Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Sinn Féin Deputies, particularly Deputy Ó Broin, for tabling this motion tonight as it enables us to discuss what worries the Government in this area and also what we witnessed in last week's programme. In this House, we are not easily shocked, as people have said, and we have seen many things over recent years. What was shown in the programme was a blatant disregard for people's lives and action that puts tenants at risk. That is what would worry most of us. We should be clear that no legislation permits that and these conditions are unacceptable under any standards. We do not need legislation to tell us that. All the inspection regimes in the world will only catch so much - we can always inspect properties - but we need to rely on the public, tenants and others to tackle the wider problem. I am concerned about what Deputy Joan Collins saw from her office over the past year and we will have to chase that up as well. It is not acceptable. We are very clear that it is not just the tenants of a house, hostel or makeshift hostel who can make a report. Others can make a report and that should be acted on. It is not acceptable that what the Deputy describes went on for over a year in the city. We will check it out because she raised it, and I have heard her refer to it before.

Tonight's motion gives us the chance to consider what we can do and want to do. I know Deputy Ó Broin wants agreement and that is why the Government is certainly not opposing the motion. We might differ on how to go about it but that does not mean we are ruling out the NCT-type approach in the long run. We also want to have direct action that can have a quick impact. We all agree this is an area in which we should act. This has not gone unnoticed and in December last year we stated that we wanted increased inspections and more funding for this as we want a rental sector of which we can be proud. We want to encourage more investment from providers of accommodation for those who need it, as not everyone wants to or can own a house. We want the option of a properly functioning rental market. We have been focusing on the area. Last week's programme brought great attention to the extreme parts of the sector and tonight's motion deals with the broader issue.

The rental sector needs to be an attractive option for tenants as a long-term tenure of choice. A strong and viable private rental sector should be a key component in any healthy housing market, providing a housing option to those who either cannot or choose not to enter the owner-occupied market. We accept the housing market is not totally healthy, and that is why it has been the focus week after week in discussions in this House. We all agree that housing is a number one priority, and last week's programme will encourage us to work on that area even more. In general, we know housing is taking up much of our time, which is only right. It is why we are putting in the guts of €6 billion of taxpayers' money into the housing sector to fix the problem. We cannot address it in one night, one month or even a couple of years, but we are certainly making inroads and we will continue to do so by investing money.

Tenants who are renting need to have the certainty that as long as they pay their rent and meet their obligations, their rental property will be a safe, efficient, durable, comfortable and sustainable home for them to live in for either the short or long term. The quality of rental accommodation is critical to the success and sustainability of the residential rental sector and to its attractiveness as a long-term accommodation option for households. We are acutely aware of the impact of substandard accommodation in the rental sector and we are taking urgent action to tackle it.

The strategy for the rental sector acknowledges the fact that there are low rates of inspection of the private rental stock, low rates of compliance and little consistency in approach to implementation of the regulations across local authorities. This must be addressed. It also sets out a clear roadmap to address these weaknesses and improve the quality of rental accommodation. The Department is working closely with the Residential Tenancies Board and the local authority sector to develop a national system of shared support services. This will mean that best practice approaches that work well in some local authorities will be developed and replicated across the system, taking advantage of economies of scale and ensuring that all local authorities have the appropriate personnel and systems in place not only for inspection but also to act promptly and effectively when non-compliance is found. We are very clear about this as in many areas, different local authorities excel in certain parts of service. We want to be able to copy such cases and we discussed this at the recent housing summit. We want to copy best practice and there is no point in reinventing the wheel going from one local authority to another.

There has been an allocation of €2.5 million in 2018 to assist local authorities with enforcement activities, with further funding increases envisaged. The plan is to get this to €10 million per year, leading to 25% of properties being inspected. We are a long way off as 4% are currently being inspected. We hold up our hands in that respect and there is no denying it. The new requirements for landlords to certify annually the quality and safety of the property would end the apparent impunity some have felt in obliging their tenants to live in squalid, demeaning and downright dangerous conditions. They must know it is wrong.

I have been very clear on that, and if we have to clarify that again in legislation we will do that, to ensure that there is no grey area.

In addition to the actions specific to the issue under discussion tonight, there are also a number of other significant actions underway to improve the conditions in the residential rental sector. High and rapidly rising rents are drivers of substandard and unsafe accommodation. The changes we are making to the rent pressure zone system following the review we carried out over the summer will further slow the growth in rents. Charging rents above those permitted by the legislation will become an offence and the RTB will be provided with the powers to investigate and prosecute transgressors. It will no longer be solely up to the tenant to initiate a dispute.

