Ms Rosalind Carroll:

To return to the NCT-type certificate, the RTB is very concerned about standards and is supportive of change around them. It is probably supportive of the idea of certification. We must look holistically across what we are doing in the rental sector. We are in the middle of looking at legislative change in rent pressure zones, sanctions and registrations, and we need to factor in everything in the sector. One cannot deal with one aspect alone at any time. We have 340,000 tenancies and 174,000 landlords. Dr. Hayden spoke about bringing it in over several years. For certainty in the market, there should be a clear idea of where we are going, what we are doing and when things will be brought in. Speaking to the stakeholders with whom I work, they feel that considerable surprise is brought upon them, along with the number of properties contracted last year for the first time in several years, which worries me. It might seem like a cost but sometimes it is what can come across as very anti-landlord rhetoric. We have all said here that we are discussing a small minority. We need to ensure that we are doing this in way that is supportive to the sector and in such a way that landlords can deliver and comply.

We must also acknowledge that there is a huge lack of knowledge. Both I and Ms Fogarty spend a lot of time with stakeholders trying to give them information and education. Most landlords do not know the standards. They do not know that they had to bring in window restrictors or that they need to install carbon monoxide detectors. We have to start with basics.

There is much focus on the property but behind every property is a landlord and a tenant which is why we are focusing on a landlord accreditation scheme. The NCT-type scheme needs to come in under that. We have looked at models in Wales, for instance, where there is an accreditation scheme which is all about the landlord. If the landlord does not comply with the standards, he or she does not get a licence. It is not about the property, but about the landlord. Without that licence they cannot act as a landlord to the property. They must give it to an agent or someone else who must be accredited.

To answer the Senator's question, we must go away and map out how this will work along with the other things we are introducing. We need to look at legislative change. Dr. Hayden says that it would come in and the RTB could do something but we could not do anything without legislative change. If an NCT-type scheme were introduced, we would also have to go back and consider the Act which regulates the RTB. It is a complicated framework but we are very supportive of getting to the right place.