Written answers

Thursday, 28 February 2013

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Local Authority Housing Provision

Photo of Dessie EllisDessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown of the number of local authority bedsits that there are in the State listing them by local authority area. [10816/13]

Photo of Jan O'SullivanJan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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My Department collates and publishes a wide range of housing and planning statistics that inform the preparation and evaluation of policy and those data are available on my Department’s website. Data on local authority housing stock broken down by dwelling type are included in this range. However, the dwelling type variables are house or flat/apartment. Data are not compiled on local authority bedsits specifically.

The Central Statistics Office collects detailed data at an aggregated national level on accommodation types and household characteristics and these data are available on . The data show that in the 2006 – 2011 intercensal period there was a significant decline in the number of local authority bedsits.

The Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008, which set down minimum accommodation standards for rented properties, came into effect on 1 February 2009, with certain provisions being phased in for existing rental properties over a four year period to allow time for the carrying out of the significant remedial work that may be involved in achieving compliance. Since 1 February 2013 the regulations are fully in force.Article 6 of the Regulations sets out that each rental property must have exclusive access to its own sanitary facilities, and that those facilities are contained within the habitable area of the house. This provision will have the effect of removing traditional bed-sit-type accommodation from the rental market.

All landlords, including local authorities, have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations. As responsibility for enforcing the regulations rests with the relevant local authority, supported by a dedicated stream of funding allocated by my Department, I expect that authorities will be to the fore in terms of compliance with the regulations.

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