Minutes of Proceedings - 23 November 2021
Committee for Communities
Committee for Communities - Minutes of Proceedings Tuesday 23 November.pdf (63.95 kb)
Committee for Communities
Minutes of Proceedings
Tuesday 23 November 2021
Meeting Location: Room 30, Parliament Buildings, Belfast
Present:
Ms Paula Bradley MLA (Chairperson)
Ms Kellie Armstrong MLA (Deputy Chairperson)
Mr Andy Allen MLA
Mr Mark Durkan MLA
Ms Ciara Ferguson MLA
Mr Paul Frew MLA
Present by Video or Teleconference:
Mr Stephen Dunne MLA
Ms Áine Murphy MLA
Ms Aisling Reilly MLA
Apologies:
None
In Attendance:
Dr Janice Thompson (Assembly Clerk)
Mr Sean McCann (Assistant Clerk)
Ms Antoinette Bowen (Clerical Officer)
In Attendance by Video or Teleconference:
Ms Rachel Ashe (Clerical Supervisor)
The Deputy Chairperson, Kellie Armstrong, assumed the Chair. The meeting began at 9.05 am in closed session.
Aisling Reilly joined the meeting at 9.12 am.
The Chairperson, Paula Bradley, joined the meeting at 9.13 am and assumed the Chair. The meeting went into open session at 9.17am. The following Members were present at the start of the open session: Paula Bradley, Kellie Armstrong, Andy Allen, Mark Durkan, Stephen Dunne, Ciara Ferguson, Paul Frew, Aisling Reilly, and Áine Murphy.
Declaration of Interests:
Andy Allen declared an interest as a private landlord.
Stephen Dunne declared an interest as a private landlord.
Paul Frew declared an interest as a private landlord and as a qualified electrician.
1. Apologies
There were no apologies.
2. Minutes
Agreed: The Committee agreed the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 16 November 2021.
3. Private Tenancies Bill Papers
The Chairperson informed Members that they had been provided with a Departmental response to Committee questions on the Bill. The Committee was content to note the response.
The Chairperson informed Members that for the deliberations starting on Thursday, they have been provided with four tables summarising the written evidence received by the Committee.
The Committee was content to note.
4. Briefing by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive on the Private Tenancies Bill
Andy Allen left the meeting at 9.55 am.
The following representatives joined the meeting:
- Ms Grainia Long
- Ms Siobhan McCauley
The representatives from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive briefed the Committee and took part in a question and answer session with Members.
The Chairperson thanked the representatives for their attendance.
Agreed: The Committee requested that the representatives forward additional information related to the briefing, including figures showing the SAP band rating of their housing stock; information on their rolling programme of electrical safety checks; up to date information on their use of temporary accommodation; information they highlighted regarding long-term tenancies models and build-to-rent models; and information on the new requirements in the Republic of Ireland regarding rent reviews in the PRS
5. Briefing by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme Administrators on the Private Tenancies Bill
Aisling Reilly left the meeting at 10.20 am.
Mark Durkan left the meeting at 10.38 am.
The following representatives joined the meeting:
- Mr Eamonn Hunt
- Mr Daren King
- Ms Kate Mutter- Bowen
- Ms Alison MacDougall
The representatives from the Tenancy Deposit Scheme Administrators briefed the Committee and took part in a question and answer session with Members.
The Chairperson thanked the representatives for their attendance.
Agreed: The Committee requested that the representatives forward additional information related to the briefing, including up to date figures on the numbers of deposits retained/returned and the average deposit sums requested across the jurisdictions of the UK
6. Date, time and location of next meeting
The next meeting will be held on Thursday 25 November 2021 in Room 29, Parliament Buildings, at 9.00 am.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:42am.
Paula Bradley MLA
Chairperson, Committee for Communities
