Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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258. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the supports he will introduce for landlords in 2017. [2970/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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On 13 December 2016, Government approved the publication of a Strategy for the Rental Sector, which delivers on a commitment made under Pillar 4 of Rebuilding Ireland. The strategy is structured around 4 key areas: security, standards, supply and services. The overarching objective of the strategy is to increase security and supply and support the development of a stable, strong and viable rental sector offering choice for households, investment opportunities for providers and reflecting the rights and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords.

The measures under these four headings will be implemented through the 29 act ions contained in the Strategy. Action 9 commits to the establishment of a working group on the tax and fiscal treatment of rental accommodation providers. The working group will examine and report on the tax treatment of landlords and put forward options, where identified and appropriate, for amendment to such tax treatment. The first meeting of the working group took place on 19 January 2017.

In addition, the Rental Strategy contains a number of actions of importance to landlords, which will be implemented in 2017. These include the introduction of unfurnished lettings in the case of long leases, a fast track process for effective termination procedures in cases of non-payment of rent and measures to improve the enforcement of Determination Orders issued by the Residential Tenancies Board and reduce the time taken for dispute resolution. The RTB will also establish a one stop shop for information on the Residential Tenancies Act and a voluntary accreditation scheme for landlords.