Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

563. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the dispute mechanisms available to tenants of voluntary housing associations, who have a dispute with the housing association; if there is an independent third party that they can refer a dispute to, for resolution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17737/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

A number of Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) provide internal dispute resolution facilities, including mediation, for their tenants; however, where it is not possible to resolve a dispute between an AHB and their tenant, the dispute must ultimately be resolved before the Courts.

The current law for AHB tenancies is based on a combination of tenancy agreements, the Landlord and Tenant Acts and the common law. The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 applies only to the tenant-landlord relationship in the private rented residential sector.

However, the Residential Tenancies (Amendment)(No.2) Bill 2012, currently before the Oireachtas, provides for the extension of the provisions of the 2004 Act to the AHB sector. Following enactment, tenants and landlords in the sector will be able to refer disputes to the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) for resolution thus providing them with an accessible and independent means of resolving a dispute.

This Bill represents a significant further evolutionary step in the development of the rented sector and underpins the concept of tenure neutrality that was outlined in the Government’s 2011 Housing Policy Statement. The Bill has passed all stages in the Dáil together with Second Stage in the Seanad. It is intended to return to the Seanad for Committee Stage in the coming weeks.