Cold draughty “sitting room” to be set up outside Dáil urging Government to implement basic energy efficiency standards for rented homes

Photo stunt to coincide with Second Stage of Bill on Building Energy Rating (BER) Standards for Rented Accommodation

An eye-catching, evocative photostunt will take place on Kildare Street on the footpath outside Dáil Éireann at 10.30am on Thursday 20th November to highlight the plight of renters, who are paying extortionate rent while being forced to live in sub-standard, under-insulated homes, due to the lack of any basic energy efficiency standards for rented accommodation [1]. The photostunt, which is being organised by Friends of the Earth, will take place just hours before an opposition Bill to introduce Building Energy Rating (BER) standards for private rented accommodation undergoes second stage debate in Dáil Éireann [2]. 

Friends of the Earth is urging the Government to vote in favour of the Bill, arguing that there is an urgent need for regulations that require landlords to ensure that accommodation meets minimum energy efficiency standards before it is put up for rent. Friends of the Earth is also calling for strong protections to shield tenants from higher housing costs or housing insecurity that may follow as a result of renovations that are triggered by minimum BER regulations. 

Commenting on this, Clare O’Connor of Friends of the Earth said:

“Everyone deserves a warm, healthy home. Ensuring that rented accommodation meets basic energy efficiency and  building standards is the minimum that renters should be able to expect in 2025.

The regulations being proposed in the Building Energy Rating (BER) standards Bill being debated today are not new - the Housing for All strategy committed to introducing minimum BER standards in the private rental sector starting in 2025. With that deadline now approaching, it’s time to deliver on that commitment. 

Without these standards, renters are being locked out of the climate and energy transition, and forced to live in cold, damp accommodation, with no agency over their heating systems and insulation levels. Insulating homes to at least some minimum standard is as important as fixing a leaking roof— and no landlord should be exempt from that responsibility."

ENDS

Notes

1. The photostunt will take place on Kildare Street on the footpath outside Dáil Eireann. This visually striking and emotive photo stunt will re-create a scene from a cold, heat-leaking, poorly heated, sitting room. A young student and an older person (symbolising the fact that both young and old renters are suffering from energy poverty in Ireland) will sit on a real couch, layered up in coats and hats, wrapped in blankets and clutching cups of tea and hot water bottles in an effort to keep warm. Other props, to help create the sitting room scene, such as an electric heater and a lamp, will also be included. Placards, urging the Government to introduce Building Energy Rating (BER) Standards for rented accommodation and proclaiming that “everyone deserves a warm, healthy home” will also be present, along with a blown up BER scale. 

2. The Building Energy Rating (BER) Standards for Private Rented Accommodation

Bill 2025 is due for Second Stage in Dáil Eireann on the evening of Thursday 20th November. The Bill has been tabled by People Before Profit–Solidarity TDs, Paul Murphy and Ruth Coppinger. It proposed to amend the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 to require all rental homes to meet the following BER standards:

• D2 by end of 2026

• C1 by end of 2028

• B2 by end of 2030

The Bill also includes tenant protections, ensuring that works carried out cannot be used as grounds for eviction and cannot be treated as a “substantial change” that would justify rent increases under the Residential Tenancies Act.

See more details here: https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/bill/2025/13/eng/initiated/b1325d.pdf