Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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131. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of tenants of local authorities currently residing in one room bedsits which have been in violation of the Housing Regulations of 2008 since 1 February 2013; and the amount of funds being allocated to the renovation of these properties. [53400/13]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008 specify requirements in relation to a range of matters in rented accommodation such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, light and the safety of gas and electrical supply. The most recent data available, from the 2011 Census, indicate that 728 properties described as bedsits were rented from a local authority representing 0.6% of the total number of local authority rented units then recorded.

All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations. Responsibility for enforcement of the regulations, including the inspection arrangements, rests with the relevant local authority supported by a dedicated stream of funding provided from part of the proceeds of tenancy registration fees collected by the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB). In 2013, my Department allocated €3 million to local authorities towards their inspections activities.

My Department collates and publishes a wide range of housing and planning statistics including details on local authority inspection activity and these data are available on my Department’s website . However, data in relation to the number of ‘bedsit’ properties either in compliance with or in violation of the regulations are not compiled centrally.

Local authorities, as landlords and owners of their social housing stock, are responsible for the management, maintenance and repair of rented properties.  Under my Department’s Social Housing Investment Programme, local authorities are allocated capital funding each year in respect of a range of measures to improve the standard and overall quality of their social housing stock, including the regeneration of large social housing estates and flat complexes and estate-wide remedial works schemes.