Written answers

Thursday, 5 May 2022

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Rental Sector

Photo of Martin BrowneMartin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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169. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to instances in which tenants in private rental accommodation are tolerating substandard housing conditions, breaches of their rental rights and even threats and abuse because they are reluctant to report these issues out of fear that they will be evicted and made homeless in a virtually non-existent rental market; if he will engage with the relevant housing bodies to address the circumstances that cause tenants to be reluctant to report breaches of their tenancy rights for these reasons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22551/22]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2021, to operate a national tenancy registration system and to facilitate the resolution of disputes between landlords and tenants.

Where a landlord fails to carry out any of their obligations under the Act, a dispute may be referred to the RTB for resolution. Due to the quasi-judicial role of the RTB, it would be inappropriate for the Minister to comment on, or to interfere in, the specifics of any case.

Section 12(1)(b) of the Acts states that a landlord shall carry out necessary repairs and ensure that the structure of the dwelling complies with any standards prescribed. The Acts also provide that a landlord should allow a tenant of a rented dwelling to enjoy peaceful and exclusive occupation. A landlord is only allowed to enter the property with the tenant’s permission or in an emergency.

Section 14 of the Act provides that a landlord of a dwelling shall not penalise a tenant for referring any dispute between the tenant and the landlord to the RTB for resolution or for giving evidence in any proceedings under Part 6 of the Act (Dispute Resolution).

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 safety of gas, oil and electrical supplies. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations. Responsibility for the enforcement of the Regulations rests with the relevant local authority.

Under sections 18A and 18B of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992, a housing authority may issue an improvement notice or prohibition notice, respectively, where a property is found to be non-compliant. Under section 34 of that Act, any person who by act or omission contravenes the Regulations, fails to comply with an improvement notice, or re-lets a house in breach of a prohibition notice, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both. If the contravention, failure to comply or re-letting is continued after conviction, the person shall be guilty of a further offence on every day on which the contravention, failure to comply or re-letting continues and for each such offence shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €400 per day.

Local authorities are very responsive to requests to inspect private rented dwellings where a tenant believes the standards are not being met and in this regard, I would encourage tenants to contact their local authority and request an inspection to assess whether their accommodation meets the minimum requirements. Contact details for all local authorities can be found on the Department's website at: www.gov.ie/en/help/departments/?referrer=http://www.gov.ie/en/service/list-of-county-councils/#local-authorities

Housing for Allsets a target for the inspection of rental properties, which is 25% of all private residential tenancies. A total of €9 million in Exchequer funding is being made available to local authorities this year to help them meet their targets.

My Department maintains regular contact with relevant stakeholders in the housing sector, including Threshold, to address any issues arising.

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