Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

Yes, and there are many new landlords, of whom Senator Brian Hayes spoke. The Senator said there has been a shrinkage in supply and inflation of rents. However, figures from the Central Statistics Office and the auctioneering profession indicate that the opposite is the case. Senator Dardis asked where do we get our information. Much of our information has been received voluntarily from different groups in the sector. The board will have a responsibility to monitor, control and report on the issue in a more formal way. We receive much good information, but it is given voluntarily rather than because of legal necessity.

Senator Bannon said that four out of five landlords are not registered for tax. This relates to registration with local authorities and not to tax. I accept that the registration system with local authorities, which was introduced in the mid-1990s, has not been satisfactory. Under this legislation, the board will deal with the issue. I was a member of a local authority when the measure was introduced. I thought it was good legislation at the time, even though it was introduced by the Opposition which was in Government at the time. I thought local authorities would have actively followed through on the measure because it would have raised money. However, they have been very tardy and did not allocate sufficient staff to deal with the matter. They followed up on complaints.

Senator Cummins said that much of the management, control and enforcement is done at local level, which will continue. Up to now, and in the future, if houses in Waterford or anywhere else are registered but are not conforming to the standards or regulations, local authorities will be responsible for enforcement of them. However, they will not be responsible for registration. Much of this enforcement can only take place at local level. It is up to people to make complaints. In future, the board may be able to deal with many complaints and work with local authorities, who will be driven by the board rather than being left to their own devices.

There is no question of the board hiding data from the Revenue Commissioners. I am aware there is a perception that landlords do not pay tax. In recent years, tenants could claim tax credits. Co-operation between the different agencies has improved greatly. One hears the same stories about people receiving rent allowances and so on. It is not our job to chase landlords for tax. That is the job of the Revenue Commissioners, who have done marvellous work in recent years on several other fronts. We will co-operate fully with Revenue if they seek information in this regard.

Senator Bannon referred to clauses allowing landlords to take possession of houses. We have tightened the possibilities in this regard. All landlords do not have 50 houses. Many of them have just one house which they may need to get back for personal or family use. There must be a clause in place to allow them to do so. However, we have tightened the regulations in case landlords might use the excuse that they need the house for their daughter, which was not the case. We have tried to tighten the regulation whereby if the landlord does not house his daughter or son, the original tenant would have first refusal if the house goes back on the market.

Senators referred to anti-social behaviour. A standard regulation in the private rented sector is that tenants must conform to proper behaviour. If one does not do so, he or she can be evicted. The landlord can make a complaint to the board. The board will then issue a determination order and, if found guilty, the tenant will have to go. This was always possible but one had to go through the courts. It was an expensive, slow and cumbersome process which was not satisfactory, particularly for elderly landlords.