Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if the rental accommodation scheme involves long term leases and whether a landlord is entitled to terminate the agreement; the notices a landlord is required to give to a tenant; and under the RAS scheme is the local authority or the owner of the property the tenant's landlord. [6150/13]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Under the Rental Accommodation Scheme local authorities enter into contractual arrangements on behalf of tenants with accommodation providers, primarily in the private rented sector, to secure medium to long-term availability of rented accommodation. The lease on these units can vary from 1 year to over 10 years.

The RAS involves a three way contractual relationship between landlord, tenant and the housing authority. The housing authority is responsible for payment of the rent to the landlord and the landlord is contractually obliged to maintain the property in good condition and deal with any repair issues in a timely manner. For both the State and the tenant this ensures that there is better enforcement of standards in that all tenancies are registered with the Private Rental Tenancies Board (PRTB) and that landlords are tax compliant.

The tenant also has a contract with the housing authority, whereby they agree to pay a rental contribution to the authority based on the differential rent scheme and also agree not to engage in anti-social behaviour.

Accommodation provided under the Rental Accommodation Scheme is governed by the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, as amended. A l andlord can terminate the agreement entered into where particular circumstances prevail , if for example they wish to sell their rented property or where anti-social behaviour is an issue , subject to compliance with the provisions of the Act and the terms of the RAS agreement.