until June, coalition leaders have agreed.

Following a lengthy meeting of party leaders and Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, it was agreed that a detailed memo will be presented to Cabinet on Tuesday to end the ban on evictions despite appeals from homeless charities last week for the ban to remain in place.

As the Irish Examiner reports, existing protections under the current ban will ensure some people cannot be evicted up until June.

"The phased basis out to June is already provided for in the legislation. Depending on the length of your tenancy and when your notice to quit was issued, your tenancy will end sometime between April 1st and June 18th - that was included in the original legislation so there would be no cliff edge," a source said.

The Department of Finance has been hesitant to open the door to any potential tax breaks for landlords as part of measures to keep the eviction ban, insisting any changes must be made in the context of October’s Budget.

Proposals that landlords could get tax breaks worth €14,000 a year, at a cost of up to €794m for the taxpayer as part of a Government plan to keep them in the rental market, are being considered in the context of the next Budget.

It had been suggested that the ban could be extended as monthly homeless figures continue to rise and people are still struggling with rising rents and bills.

Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien said the pros and cons of the ban had to be considered.

"I think it's important that we recognise as well that any decisions we take we've got to be clear we are not exuberating the issue, that there is no unintended consequences with it too.

"Private landlords have been leaving the market for the last five or six years frankly at an alarming rate. The Government have to be very careful weighing up the options that are there.

"That's what we will do this evening and tomorrow."

Landlords are being driven out of the market due to the evictions ban, according to estate agents network Sherry Fitzgerald.

Marian Finnegan, managing director at Sherry FitzGerald, wants definitive action as the number of landlords

"If yo look back in 2008 and 2009, at any one time there was 20 thousand something rental units available. Today, that figure can drop as low as two thousand and havers between two and three