Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 174: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the way a tenant ensures the enforcement of the requirements of the building regulations under the Building Control Act 1990, in particular in relation to the transfer of noise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10341/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Part E (Sound) of the Building Regulations sets out the requirements in relation to sound insulation in buildings, including dwellings. Technical Guidance Document E (TGD-E) provides guidance on how to comply with Part E.

Responsibility for compliance with the Regulations is a matter for the owner or builder of a building. Responsibility for enforcement of the Regulations rests with the 37 local Building Control Authorities.

A tenant in private rented residential accommodation is entitled to refer a dispute to the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB), provided that the matter is within the obligations of the landlord in the first place. In this regard, Section 16(h) of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 provides that a tenant shall not behave in an anti-social way which, under Section 17(1) (c) can mean "persistent behaviour that prevents or interferes with the peaceful occupation of a dwelling". A complaint can, therefore, be brought to the PRTB on noise grounds.

In relation to local authority tenants, the management and maintenance of Local Authority housing stock is a matter for each individual Authority under Section 58 (1) of the Housing Act, 1966. If a Local Authority tenant is a cause of noise, this should be covered by the tenancy agreement. Under Article 83 (1) (i) of the Housing Regulations 1980, amongst the conditions of tenancy are that the tenant shall not cause any nuisance or be guilty of or permit any conduct likely to cause annoyance or disturbance to neighbours.

While there is already a wide range of measures in place to deal with noise from a variety of sources, I am currently preparing proposals to strengthen the existing legislation on noise pollution in accordance with the commitment in the Programme for Government. I intend that the new legislation will take a more integrated approach to the subject. There will be a greater emphasis on Codes of Practice for construction, commercial and domestic situations. Local Authorities will have stronger enforcement powers to deal with nuisances from particular noise sources, such as continuously sounding alarms, and I also see the need to extend the powers of An Garda Síochána in certain circumstances. There will, in addition, be measures to increase awareness of noise nuisance and of how it can be remedied.

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 175: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of landlords who are registered with the Private Rented Tenancies Board nationwide and in Dublin; the number of units of accommodation involved in each sector; the steps the board takes to have non-compliant landlords registered; the estimated number of landlords nationwide and in Dublin who have yet to register; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10380/09]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I have no function in these matters as the operation of tenancy registration is the responsibility of the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB), an independent statutory body established under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004.

Nevertheless, it should be noted that since its establishment, the Board has achieved considerable success in the registration of tenancies and I understand that in excess of 210,000 active tenancies are currently registered. This represents 103,000 active landlords and some 362,000 active tenants. It is not possible to estimate the number of landlords who have yet to comply with the registration requirements of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. It is nonetheless noteworthy to compare the number of tenancies now registered with the previous system of registration with local authorities when registrations did not exceed 30,000.

The PRTB enforces registration requirements in accordance with the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, specifically sections 144 and 145 which provide for the issuing of notices to landlords and/or occupiers of the dwellings in question, and the prosecution of offenders for non-compliance with the registration requirement. Since 2004, the Board has examined almost 8,000 cases of non-registration and has subsequently issued over 11,000 enforcement notices to landlords and/or occupiers of dwellings.