Under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, landlords are legally obliged to register tenancies with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB). The Department is working closely with the PRTB to ensure that all tenancies where rent supplement is in payment are registered with the PRTB. To that end, the Department provides details of new rent supplement payments to the PRTB to enable them identify tenancies that are not registered and to take any follow-up action necessary.
Landlords are legally obliged to register tenancies with the PRTB within one month from the start date of the tenancy or at a later date on payment of an increased fee. For this reason, it is not practicable for the Department to insist that a tenancy be registered with the PRTB before payment of rent supplement can be made. There are also instances where a rent supplement tenancy need not be registered with the PRTB, for example, in the case of renting a room in a house or where a premises is owner occupied. Rent supplement tenancies which are liable for registration with the PRTB, should be so registered. In that regard, the close working arrangements which the Department has with the PRTB should ensure that over time, all tenancies that come within the area of rent supplement comply with the statutory system of tenancy regulation and safeguards.
With regard to anti-social behaviour, tenancy arrangements involve a contract between the landlord and tenant and tenant behaviour in private rented accommodation is a matter for the landlord in the first instance. There are a number of avenues open to landlords in such cases, including the mediation service for landlords and tenants operated by the Private Residential Tenancies Board and/or recourse to the Garda Síochána and/or the Courts in relation to enforcement of the law in relation to anti-social behaviour. If necessary, the landlord may seek termination of the tenancy which, if effected, would result in the termination of rent supplement.
Under the relevant rent supplement legislative provisions, the Department's relationship is with the tenant; the tenant makes the application for rent supplement and payment is made to the tenant. Rent supplement is specifically for the benefit of tenants to assist them with their accommodation needs. While there is no direct relationship with the landlord, the landlord/letting agent is required to confirm the rent charged and the landlord/letting agent details are on the application form. The data is collected for the purposes of calculating the rate of rent supplement payable to the tenant and may be shared with other Departments or Agencies in line with existing legislative provisions. For data protection reasons neither my Department nor the HSE are permitted to publish a record of landlords who have rent supplement recipients as tenants. Similarly, landlord details for a particular tenancy cannot be provided to members of the public on request. I am satisfied that existing measures in relation to the rent supplement scheme are adequate and I have no plans to make any changes in this regard.
