Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 538: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the terms of reference of the review which he has initiated on the regulation of the private rented sector; if he has made decisions on the introduction of new obligations on landlords to maintain the external appearance of their properties to a reasonable standard and to ensure reasonable compliance with all other obligations of good neighbourliness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9658/08]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 573: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has undertaken a review of the obligations of landlords to maintain their properties in a good condition in order that it does not detract from the amenity of neighbours; if he will introduce new legal requirements on landlords; if he is satisfied with the existing level of enforcement of obligations of landlords in respect of minimum accommodation standards, issuance of contracts and rent books; and if he will provide the latest information on inspection and enforcement activity. [9229/08]

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 574: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of legal actions initiated by each local authority against the owners of private rented dwellings in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9327/08]

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 575: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he is satisfied that council rented dwellings are inspected by the local authority which owns the property and that the supplier of the service and the enforcer of the standards is one and the same body; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9328/08]

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 576: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he is satisfied that the standards set by the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 1993 are appropriate today; his views on whether greater sanctions should be set for breaches that give rise to immediate health and safety risks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9329/08]

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 577: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on whether the sanctions applied in the event of a breach of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 1993 should act as a deterrent; if penalties are reviewed regularly to maintain the deterrent effect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9330/08]

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 579: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of private rented dwellings inspections initiated by each local authority rather than as a result of a complaint by a tenant in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9332/08]

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 581: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that in 2004 15 county councils and one city council recorded a figure of zero as the number of inspections carried out; the number of councils recording zero in 2005 and 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9334/08]

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 582: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that while the number of inspections of private rented dwellings increased in the period 2004 to 2006 the percentage of private rented dwellings inspected dropped from 32% to 7.4%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9335/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 538, 573 to 577, inclusive, 579, 581 and 582 together.

I refer to the reply to Question No. 16 of 27 February, 2008 in relation to standards for rental accommodation, obligations of landlords in that regard, enforcement of the standards regulations, penalties for offences in relation to the regulations and review of the regulations which is now at an advanced stage.

The review of the regulations is being carried out pursuant to a provision in section 13 of the Towards 2016 agreement that minimum standards regulations for the private rented sector would be updated. This includes consideration of provisions in relation to the outward condition of private rented accommodation. The level of penalties for offences in relation to the standards regulations will be kept under review; changes in that regard would involve amendment of primary legislation.

In September 2006, a comprehensive Action Programme to promote improvement in standards of private rented accommodation was announced, involving a range of measures including improved regulation, enforcement, funding and information. Good progress is being made with this Programme. The number of inspections reported in 2006 was 9,835, which represented an increase of 36% on the 2004 figure of 7,232. The number of dwellings not meeting regulatory requirements fell by 19% over the same period, even though there was a significant increase in the number of inspections. It is not possible to calculate accurately the trend in the rate of inspections relative to the total number of rented units because definitive statistics for the total number of private rented dwellings in 2004 and 2006 are not available. Information is not available as to the number of inspections that may have been undertaken as a result of complaints by tenants, although a report published by the Centre for Housing Research in November 2007 points out that most local authorities receive very few complaints.

Further information in relation to enforcement of the regulations relating to private rented housing, as reported by local authorities, is published in the Annual Housing Statistics Bulletins, which are available in the Oireachtas Library and on my Department's website at www.environ.ie. Returns for 2007 have not yet been received from all local authorities, but those received to date indicate that there is likely to be further improvement in enforcement performance.

The key element in ensuring good standards of local authority housing is the performance of local authorities in relation to maintenance and, where necessary, improvement of their housing stock. These are matters in respect of which local authorities have a significant degree of devolved responsibility and which are subject to oversight by the elected members of each individual authority.