Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 173: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he is satisfied that the legal provisions in relation to private rental accommodation are adequate to ensure properties are well maintained and do not present an appearance of neglect; if he is further satisfied that the Private Residential Tenancies Board is an adequate vehicle to allow proper standards of maintenance and conduct to be upheld and a speedy system of redress when complaints arise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2958/11]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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Minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008, made under section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992. These Regulations were further amended by the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses)(Amendment) Regulations 2009 which expanded the definition of "a proper state of structural repair" to allow for all aspects of the internal and external appearance of a dwelling to be taken into account for the purposes of the Regulations.

All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations. Responsibility for enforcing the regulations rests with the relevant local authority, supported by a dedicated stream of funding allocated by my Department. This funding increased significantly between 2005 and 2009, rising from €1.5m to €4m. In 2010, I increased by €1.6m the amount allocated to housing authorities for the purpose of carrying out their functions under the Housing Acts in relation to rented accommodation. This total allocation of €5.6m for 2010, which brings the total funding for this purpose since 2004 to over €20m, was paid using a combined methodology based on the number of inspections carried out by each housing authority and on once-off strategically-planned programmes of inspection which may be carried out by housing authorities in addition to their usual inspection activity.

In general, local authorities have significantly expanded their inspection activity in recent years with the number of inspections increasing by almost 300% – from 6,815 to 19,801 - in the period 2005 to 2009. Details of the inspections of private rented accommodation carried out, the dwellings inspected which did not meet the statutory standards and prosecutions initiated up to 2009 on a county/city basis are included in my Department's Annual Housing Statistics Bulletins, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library and on my Department's website at www.environ.ie. The 2009 data show a year on year increase in the number of inspections carried out of approximately 15%, to 19,801 inspections, and this reflects the positive impact of the overall Action Programme on Standards, including increased funding, introduced on foot of a commitment in the Towards 2016 social partnership agreement, and progress with the implementation of the Rental Accommodation Scheme.

It is a matter for each individual local authority to decide the specific details of its enforcement strategy and inspection arrangements. However, in discharging their responsibilities in relation to the rental sector, authorities have been asked to have regard to the Good Practice Guidelines for Local Authorities on Standards in the Private Rented Sector: Strategic Planning, Effective Enforcement published by the Centre for Housing Research in November 2007, which make a range of recommendations on relevant issues, including targeting inspection activities.

Following the enactment of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, a comprehensive new sanctions regime is available to local authorities and fines for non-compliance with the Regulations have been significantly increased; the maximum fine has increased from €3,000 to €5,000 and the fine for each day of a continuing offence has increased from €250 to €400. In addition to the increased sanctions, there is a significant amendment to the current definition of "a proper state of structural repair" as set out in the 1992 Act and Article 5 of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008. The new definition provides a comprehensive list of components against which a dwelling can be assessed to verify that it is structurally sound. The inclusion in this definition of a requirement to maintain gardens and common areas in good condition means that there is now an obligation on landlords to maintain the external appearance of rented accommodation.

As the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) is an independent statutory body I have no function in its operational matters. However, dispute resolution statistics are published as part of the annual report of the PRTB and are available on their website at www.prtb.ie. The 2009 statistics reveal that only 4% of all disputes (75 cases in number) related to standard and maintenance of dwellings. While those statistics also indicate an ongoing improvement in case processing times it is acknowledged that, partly as a consequence of the Board's success in ensuring registration compliance, and the resulting large workloads arising, processing times for dispute resolution are not yet optimal.

In November 2009, I announced the key outcomes of a review of the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 which I had initiated in order to consider whether the Act best supported the PRTB's key functions and whether legislative amendments would support either the achievement of additional operational efficiencies by the PRTB in the delivery of those functions or the broader good working of the private rented sector. These outcomes have an overall emphasis on streamlining and simplifying the Act, reducing delays and achieving additional operational efficiencies by the PRTB in the delivery of its functions. Full details in relation to the background to the review, the associated terms of reference and the outcomes of the review are available on my Department's website at www.environ.ie.