Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We can supply to the Deputy details of a number of areas in which private residences are supposed to meet standards. They are listed in regulations. As Deputy Boyd Barrett indicated, we must improve enforcement. The pilot scheme is a positive step and has been working well. We are encouraging local authorities to carry out their inspection responsibilities as well.

With regard to the ongoing changes, my Department placed advertisements in national newspapers in October outlining the new requirements of the measures being introduced for 1 February and we will continue to work with key stakeholders, such as Threshold, to spread awareness of and compliance with standards. I am satisfied that significant progress has already been made with regard to standards in the past few years. Standards in rented accommodation have never been higher but we must continue to improve them. The final implementation of the housing (standards for rented houses) regulations 2008 represents a significant step in that direction.

It is important to remember that we have minimum standards for rented accommodation to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Strong standards and robust enforcement, allied to an ever more professional rented sector, will contribute to the creation of sustainable communities and healthy, happy homes. We want to achieve these goals, with many representatives talking about other European countries which are more advanced than us in the regulation and organisation of the sector. I met a German Minister this morning, and Germany is an example of a country with good protection for tenants and stability in the market.

We want to develop the Irish system to ensure it provides protection for the owners of properties and tenants.

The goal of creating sustainable communities leads me to the issue of anti-social behaviour in private rented accommodation, which was raised by a number of Deputies, including the - unfortunately - relatively small number who availed of the invitation of the Private Residential Tenancies Board to visit its offices last week. Perhaps a further visit could be organised if other Deputies are interested in participating. As many Deputies noted, the experience of anti-social behaviour can be terrible for those affected. I am familiar with it in my constituency and it was described by very well by a number of Deputies. While action to deal with anti-social behaviour is primarily a matter for the Garda Síochána, in the case of private rented dwellings landlords are responsible for enforcing the obligations that apply to their tenants under the Residential Tenancies Act. The Act prohibits a tenant in a private residential tenancy from engaging in anti-social behaviour in or in the vicinity of a dwelling to which the Act applies and allows a landlord to terminate any tenancy where the tenant is engaging in or allowing others to engage in such behaviour, subject to a notice period of only seven days in the case of serious anti-social behaviour or 28 days in the case of less serious but persistent behaviour. As Deputy Nolan stated, relatively minor incidents of anti-social behaviour can become a major problem for tenants when they are persistent in nature. He and Deputy Buttimer made a good suggestion that the Department engage with the Department of Justice and Equality on this issue. I am very willing to engage with the Department to improve co-ordination on the issue of anti-social behaviour, a major problem that has been raised with me during this debate and elsewhere.

The Residential Tenancies Act also provides that a third party affected by anti-social behaviour may, subject to certain conditions, take a case to the Private Residential Tenancies Board against a landlord who has failed to enforce tenant obligations. As Deputy Buttimer noted, the effectiveness of these provisions was clearly demonstrated in a recent case taken in Cork against the landlord of two properties, the tenants of which were found to be engaging in anti-social behaviour. A group of 13 residents took a case to the Private Residential Tenancies Board and was awarded combined damages of almost €30,000 against the landlord for his failure to address the behaviour of his tenants. I commend the residents in Bishopscourt in Cork who took this action.

While keeping in mind that the punishment of anti-social behaviour must be a matter for the courts and Garda Síochána and any comprehensive solution to the problem must apply equally across all types of housing tenure, I will examine ways to further strengthen provisions regarding anti-social behaviour prior to Committee Stage. Several Deputies spoke of providing for anonymous or third party referrals of cases involving anti-social behaviour to the Private Residential Tenancies Board. While the attractiveness of this proposal is understandable given concerns about potential intimidation, it is problematic given that the right of persons to know their accuser and challenge his or her evidence is a basic principle of natural justice. However, we are considering the possibility of allowing a residents association to take an action.

Deputies Ellis, Crowe, McLellan and Finian McGrath expressed concerns that section 3 excludes tenants in receipt of care and support services from the application of the Residential Tenancy Act. As I noted, this exclusion arose from concerns in the sector that the delivery of care and support services could be affected by the application of the Act to tenants in receipt of such services. However, the early publication of the Bill has allowed me to further consult the approved housing body sector following publication and I have decided it will be possible to extend the remit of the Act to more of the approved housing body sector than originally envisaged. The document on this issue produced by Focus Ireland and to which Deputy Ellis referred has informed my discussions with the approved housing body sector. I will amend the Bill on Committee Stage to provide that there will be no additional exemptions for approved housing body tenancies other than those already provided for in the 2004 Act. The result of this amendment will be to extend the rights under the Act to an even greater number of approved housing body tenancies.