The conditions under which properties can be exempted from the rent increase limits will be more closely specified and landlords will have to notify the RTB when claiming an exemption. Landlords will also be required to notify the RTB when terminating a tenancy, irrespective of the ground for termination. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Murphy, decided earlier in the year that the RTB will play a more central and proactive role in the residential rental sector. It will be given the powers and the resources required to take on its enhanced responsibilities in the sector. This is a substantial programme of work that will be undertaken over the coming two year period, which will involve exploring, as a matter of urgency, the changes needed in legislation and in the board’s financing arrangements in order to make early progress in the process that will progressively see the RTB become the sector’s regulator.

I want to be very clear on this, because Deputy Cowen, among others, raised the question. We are not taking local authorities out of the inspection process. We are giving increased powers to the RTB, which will become the regulator, but the local authorities will have increased resources and will still have the job of inspecting properties. They are still in charge of that. There is no issue of the local authorities being removed from that sector. There will be clear, ring-fenced money for this job, and work will be carried out with limits set over the years.

The strategy for the rental sector is driving changes to improve standards, and to increase the coverage and efficiency of the inspections system to underpin improved compliance. It is intolerable that unscrupulous landlords have the impunity to take advantage of our most vulnerable citizens and we are taking steps to address this problem. This is practically criminal activity. These people are not landlords, and we should not call them landlords. What they are doing is not permitted under any legislation. They are not registered landlords. An inspection regime that was inspecting 20% of properties probably would not have caught them either. However, if they were reported by Deputies or councillors or anybody else it should have been followed up on. Any criminal activity requires the participation of everybody to stop it.

Substantial progress is being made in this area and there is an ambitious programme of work in place. People speak about inspection rates and full non-compliance in some cases. This is because the inspections, even though they are at a low percentage, are generally targeted and take place on receipt of information, which explains why they show a very high non-compliance rate. They are targeting properties that have been reported. It is useful, but I am aware that it does not inspire confidence in the overall rental sector. We want that confidence in the sector, and that is why we are prepared to put more money into this, both to prevent what we saw last week, but also to improve the rental sector and make it a genuine choice for people who want to rent and who do not want to commit to a property long-term, or who would rather rent in order to follow a job or their families in different circumstances. It is part of Rebuilding Ireland, so we will invest in that for all the different reasons that were put forward here tonight as well.

I know that Deputy Ó Broin is genuine when he says that he wants to have full agreement on this, and that is why we are not opposing it. I understand the sentiment behind the idea of introducing an NCT-type certification system for private houses. Most people want that. It is a reaction to last week's programme for some. Others have spoken about this in the past. However, we do not believe that such a system will give us results as quickly as we want them. The NCT system works very well for cars, but it was implemented over a long number of years. It did not achieve magic results at the start but as it became fully operational it did. We are all used to that system. It works very well and has greatly improved the quality of cars on our roads. However, the same system might not provide the same result and make the desired impact on rental properties. We are not ruling out the NCT-type system. I said last Friday that we would not rule it out, that any idea is worth looking at and that we are prepared to look at it. The working group preparing proposals for the standardised national inspection will consider this.

We need to act quickly, and to have an impact in the short term. The self-certification process that we are going to introduce will do this, and it will result in prosecutions and end the impunity that some landlords feel. Again, however, some of these people would never register, no matter what system is in place, because they are not landlords. They are involved in other activity, and we want to deal with that as well. I believe that the certification process is the quickest way to make an impact. It has made an impact in the planning process because it makes people responsible. Hopefully Members understand that it is a step in the right direction. It might not be everything that some Members want in the Motion, but it is certainly something that we will agree with.

With the changes that were announced over the summer and which the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Murphy, referred to earlier, we recognise that the RTB will need more resources. It is already reviewing its workforce and is planning for the new proposals and new responsibilities it has. This year already the RTB has requested an additional ten staff in full time posts, and these positions were sanctioned and are in place already. That is something that we are willing to do.

The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Murphy, announced in September that the financing arrangements of the RTB are also being reviewed to ensure that it has the resources for its expanded role. We have also decided to move to annual registration of tenancies, and it is intended that the RTB will be run on a self-financing model in the very near future. By 2019 this should provide increased money for the local authorities. We have ring-fenced €2.5 million for 2018 to cover inspections by the local authorities, but that will increase to €10 million a few years later. We are committed to this area, and if we need to strengthen legislation that is something that we are prepared to do as well.

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