Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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42. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to reform the rental housing market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8875/15]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The private rented sector is an important element of the housing market, with the proportion of households in the sector almost doubling in the period 2006-2011. The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the landlord-tenant relationship in the sector and sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants including in relation to rent, security of tenure and the termination of tenancies. The Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Act to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants.

The Residential Tenancies (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 2012 is currently before the Oireachtas and will amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 to provide, inter alia, for:

- the inclusion of the Approved Housing Body (AHB) sector within the remit of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004;

- the introduction of a new procedure to deal with non-payment of rent;

- the introduction of a tenancy deposit protection scheme.

The Bill has passed all stages in the Dáil, together with Second Stage in the Seanad. Legislative provisions for the deposit protection scheme, together with other amendments, are currently being drafted and it is my intention to introduce these amendments at Committee Stage of the Bill in the Seanad shortly.

The Government published the Social Housing Strategy 2020in November 2014. The strategy provides the basis for a concerted and coordinated approach to social housing provision and contains an action plan with detailed objectives and timelines. It includes a commitment to developing a national policy on the private rented sector aimed at increasing investment in and supporting the supply of, good quality, secure and affordable accommodation in the sector.

The PRTB published two major reports on the sector in 2014 and these reports, together with a forthcoming National Economic and Social Council (NESC) report on the development of the private rented sector, will be important inputs to the process of considering possible further policy and legislative initiatives.