Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

Amendments Nos. 95, 97 and 98 provide, by way of amendment to the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 1992, for the introduction of a new inspection and sanctions regime in regard to private rented accommodation. The new regime is one element of a package of measures recently approved by Government that will radically improve standards in rental accommodation. The other major element of the package is new regulations providing for a phasing out of the traditional bed-sit by insisting that each rental unit shall have its own sanitary facilities; an end to open fireplaces as the sole means of room heating; and modern facilities for cooking, food storage and laundry in all rental accommodation.

For the information of the House, I would like to deal in some detail with these amendments. Amendment No. 95 is a technical provision inserting "signposting" in section 1 of the 1992 Act as to the meaning of the expressions "improvement notice" and "prohibition notice". Amendment No. 97 inserts two additional items in Part 4 of Schedule 2.

Item No. 3 amends section 18 of the 1992 Act and item No. 4 inserts two new consequential sections, 18A and 18B. Under item No. 3, subsections (3) to (6) of section 18 are being deleted, following on from the proposed introduction of improvement and prohibition notices, which oblige the landlord to carry out remedial works to comply with standards. A clearer and stronger definition of "proper state of structural repair" is being introduced into section 18(8), making it easier for housing authorities to prosecute in cases of substandard accommodation. Under the proposed amendment to subsection (7)(b), I will be able to set down specific standards that landlords must meet in regard to the external condition and appearance of rental accommodation. A new subsection (9) in section 18 introduces a definition of "common areas", which clarifies that standards will be prescribed only for common areas that the landlord owns or controls.

Item No. 4 involves adding two new sections, 18A and 18B, to the 1992 Act providing for the issue by housing authorities of improvement notices and prohibition notices on foot of breaches by landlords of regulations made under section 18 of the 1992 Act. Section 18A sets out the detailed procedure in regard to the issue by a housing authority of an improvement notice to a landlord in respect of alleged breaches of the standards regulations. The notice may specify the works that the landlord must carry out to remedy the identified contravention of the regulations and must specify the period following the coming into force of the notice within which the remedial works must be carried out. The section provides that where a landlord carries out necessary works on foot of an improvement notice before the notice comes into force, the housing authority must confirm in writing that the contraventions of the regulations specified in its improvement notice have been remedied.

In addition to giving a landlord the right to appeal against the notice to the District Court, section 18A gives the landlord an initial right to object to the authority about the notice. The submission of such an objection will be an essential prerequisite to appeal proceedings in the District Court.

In the interests of equity and transparency, section 18A provides that the tenant of a rented accommodation must be kept informed of each step of the improvement notice procedure. The section also provides for the notice to come into force on different dates, depending on whether the landlord has availed of his rights initially to object to the notice and ultimately to appeal against the notice in the District Court. Once the notice comes into effect, if the landlord fails to carry out the necessary remedial works within the period specified in the notice, he or she is liable to prosecution for an offence under the Act.

The new section 18B provides for the issue by a housing authority of a prohibition notice in the case of a landlord's failure to comply with an improvement notice. A prohibition notice directs the landlord not to re-let the house until the contravention of the regulations specified in the improvement notice has been remedied. While the section 18B procedure includes a right of appeal to the District Court, it does not repeat the improvement notice right of initial objection to the notice. By the time a prohibition notice issues, a landlord will already have had the opportunity to object to the improvement notice and to appeal to the courts. In other respects, the prohibition notice procedure mirrors the procedure for improvement notices.

Section 18B(10) contains a policy provision that I consider to be very important. A housing authority may, in the interests of public health and safety, make whatever arrangements it considers appropriate or necessary to bring the contents of a prohibition notice to the attention of the public. I envisage this power being exercised in extreme cases where the breach of regulations in a particular rented unit poses a risk to the health and safety of tenants.

Amendment No. 98 relates to section 34 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992, which specifies offences under the Act. The amendment substitutes a new subsection (1), which expands on the offences in the existing provision to specify that failure to comply with an improvement notice or a prohibition notice issued under the new sections 18A and 18B of the 1992 Act shall be an offence. The new subsection (1) also increases the fines payable in respect of offences under the section from €3,000 to €5,000 and from €250 to €400 for each day of a continuing offence, and introduces an alternative or additional penalty of up to six months' imprisonment. Similar fine levels are already contained in other legislation such as the Water Services Act 2007.

The amendment also inserts a new subsection (3) into section 34 of the 1992 Act, which provides that, except where there are special and substantial reasons for not doing so, the court shall order a person guilty of an offence under the section to pay the housing authority's costs and expenses incurred in prosecuting the offence.

Overall, I am satisfied that the legislative amendments that I have brought forward today will strengthen substantially the regulatory and enforcement regime for improving and maintaining the standards of private rented accommodation. I commend them to the House.