Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Separate from that, for lesser offences where a landlord has acted offside, we have a new administrative sanctioning process in this Bill and new offences concerning improper conduct. For example, we talked about section 34 notices to quit being served. Where a landlord serves such a notice, asks the tenant to vacate the premises because it is going to be done up to such an extent that the tenant cannot live there, the tenant leaves and later observes, as he or she walks by the property, that the landlord has only given the property a lick of paint and has tried to relet it, the tenant can then make a complaint to the RTB and the board can go straight to the landlord, saying it has received a complaint. The RTB can appoint an officer to investigate and, through the new sanctioning regime, engage with the landlord and compile a report listing the breaches he or she has committed under the law. The landlord can then comply and admit that he or she has made a mistake. He or she will have to relet the property to the tenant who was evicted and, potentially, pay compensation that can be agreed between the landlord and the RTB, or the landlord can go through other processes to make good on the offences he or she has committed. If the landlord does not accede, we need to be able to proceed with the proper sanctioning of him or her which could, in certain cases because of the changes we are making, result in fines of up to €30,000, time in prison, and the publication of the landlord's name as an offender, all of which we are doing in different parts of the Bill. We must allow due process to take its course as well. We cannot move to that point without having a court in land actually confirm that this happened and this is what the result will be.

In the vast majority of cases, having the power alone is enough because we are a law-abiding nation. We do not need the laws to be enforced to a degree to stop us from breaking them. For most of us in most instances, we do not breach them. Where they are broken, we need to know that action can be taken, and taken strongly. That is why Circuit Court confirmation is necessary at the end of that period. I have a diagram that we provided on Committee Stage that shows all of the different areas where mediation can step in, where another part can happen in terms of the process, and where agreement can be reached without having to go to the Circuit Court. Ultimately, the Circuit Court has to be there as the ultimate decider in terms of the rights of both people in a case if it is a tenant and a landlord or if it is the RTB and a landlord. However, we have provided a number of opportunities for the landlord to make good in instances where he or she is caught and will happen in a much shorter period than the one outlined in the Senator's contribution. We believe this is a new robust sanction regime and powers for the RTB, and we have to provide the Circuit Court confirmation at the end of that process.