Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Ms Carroll for the presentation. I have two questions. Ms Carroll said it is her organisation's remit to regulate and support the rental housing market, but how does it cope with the landlords who do not register or get involved? I had experience of that this week involving a single parent in a home where the landlord was trying to increase the rent for the second time in six months. He had already put up the rent when I got involved and pointed out the requirement for 90 days' notice, but he knew he was just outside the timeline. Before somebody with some authority got involved, he was intimidating the tenant and she was finding it very difficult to cope. How does the board get involved in cases like that if the landlord is not registered with it?

I note the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, has stated it has 324,000 tenancies and I am sure student accommodation must make up a large part of its remit, particularly when the colleges start up again. I will recount a personal case involving my son, who was in college in Cork. Four boys in a house were paying €350 per month each to make up a rent of €1,400. When I complained about the condition and cleanliness of the house, I was told to take a hike and to take my son with me as the landlord would have someone else in place within an hour and had a waiting list of 20 to 30 people. What role does the RTB play in such situations?