Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Smith for raising this important issue. In accordance with section 58 of the Housing Act 1966, local authorities are legally responsible for the management and maintenance of their housing stock. They also have a legal obligation to ensure that all of their tenanted properties are compliant with the provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. Minimum standard for rental accommodation are prescribed in the regulations and focus on tenants’ safety. They specify the exact requirements in respect of a range of matters such as ventilation, structural repair and fire safety and ventilation, which has been specifically referred to by the Deputy. They also include sanitary facilities, heating and the safety of gas, oil and electrical installations. These regulations apply to all properties let or available for let, including social housing. All landlords, including local authorities, have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with the standards set down in the regulations.

Local authorities take cases of mould very seriously. Some 81% of Dublin City Council’s social housing units were built before the introduction of the building regulations in 1991. The Deputy referred to the fact that many of these are older buildings. Dwellings constructed prior to 1960 tend to have solid walls which are not very good at retaining heat. Dublin City Council is very keen to work closely with their tenants in helping to combat mould issues. In recent years, the council has carried out various works to help eliminate condensation. Phase 1 of its energy efficiency programme, with funding from my Department, saw 8,057 units upgraded with cavity walls and attics insulated. In phase 2, a further 1,110 units had their facades wrapped and windows upgraded. Some 80% of the council stock has been upgraded by the end of 2022.

The council voids programme, also supported by Department funding, saw 772 voids upgraded in 2022 to the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. A housing condensation group was created by the council in 2017 which has carried out over 20,000 conditional surveys and damp reports on 2,500 units. Of these 2,500 units, mechanical ventilation has been installed in 1,300, which is just over 50% of them.

Responsibility for the enforcement of regulations in the private rental sector, including approved housing bodies' properties, rests with the relevant local authority.

The Deputy referred to Emmet Buildings and Oliver Bond flats. This is a matter which can be taken up with Dublin City Council to ensure that it goes out to visit the places and the residents spoken about by the Deputy. We cannot have children absent from school, as referred to by her.

The Government is committed to ensuring that a high quality stock of rental accommodation is available for households who rent, be it in the private market or in accommodation provided directly by local authorities.

Notwithstanding the legal obligations on local authorities to manage and maintain their housing stock, my Department provides annual funding to local authorities in a focused way to support their work in this area, mainly via the disabled persons grant scheme and the aforementioned energy efficiency retrofitting and voids programmes.

My Department will continue to support local authorities in these focused stock improvement works and work is also ongoing with the local authority sector, through the City and County Management Association, CCMA, to drive a planned maintenance approach to the management and maintenance of all local authority housing stock. Local authorities are entrusted with providing high quality housing stock to social housing tenants.

The Department is funding the development of a national asset management system for the sector that should greatly assist the sector in this task.

There is a rental standing committee up and running in my Department with a number of local authorities. It looks at rental properties, and the Department and councils deal with properties. Dublin City Council is a member of that standing committee. It met in January and is due to meet again in early March. I will take up the matters raised by the Deputy specifically in respect of the tenants in Emmet Buildings and Oliver Bond flats me with my Department and will make direct contact with Dublin City Council.

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