Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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804. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of inspections that were undertaken by the Residential Tenancies Board in each of the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 in each local authority area; the number that were deemed to be compliant; the number of fines that were issued for those years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20414/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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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. These Regulations focus on tenant safety and specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light, safety of gas, oil and electrical supply and fire. These Regulations apply to all properties let or available for let and are available at .

With very limited exemptions, the regulations apply to all private rented residential accommodation. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply. The Residential Tenancies Board have never undertaken rental standards inspections. Responsibility for the inspection of rented dwellings and the enforcement of the regulations rests with the relevant local authority.

Comprehensive data in respect of the number of inspections of private rental properties, Improvement Letters and Improvement Notices issued, and the legal actions initiated by local authorities in the period 2005 to 2019 is available on my Department's website at the following link:

Detailed information in relation to the number of inspections and enforcement actions undertaken in 2020 is currently being collated by my Department and will be available on the website shortly.

The information requested in respect of the number of fines issued is not reported by local authorities to my Department and is not available.

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. Significant progress has since been made across the local government sector. The number of inspections undertaken in 2019 was more than double those in 2017. In 2017 19,645 inspections were carried out, rising to 28,806 in 2018 and 40,998 in 2019.

However, given the need for an authorised inspector to enter a tenant’s home, pandemic restrictions have severely impacted on both inspections and enforcement activity since March 2020. The number of on-site inspections carried out in 2020 fell to 24,315.

In response to the pandemic some local authorities have been piloting virtual inspections. Dublin City Council have led this initiative, which entails landlords receiving a checklist for self-assessment and being required to submit photographic/video evidence by email, tenants being invited to raise any non-compliance issues they are aware of and the Council reserving the right to conduct a physical on-site inspection when it is safe to do so. While virtual inspection systems present certain challenges and limitations, they do offer a way of improving the standard of rental accommodation despite the pandemic. Nearly 1,400 virtual inspections were undertaken last year.

The virtual inspection initiative is still very much in the pilot stage and will be subject to a full evaluation before any final decisions are taken on its future role in the overall inspection regime.

My Department is encouraging local authorities not involved in the pilots to consider participation and providing Exchequer funding to those that do. An increased budget of €10 million (a rise of 300% since 2018) has been approved to facilitate inspections in 2021.