Written answers

Wednesday, 20 January 2010

Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government

Private Rented Accommodation

9:00 pm

Photo of Ulick BurkeUlick Burke (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 277: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of house owners registered with Galway County Council and Galway City Council on the private rental register; the number of inspections on such properties in 2008 and 2009 in each local authority; the consequence of these inspections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2382/10]

Photo of Michael FinneranMichael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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The Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) was established as an independent statutory body in September 2004 and has as one of its principal functions the registration of private rental tenancies.

While I have no function in the operational matters of the PRTB, I understand that at 31 December 2009, the PRTB had 234,582 active tenancies on its register, representing 399,283 tenants and 116,577 landlords. It should be noted, however, that these tenancy data are compiled on a rolling, aggregate basis, according as valid tenancy registration forms are submitted to the PRTB, and more than one tenancy may be registered in respect of a rented accommodation unit in any year. Furthermore the Act provides for a four year tenancy cycle and the re-registration of the tenancy at the end of each cycle. In addition the number of tenancies registered each year cannot be taken as a definitive proxy indicator of annualised lettings as there are certain classes of dwellings that do not fall within the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004.

Further information from the PRTB's published register, including a breakdown by county, is available on the Board's website at www.prtb.ie/pubregister.htm.

My Department provides significant resources, from part of the proceeds of tenancy registration fees collected by the Private Residential Tenancies Board, to assist local authorities in discharging their enforcement functions under the Housing Acts in relation to rented accommodation. Over €4 million was allocated in respect of 2009, linked largely to enforcement performance, bringing total funding allocations since 2004 to €15m. Details of the number of inspections carried out by each local authority in 2008 are published in my Department's 2008 Annual Housing Statistics Bulletin, which is available on my Department's website at www.environ.ie and in the Oireachtas Library. I expect inspection data for 2009 to be available by mid-2010.

In recent years, there have been considerable achievements by almost all housing authorities in increasing the number of inspections of rented accommodation carried out each year and enforcement remains key to the success of the Regulations and to eliminating sub-standard accommodation from the rental sector.

I recently announced the coming into effect on 1 December 2009 of the final elements of the package of measures approved by the Government last year to update and effectively enforce the minimum standards regulations for the private rented sector. The newly-strengthened sanctions regime provides for the issue by housing authorities of Improvement Notices and Prohibition Notices on foot of breaches by landlords of the minimum standards regulations. Housing authorities are aware of all the options available to them when enforcing the regulations and where necessary, they may pursue offenders through the Courts.

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