I propose to take Questions Nos. 30, 36, 38, 40, 44, 49, 51, 52 and 140 together.
Minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 1993, made under section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations. Failure to do so is an offence, subject, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €3,000, or a term of 6 months in prison or both, and €250 for each day of a continuing offence. Responsibility for enforcing the regulations rests with the relevant local authority, supported by a dedicated stream of funding allocated by my Department.
In general, local authorities have significantly expanded their inspection activity in recent years. Inspection numbers have more than doubled — from 6,815 to 14,008 — in the period 2005 to 2007. More detailed information on the number of inspections carried out each year up to and including 2007 is included in my Department's Annual Housing Statistics Bulletins, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library and on my Department's website at www.environ.ie. In interpreting the data, it is important to note that the significant increase in registrations of tenancies since the Private Residential Tenancies Board was established in late 2004 reflects the Board's success in achieving registration compliance, rather than changes in the actual level of rental accommodation supply over the period.
My Department provides significant resources, from part of the proceeds of tenancy registration fees collected by the Private Residential Tenancies Board, to assist local authorities in discharging their functions under the Housing Acts in relation to rented accommodation. Over €3m was provided in 2007 and a further €4m has been earmarked for this purpose for 2008.
Since 2006, the allocation of funding has been increasingly linked to inspections performance by local authorities. Half of the funding paid in respect of 2007 was based on actual inspections carried out and this will also be the case in respect of 2008. Consequently, while the significantly increased funding being made available to local authorities for inspection activity, and the increasingly performance-linked basis for allocations, are contributing to a much improved inspections regime overall, where a particular individual authority's inspection activity is low relative to others, this is reflected in a relatively lower funding allocation.
It is a matter for each individual local authority to decide the specific details of its enforcement strategy and inspection arrangements. However, in discharging their responsibilities in relation to the rental sector, authorities have been asked to have regard to the Good Practice Guidelines for Local Authorities on Standards in the Private Rented Sector: Strategic Planning, Effective Enforcement published by the Centre for Housing Research in November 2007, which makes a range of recommendations on relevant issues, including targeting inspection activities.
In the Partnership Agreement Towards 2016, the Government committed to updating and more effectively enforcing the minimum standards regulations and recently delivered on this commitment by approving a package of measures. A number of elements of this package require amendments of primary legislation and these are being addressed during the passage, through the Oireachtas, of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008, currently before the Seanad. These include increased penalties for non-compliance and the introduction of a more robust sanctions regime.
Those elements of the package not requiring primary legislation will be introduced through new regulations to replace those made in 1993. Regulations for this purpose, which will be made shortly, will come into effect generally on 1 February 2009. However, taking account of views expressed in wide-ranging consultations during the development of the new standards package, certain elements of the new regulations will not come into effect for existing rental accommodation until 1 February 2013 as it will be necessary to allow time for the carrying out of the significant remedial work that may be involved in achieving compliance.
The aspects covered by those provisions — sanitary facilities, heating facilities and food preparation, storage and laundry — will therefore continue to be subject to the relevant provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Housing) Regulations 1993 until then, in so far as existing rental accommodation is concerned. However, any rental properties being let for the first time after 1 February 2009 will have to comply with all the requirements of the new Regulations. A comprehensive Guidance Document will be published in advance of the 1 February 2009 commencement date in order to assist local authorities in the practical implementation of the new regulations.
I am committed to building on the significant progress made in recent years with regard to inspection of private rented accommodation. In addition to the introduction of the new standards and the accompanying guidance, and the continued provision of significant resources linked to inspection activity, the revised suite of local authority service indicators now includes a new indicator in relation to the enforcement of private rented accommodation standards. This indicator, which will further underscore good performance in this area, applies from 2008 onwards, with the first report on the indicator becoming available next year.