Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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54. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to introduce a NCT type system for rental properties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20907/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light and the safety of gas, oil and electrical supply. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations and responsibility for the enforcement of the regulations rests with the relevant local authority.

While Regulations and associated systems are kept under continuous review, I have no plans at this time to introduce NCT-type certification for rental properties.

The Strategy for the Rental Sector 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. 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. Provision was made for €2.5 million to be made available to local authorities in 2018, increasing to €4.5 million in 2019 with corresponding inspection rate targets of 10% and 15% respectively. This has enabled local authorities to build inspection capacity incrementally. Significant progress was made across the sector. The number of inspections more than doubled from 19,645 in 2017 to 40,998 in 2019.

The 2020 inspection rate target was 20% and €6 million of Exchequer funding was made available to local authorities. An increased budget of €10 million has been approved to facilitate inspections in 2021. However pandemic restrictions have severely impacted on both inspections and enforcement activity since March 2020.

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. My Department is encouraging local authorities not involved in the pilots to consider adopting them and providing Exchequer funding to those that do.

Annual data in respect of the level of inspections carried out by each local authority is available on my Department's website at .