Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to reply to some of the concerns Deputies have raised. I also wish to correct what Deputy Ruth Coppinger said. I did mention tenants as a very important element of the legislation. The reason the Government has introduced the Bill is to provide for a balanced approach and an integrated and appropriate set of changes to the sector designed to give rent certainty to the tenants referred to by the Deputy, to better protect tenants in their homes and to provide clarity for both tenants and landlords, whom the Deputy also mentioned, in terms of their rights and obligations. What is required is a balanced approach that does not negatively impact on the supply side because, as we all know, increasing supply is vitally important to meet existing demand.

Based on current average rents and the average annual rate of increase, extending the period of review to 24 months, as we are doing, will save the average tenant €750 in 2016. For a renter in Dublin, the savings will amount to €1,400 over the course of next year. It is not correct to say the provisions will not have a positive impact on tenants because they will.

Deputy Clare Daly inquired about the accumulation of data on housing needs, demographics and the type of accommodation that will be required. I agree with her. That is why the Housing Agency will be engaged in carrying out a deep housing needs assessment early in 2016 and every year thereafter in order that we can match supply and demand and inform policy properly. It is important that we do this, but until supply increases, we will not be able to meet the need in the way we want. That is the reason the Government has launched the €3.8 billion social housing strategy that we have debated in the House and which we will continue to debate. It is important that we do so.

On rents increasing in advance of the legislation, I wish to make it clear that a landlord can only review the rent payable once every 12 months. Therefore, any landlord who has reviewed the rent on a property in the past 12 months cannot review it again now. That is simply not possible under the current legislation. Following the enactment of these new legislative provisions, landlords will be precluded from reviewing the rent again until 24 months have passed since the previous review. Any landlord who has not increased the rent payable in the past 12 months is still precluded from increasing the rate to more than the market rate. As such, landlords cannot seek to negate these measures by pricing in or doubling up, as Deputies have suggested, a rent increase to a level above the current market rate. If they do and Deputies are aware of it, the Government encourage tenants to bring their disputed cases to the PRTB for attention. The rent will remain at the current level until the PRTB adjudicates on the matter. It is important that the House note this because there are protections under the current law in that regard.

That leads me to Deputy Barry Cowen’s question about cases that might be referred to the PRTB. I consider this to be a fair question. The reduction in staffing in recent years, as the Deputy outlined, was not in the context of cuts but due to a new online tenancy registration system and dispute application services and the outsourcing of certain activities. In 2012 the PRTB awarded a contract outsourcing its call centre activities and the processing of hard copy paper registrations which allowed the board to focus on its core activity, namely, its dispute resolution function. For the information of the Deputy, currently, 30 people are employed on the PRTB account by the outsourced service provider. Given the increase in demand for the PRTB’s services which have been correctly outlined, approval was provided in 2014 for an additional nine permanent staff. The board is in the process of recruitment to fill these posts which will bring the number of personnel up to 42. Most recently and in the context of the Government’s publication, Stabilising Rents, Boosting Supply, sanction for a further five staff to establish the deposit protection scheme and three additional staff to administer the new rent stability arrangements was secured. Additional resources are being provided for the PRTB. That will bring the staff complement back up to 50 and ensure the board will be well resourced to perform its functions. My Department will continue to keep the resources available to the PRTB under close review and engages regularly with the board on this matter because it is a very important component of dispute resolution for both tenants and landlords.

Some Deputies raised the matter of delays in PRTB adjudication hearings. In 2014 some 80% of cases were processed or closed within five to six months. Only 7% of the most difficult cases took longer periods of up to nine months to process. The PRTB continually reviews measures to further reduce processing times and in 2015 the position continued to improve, with half of all cases dealt with in two months or less and 83% completed in four months or less. Only 2% of the most troublesome cases are taking in excess of six months to complete. Substantial progress has been made in reducing the timescales for adjudication hearings, but the Government is committed to keeping in contact with the PRTB to ensure it has adequate resources to deal with the demand it faces.

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