Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

576. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the status of tenants with landlords who are not registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43960/15]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Residential Tenancies Act 2004, as amended, regulates the tenant-landlord relationship in the private rented residential sector. 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 facilitate the resolution of disputes between landlords and tenants. The Act applies to every dwelling that is the subject of a tenancy, subject to a limited number of exceptions which are set out in section 3(2) of the Act. Where a dwelling is occupied by a person under an arrangement or agreement which is not a tenancy or under a tenancy to which the Act does not apply, such as instances where a bona fidelicensing arrangement exists, the PRTB does not have any function in the registration of such agreements or arrangements.

In circumstances where it is unclear as to whether a particular rental agreement is a tenancy or a licence, the PRTB can adjudicate on the question and has done so in the past. Where it finds that a tenancy is unregistered due to the landlord’s wrongful claim of licence, the PRTB can serve a notice requiring registration and failure to comply is an offence.