Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Bill provides for the registration fees that approved housing bodies will pay to register their tenancies with the PRTB and the timeframe within which tenancies must be registered. Where the tenancy is registered within the first year after the commencement of these provisions, the fee to be paid by approved housing bodies will be €45 for a single tenancy and €187.50 for multiple registrations. This is equal to half the registration fee currently paid by landlords in the private sector. The Bill further provides that the fee, after the first 12 months, is to be prescribed by the Minister. My predecessor, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, indicated on Committee Stage in the Dáil that approved housing bodies will pay the same fee as private landlords after the initial discount period. That fee is currently €90 per tenancy. A similar power is given in the Bill to prescribe fees for late registration. Again, my predecessor indicated they would be the same as the fees charged to the private sector.

For the purpose of providing clarity and certainty to the approved housing bodies, I have decided it is appropriate to set these fees out in the primary legislation as they are set out for the private rental sector. As such, amendment No. 42 provides that the fee after the first 12 months will be €90. Amendment No. 44 provides the composite fee after the first 12 months will be €375. These are the same fees that are paid by the private sector.

The published Bill makes provision for a graduated a late fee. Under the 2004 Act, if a landlord is late in registering a tenancy, he must pay double the registration fee. However, the Bill provides for penalties for late registration on an ascending scale. There is a penalty of €20 for each month the landlord is late registering the tenancy.

Amendments Nos. 41 and 46 place a cap on the late fees that can be charged to a landlord in either the private or approved housing bodies sector of €240. Amendment No. 47 provides that the PRTB may increase or decrease approved housing body registration fees only in line with changes in the value of money. A similar provision applies to fees for the private sector. Amendment No. 49 provides that the PRTB may charge an administration fee for an application that is not made online. The published Bill provided that this fee was to be prescribed. Therefore, amendments Nos. 32 and 40 are consequential. Amendments Nos. 30, 35, 37, 38, 45 and 48 are consequential. Amendments Nos. 34, 36 and 39 are technical drafting amendments to correct an omission in the published Bill.