Written answers

Friday, 6 September 2019

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Private Rented Accommodation

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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1930. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount allocated to each local authority to carry out inspections of private rented dwellings in each of the years 2014 to 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34940/19]

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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1931. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason improvement notices have not been issued in respect of all private rented dwellings which failed to meet the regulatory requirements (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34941/19]

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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1932. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of improvement notices in respect of private rented dwellings which resulted in the carrying out of the prescribed works and successful passing of the follow-up inspection by the local authority in each of the years 2014 to 2018, by local authority, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34942/19]

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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1933. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of tenancies which have ended as a result of the private rented dwelling failing the local authority inspections; the proportion of same which were registered HAP properties in each of the years 2014 to 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34943/19]

Photo of Eoghan MurphyEoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1930 to 1933, inclusive, together.

The Strategy for the Rental Sector, published in December 2016, set out a series of measures to be introduced to ensure the quality of private rental accommodation by strengthening the applicable standards and improving the inspection and enforcement systems.

Minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 made under section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992. The regulations focus on tenant safety and include measures covering heating appliances, carbon monoxide and window safety. My Department published a guidance document to assist and support local authorities in implementing the Regulations in July 2017. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations.

Under Section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992, responsibility for the enforcement of the Regulations rests with the relevant local authority. Section 18A of the 1992 Act provides that where, in the opinion of a housing authority, a landlord is contravening or has contravened the standards, the authority may issue an improvement notice. It is a matter for the relevant housing authority to decide whether to issue an improvement notice in each individual case.

Between 2005 and 2018, over €39 million has been paid to local authorities to assist them in the performance of their functions under the Housing Acts, including the inspection of rented accommodation. Over 258,000 inspections were carried out during this period.

The Rental Strategy recognises the need for additional resources to be provided to local authorities to aid increased inspections of properties and ensure greater compliance with the Regulations. Exchequer funding of €4.5 million is being made available to local authorities in 2019 for this purpose, with the intention of providing further increases each year in the period to 2021 to facilitate a targeted inspection coverage of 25% of rental properties annually at that stage.

Detailed information in relation to inspections carried out by each local authority since 2005 is available on my Department's website at the following link:

www.housing.gov.ie/housing/statistics/house-building-and-private-rented/private-housing-market-statistics.

Details of the amounts paid to each local authority since 2014 are set out in the following table:

Year
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
Local Authority
County Councils
Carlow
38,300
30,500
35,050
35,500
41,450
Cavan
80,800
63,300
73,400
53,000
64,400
Clare
54,800
56,750
66,250
52,450
56,850
Cork
82,300
61,700
80,950
125,800
91,600
Donegal
57,600
52,200
52,850
92,950
122,850
Dun L Rathdown
51,600
38,450
42,200
50,700
161,750
Fingal
32,950
27,550
36,250
86,450
295,350
Galway
5,950
8,700
3,000
118,800
84,250
Kerry
71,200
224,450
95,450
79,950
105,750
Kildare
63,400
52,450
40,400
46,150
64,500
Kilkenny
44,700
42,750
33,150
94,000
59,600
Laois
17,600
7,700
4,500
17,250
33,400
Leitrim
6,350
8,200
5,500
11,600
19,900
Limerick
41,300
99,050
137,950
106,600
123,600
Longford
5,550
5,050
4,900
7,200
32,700
Louth
2,300
-
-
-
59,984
Mayo
10,200
25,650
10,100
23,000
75,400
Meath
14,300
14,800
11,900
38,500
42,150
Monaghan
38,900
38,700
30,600
42,150
48,150
Tipperary
19,100
10,300
11,000
72,550
104,900
Offaly
5,250
4,150
3,900
12,800
20,650
Roscommon
76,600
74,800
13,550
33,300
39,700
Sligo
88,700
60,972
44,150
33,750
56,450
South Dublin
289,900
189,450
152,350
169,750
208,500
Waterford
89,100
87,800
84,300
113,900
76,300
Westmeath
86,450
90,650
36,450
92,950
59,600
Wexford
90,800
21,050
19,100
41,950
91,650
Wicklow
36,600
-
-
-
-
City Councils
Cork
137,100
111,650
110,750
86,350
76,750
Dublin
369,050
354,250
452,100
240,350
692,750
Galway
17,000
19,650
10,250
22,450
26,750
Total Payment
2,025,750
1,882,672
1,702,300
2,002,150
3,037,634

Information in relation to the number of improvement notices in respect of private rented dwellings which resulted in the carrying out of the prescribed works and successful passing of the follow-up inspection by the local authority as well as the number of tenancies which have ended as a result of the private rented dwelling failing the local authority inspections is not held by my Department.

At the end of Q2 2019, a total of 14,478 households were reported on the HAP Shared Services Centre system as having exited HAP: this included tenant led exits; compliance exits; transfers to other forms of social housing; and landlord exits. This report is based on cessations as submitted by local authorities. Reasons for these cessations are typically provided by the tenant and/or landlord. To end Q2 2019, 399 exits from the scheme were reported as relating to property standards.

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