Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 January 2013
643. Deputy Paschal Donohoe asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to review existing legislation in respect of privately rented housing accommodation and to strengthen the role of the Private Residential Tenancies Board in resolving issues that arise between tenants and landlords; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1080/13]
View answerThe Residential Tenancies Act 2004 sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants in the private rented residential sector. The Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) was established under the Act to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants in the private rented residential sector.
My Department conducted a review of the Act in 2009 with a specific emphasis on whether the Act best supports the PRTB’s key functions and on whether legislative amendments would support either the achievement of additional operational efficiencies by the PRTB in the delivery of those functions or the broader good working of the private rented sector. The outcomes of the review were announced in April 2010 and the drafting of the General Scheme of a Bill to give effect to the recommendations of the review was approved by Government in July 2011. The Residential Tenancies (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 2012 was published on 19 July 2012 and is currently at Second Stage in the Dáil.
The Residential Tenancies (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 2012 builds on what has been achieved by the Residential Tenancies Act and the PRTB, and provides for the further development of the rental sector into the future. Among the main issues addressed by the amending legislation are –
- the extension of the remit of the Residential Tenancies Act to Approved Housing Body tenancies;
- the Board of the PRTB to be reduced from 15 to 12 members;
- the separation of the governance and quasi-judicial functions of the Board;
- the merger of the PRTB and the Rent Tribunal;
- the simplification and streamlining of the mediation process.
While the Bill addresses a wide range of issues, there are some other aspects still under development which I hope to bring forward for consideration during the Bill’s passage through the Oireachtas. In particular, I am keen to progress a number of key on-going concerns within the private rented sector such as the illegal retention of tenants’ deposits by landlords and the over holding of rented property by tenants.