A number of negative remarks were made about approved housing bodies. In my experience, these bodies have done very positive work. Many are entirely voluntary and are staffed by people who give freely of their time and effort without any financial reward. These organisations have a voluntary ethos at their heart. Deputy Daly noted the large number of these bodies. The Department has commenced a process of delisting inactive approved housing bodies. It has contacted the relevant bodies and is working on producing a more accurate register of active housing organisations. We are also encouraging some clustering of activities, for example, the sharing of management functions among smaller housing associations. In County Limerick, for example, a number of small housing associations based in villages are working together to utilise their combined strength. While regulation of the sector is important to provide reassurance to key stakeholders such as tenants, potential investors and the governing boards of voluntary housing associations, it is equally important that we recognise the work these organisations are doing on behalf of some of our most vulnerable citizens.

Deputies Ellis and Crowe raised the issue the application of the Residential Tenancies Act to the social housing sector. While the Bill does not address this issue, the application of the Act to the approved housing body sector inevitably raises a question as to how we will deal with long-term local authority tenants. I concur with Deputy Ellis that a strong, logical case has been made for the application of a consistent set of rules and obligations to landlords and tenants in all forms of rented tenure. As such, I understand the Deputy's call to extend the provisions of the Act to the local authority sector. However, this sector encompasses almost 100,000 tenancies and the extensive body of housing legislation covering it means extending the Act to local authority housing would be a highly complex task and one which we are not currently in a position to perform. Our focus is on the incremental extension of the Act to the approved housing body sector, while in parallel engaging in discussions as to how best to extend a shared set of principles to local authority tenancies.

Many Deputies raised the issue of rent arrears and the difficulties experienced by landlords in cases where tenants do not pay their rent. I am very aware of the concerns of landlords about unpaid rent and the difficulty they experience in repossessing a rental property where the rent remains unpaid. In these difficult times, where many people are struggling to pay mortgages on buy-to-let properties, it is essential that we take action on this issue. We have made significant progress in dealing with the complex legal and policy issues arising on this topic. While I was not able to finalise this matter in time for the publication of the Bill, I look forward to introducing detailed amendments on the issue on Committee Stage. Again, it is important to strike a balance between the rights of landlords and tenants.

Many Deputies also raised the issue of enforcement. The Private Residential Tenancies Board enforces tenancies registration requirements in accordance with the provisions of the Act, specifically sections 144 and 145, which provide for the issuing of notices to landlords and-or occupiers of the dwellings in question and prosecution of offenders for non-compliance with the registration requirement. Under section 9 of the Act, a person guilty of an offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both.

To respond to an issue raised by Deputy Michael McNamara, the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 makes provision for the exchange of information between the Private Residential Tenancies Board, Department of Social Protection, Revenue Commissioners and local authorities. Ongoing investment by the board in its information and communications technology systems has recently allowed for systematic comparisons to be made between the rent supplement database held by the Department of Social Protection and the tenancies register held by the PRTB. Arising from the comparison of this data, the Private Residential Tenancies Board recently secured criminal convictions against two landlords for failure to register their tenancies, resulting in fines totalling €24,000 and costs being awarded against the landlords in question. A further 22 prosecutions are pending and more than 43,000 landlords were contacted by the board last year regarding non-registration. The information technology link among various Departments and agencies is clearly bearing fruit. This extensive registration enforcement drive illustrates the commitment of the PRTB to addressing this issue. Nevertheless, Deputies are correct to highlight this matter and I expect the board to maintain a focus on registration compliance.

I wish to touch on the issue of homelessness, which was raised by Deputy Finian McGrath. I stress the Government's commitment to working on this matter. I identified the issue as a priority when I took on my role. We are reviewing the homeless strategy and implementing a housing-led approach. The work on the review is almost complete and I will issue a policy statement shortly. In 2012, investment of approximately €50 million was made by central and local government in the provision of homeless services.

A number of the other issues that were raised were not central to this Bill. For example, we are accelerating progress in regard to NAMA units. We are open to suggestions on other innovative solutions to the provision of housing. Despite Deputy Boyd Barrett's belief, we cannot spend large amounts of capital as we would like. While we want local authorities to provide more housing, we must use the methods that are currently at our disposal.

Some of the issues that have been raised, including that of rent supplement, are outside my remit. However, this has been an informative debate and the later Stages will present us with an opportunity to address them in more detail. Overall, we are trying to improve the regulatory system and make the situation better for the tenants and owners of private rental properties. I look forward to further engagement with Deputies on Committee Stage.

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