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

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, was established on 1 September 2004 as an independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. The principal activities of the PRTB include the registration of private residential tenancies and the resolution of disputes between tenants and landlords, as well as the provision of information, assistance and advice to the Minister on the private residential rented sector.

The mandate of the Private Residential Tenancies Board is defined in section 151 of the Act and can be summarised as follows: the resolution of disputes between tenants and landlords; the registration of particulars in respect of tenancies in the private residential rented sector; the provision to the Minister of advice concerning policy in relation to the private rented sector; the development and publication of guidelines for good practice by those involved in the private rented sector; the collection and provision of information relating to the private rented sector, including information concerning prevailing rent levels; the conduct of research into the private rented sector and monitoring the operation of various aspects of the sector where the board considers it appropriate; the review of the operation of the Act and any related enactments, and the making of recommendations to the Minister for amendments to same and the performance of any additional functions conferred on the board.

The PRTB received 2,272 adjudication-mediation applications in 2012 and 268 appeals to tribunal. Deposit retention continued to be the single biggest category of dispute and accounted for 37% of all applications in 2012. The case referred to by the Deputy is one of those cases. A tenancy deposit is the property of the tenant. A landlord is only entitled to retain a deposit where there is damage in excess of normal wear and tear or where there are rent arrears or utility bills outstanding. In determinations by the PRTB on deposit retention disputes in 2012, 43% of deposits were partially returned to the tenant, 33% were refunded in full and 24% were retained in full by the landlord. As such, in 76% of cases some or all of the deposit was wrongfully retained by the landlord.

The commitment in the programme for Government 2011 to establish a tenancy deposit protection scheme is to address the problem raised by the Deputy. On foot of this commitment, I asked the PRTB to commission research on such a scheme. The research contract was awarded to Indecon economic consultants. I received the final report on the topic from Indecon in November last year. The report presents a comprehensive analysis of the range of options for delivery of the programme for Government commitment. I am engaging with the Office of the Attorney General with regard to the drafting of proposals to establish a deposit protection scheme with a view to bringing proposals to Government and introducing these provisions on Committee Stage of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012 in the Seanad, which Bill the Deputy will be aware was debated in this House earlier on this term.

The unjustified retention of deposits by landlords is an issue that concerns me greatly and I am very much committed to the establishment of a deposit protection scheme in this jurisdiction. The establishment of such a scheme was a priority I identified when I was appointed as Minister of State. I am fully committed to delivering on deposit protection in the context of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012. As I said earlier, it is proposed to introduce the amendment in the Seanad. Following, enactment of that Bill there will be a deposit protection scheme in place, which means large numbers of cases, including that referred to by the Deputy, will no longer be required to go directly for arbitration. The deposit will be held by the scheme, which means a much more simplified system of ensuring deposits are returned unless there is a justified reason for a landlord retaining it.

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