This matter relates to the Government's plan to address the quality of rental property. In my constituency of Dublin Central and elsewhere, the issue of substandard rental accommodation is causing significant concern to those who are living inside and beside such accommodation. My interest in this issue was first sparked when, as a member of Dublin City Council, I had to inspect some rental accommodation in the city of Dublin, including in my constituency. I saw many homes that were not fit for animals to live in. They amount to a small percentage of the total stock of rental accommodation in the city and across the country but persistent flouting of the law by the owners of these properties is causing great misery to those living therein and considerable difficulty for those living around them.
Statistics from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government indicate that in 2009 only eight landlords were prosecuted for being in breach of minimum legal requirements, while in 2006, 36 were prosecuted for such offences. The figures for 2008 indicate there has been a dramatic decline since 2006. The total number of properties surveyed for compliance in 2008 amounted to nearly 17,500. The landlords of only eight of these had action taken against them. Out of all those checked nationally, the local authorities concluded there were problems with approximately 2,300 properties and that, in respect of those properties, only eight actions were initiated in the courts.
I have stated regularly that if one must take legal action against a landlord, it is an admission of failure. The problem should be sorted before reaching this point. I have no doubt there are many more properties causing difficulty than the statistics demonstrate and that action is not being taken, bearing in mind the paltry number — eight — of court actions.
We spent a lot of time today discussing the very significant threat of gangland crime. Running parallel to this is anti-social behaviour in communities all over the country. My experience suggests that a disproportionate amount of anti-social behaviour, particularly in urban areas, is associated with rental property that is not being looked after. If tougher action were taken in this regard, it would have a knock-on effect that would benefit the entire community.
The new Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008 will confer powers on local authorities to impose significant fines on rogue landlords. The fines amount to many hundreds of euro per day and the initial fine that can be imposed has been increased to €4,500. The ability of local authorities to generate revenue and invest this in tackling the problem has been increased. However, I am worried that, on the basis of the figures I have received, not enough prosecutions are being made in respect of landlords who are not taking their responsibilities seriously. We need to do more in this regard and I look forward to hearing the Minister's response.
