Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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456. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to a situation in which Cork City Council refuses a transfer pathway to a person (details supplied) under the RAS scheme despite his or her eligibility for the transfer. [16321/21]

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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457. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the recourse available to a person denied a transfer pathway under the RAS scheme in which he or she believes he or she is eligible for such a transfer and the local authority diagreess. [16322/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 456 and 457 together.

The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 gives legislative recognition to rental accommodation availability agreements, which underpin the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) as a form of social housing support. Consequently, since 1 April 2011, RAS tenants are considered to be in receipt of social housing support and should not generally remain on housing waiting lists for new applicants for social housing.

However, recognising that tenants housed through RAS prior to this change might have had reasonable expectations in regard to retaining access to traditional local authority rented accommodation, guidance issued in 2011 which recommended that there should be a special transfer pathway for pre-2011 RAS tenants to other forms of social housing support. This arrangement effectively allowed these households to be designated as a ‘transfer’ applicant and to maintain their position for allocation as they had on the main waiting list.

I have no statutory function in the decision making or processing of transfer applications in local authority dwellings. The oversight and management of housing waiting lists, including the allocation and transfer of tenancies, is a matter for the relevant local authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, and associated regulations. Section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 requires that all local authorities, as a reserved function, make an allocation scheme determining the order of priority to be accorded in the allocation of dwellings to households qualified for social housing support and to households approved for a transfer, the allocation of which would, in the opinion of the authority, meet the accommodation needs and requirements of the households.

In making their allocation schemes, authorities are required to specify, among other things, the manner of, and the order of priority for, the allocation of dwellings to households on the waiting list and households who have been approved for transfers. Local authorities assess housing applicants taking into account factors such as the condition and affordability of existing accommodation, medical and compassionate grounds, etc. The authorities then prioritise the needs of approved applicants.

Where a vacant property arises, it is a matter for individual housing authorities, in accordance with their allocation schemes, to determine whether the allocation is made to a household on the main waiting list, or to a transfer applicant, such as a household from RAS, and the method of such allocation. It is open to housing authorities to specify in their allocation schemes the proportion of allocations which will be reserved for transfers, and within this, how many may be reserved for households seeking transfers to other forms of social housing support.

If a tenant has applied for a transfer from RAS to another form of social housing and is not satisfied with the decision they receive, they can make a formal appeal in writing to the office manager of the RAS section. The tenant can then further appeal the decision to the Director of Services in the Local Authority and, if the tenant considers they have been unfairly treated or are not satisfied with the decision at that stage of the appeal, they could contact the Office of the Ombudsman. By law the Ombudsman can investigate complaints about any of the Local Authorities administrative actions or procedures. The Office of the Ombudsman provides a free, impartial and independent dispute resolution service and can be contacted at 6 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2 or through the website at www.ombudsman.ie.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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458. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if local authorities have the power to engage with the Residential Tenancies Board on landlords contracted to it through the RAS scheme. [16323/21]

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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459. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if tenants have the power under the RAS scheme to engage with the Residential Tenancies Board about the local authority and-or their landlord. [16324/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 458 and 459 together.

The Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) is based on a three-way relationship between the local authority, the landlord and the tenant. Under RAS, local authorities draw up contracts with landlords to provide housing, for an agreed term, to people with a long-term housing need. The local authority pays the rent directly to the landlord on behalf of the tenant. The main "landlord and tenant" relationship remains between the property owner and the RAS tenant. The property is not rented to the Local Authority, it is rented to the RAS tenant on a contractual basis. The local authority acts as agent on behalf of the tenant.

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancy Act 2004 to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants. The RTB dispute resolution service replaces the courts in relation to the majority of landlord and tenant disputes.

The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2020 govern the relationship between the landlord and the tenant. Under the terms of these Acts, a RAS tenancy must be registered with the RTB. If the tenancy is not registered, the landlord cannot avail of the dispute resolution services of the RTB should an issue arise with the tenancy. However, this does not affect the tenant’s right to avail of the services of the RTB. As a housing authority is neither a landlord nor a tenant under a RAS agreement, it does not have a role in the tenancy under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended) and therefore cannot refer or be referred to the Residential Tenancies Board.

RAS landlords and tenants have the same right to refer disputes to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) as other private rented tenancies. The range of complaints which may be referred to the RTB is very broad, covering everything from disputed notices of termination to property damage. Third parties, such as neighbours, can also refer a dispute with the landlord to the RTB if they have been directly affected by the landlord’s failure to deal with anti-social behaviour by the tenant. Information on the rights of tenants and landlords is available from the RTB website.