A new Bill has been introduced to prevent tenants living in buy-to-let properties to be evicted if the property is being sold.

Sinn Féin Housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD introduced the Residential Tenancies (Prevention of Family Homelessness) Bill 2018.

Under the Bill would be illegal for buy-to-let landlords, who benefited from tax breaks, to seek vacant possession when seeking to sell a property.

Deputy Ó Broin said: "The sale can still take place but with the tenant remaining in situ and the remaining portion of the tenancy.

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"This Bill is a version of the Focus Ireland amendment which was submitted as an amendment to a government Bill in December 2016.

"Unfortunately at the time both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil failed to support it.

"This is despite research provided by Focus Ireland at the time indicated that they see more than 20 families each month becoming homeless because their buy-to-let landlord is being forced to sell up. This is one of the leading causes of family homelessness.

"Focus Ireland have said that if the amendment had been passed in 2016, hundreds of families would have been saved from homelessness.

"The homeless situation is not getting better. The opportunity to remedy this was ignored by both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in Budget 2019.

"They instead chose to focus on supporting landlords by providing 100% mortgage interest relief and a possible Capital Gains tax break at committee stage of finance bill.

"All of this for landlords with nothing in return for renters."

(CD/MH)