Mr. Paul Dunne:

I thank the Vice Chairman and the members of the committee for the invitation to attend today to discuss standards in the private rented sector. Accompanying me is my colleague, Neil Maher, assistant principal officer in the rental market unit in the Department.

Regulations setting out minimum standards for private rented accommodation generally were first set out in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 1993. However, a number of changes have been made to the regulatory framework since 2008 to reflect the requirements of a modern rental sector. The current minimum standards for rental accommodation prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2017 were introduced in July 2017. The purpose of the regulations is to provide residential rental accommodation that is safe, efficient, durable and comfortable. These regulations specify minimum health and safety requirements across a range of matters, including fire, structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, safety of gas and electricity supply. With very limited exemptions, these regulations apply to local authority and voluntary housing units as well as private rented residential accommodation. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure their rented properties comply with the regulations. Responsibility for enforcement rests with the relevant local authority.

The sector faces a number of serious challenges in regard to the minimum standards, including the low rate of inspection, high numbers of non-compliant properties, inconsistencies with interpretation and application of the standards and guidelines, and lack of follow up and enforcement action. The strategy for the rental sector recognises high-quality rental accommodation is critical to the success and sustainability of the residential rental sector and its attractiveness as a long-term accommodation option for households. It sets out a number of important actions to ensure the safety and quality of rented accommodation, by bringing rental standards up to date and strengthening processes for inspection and compliance.

A review of the standards was conducted in 2016. The aim was to ensure that the applicable standards reflect requirements of a modern rental market, contribute to delivery of high-quality housing and provide increased protection for tenants by addressing critical health and safety concerns, with particular focus on three main areas: to introduce changes to existing provisions in order to reinforce them and to include additional provisions not already covered; to strengthen local authority implementation through closer collaboration, co-operation and dissemination of best practice; and to focus on increasing awareness around the minimum standards.

The Department published comprehensive guidelines in August 2017 to assist and support local authorities in implementing the regulations. To increase the numbers of properties inspected, specific ring-fenced funding for inspection and compliance activity has been identified from 2018 with annual targets for both inspection and compliance agreed with local authorities. The objective is to increase inspection numbers incrementally each year with the aim of achieving a 25% annual inspection coverage rate by 2021.

A rental standards working group was established in 2017 to develop proposals and make recommendations to give effect to the actions related to standards under the rental strategy. Three specialist subgroups are being established, including an IT subgroup to develop and roll out a national standardised IT system, and to develop or purchase software solutions to upgrade from current spreadsheets and Word systems in the short term; a training subgroup to develop and implement a training programme for enforcement officers, and host an annual seminar to share knowledge, best practice and to support continuous professional development; and a human resources subgroup to examine, make recommendations and secure agreement on all other HR aspects, including annual inspection targets, staff numbers, grading structure, funding, qualifications, legal services and so on.

Since establishment of the Residential Tenancy Board, RTB, more than €36 million has been paid to local authorities to assist them in the performance of their functions under the Housing Acts with more than 229,000 inspections carried out.

However, additional resources need to be provided to local authorities to facilitate increased inspections of properties and ensure greater compliance. Provision has been made for an allocation of €2.5 million in 2018, with further increases proposed each year up to 2021.

The Department recently issued letters to local authorities outlining the reforms and improvements envisioned for rental properties under the strategy. The letters set out annual targets and requested each local authority to prepare an implementation plan to achieve them, including details about staffing, resources and other needs that will be required. Individual implementation plans have now been received and are being examined prior to engaging directly with the local authorities concerned with a view to finalising and assisting with implementation and delivery. Opportunities for delivering the inspectorate function on a shared basis, for example, legal services, will also be explored and implemented as appropriate.

I thank the committee again for giving the Department this opportunity to discuss accommodation standards for the rental sector. I look forward to discussing this in more detail now with the committee. I reiterate the Department's commitment to continue to prioritise and deliver on this important area. My colleagues and I will be happy to respond to any questions or comments the committee may have.