The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the tenant-landlord relationship in the private rented residential sector. The Act sets out the obligations of tenants and landlords in the sector and the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) is the independent statutory body charged with the administration of the Act and the enforcement of those obligations.
Section 128 of the Act stipulates that the PRTB’s published register of tenancies will not contain any information that could disclose the identity of the landlord or of the tenant(s) of a particular dwelling. I have no plans to amend the legislation in that regard.
Section 15 of the Residential Tenancies Act provides that a landlord of a dwelling owes a duty to third parties to enforce the obligations of a tenant under a tenancy. Section 77 of the Act provides that a third party who is directly and adversely affected by the failure of a landlord to enforce the obligations of a tenant may refer a complaint to the PRTB against that landlord. It also allows the PRTB to furnish the name and address of the landlord concerned to a person who proposes to make such a complaint. However, the third party complainant must have taken reasonable steps to resolve the matter by communicating or attempting to communicate with the parties to the tenancy concerned before referring the complaint to the PRTB.
Breaches of tenants' or landlords' obligations are referred to the PRTB in the context of applications to it for its dispute resolution services. Parties involved in a dispute can apply for either adjudication or mediation as a means of dispute resolution. In the event of an appeal from adjudication or an unsuccessful mediation the dispute will be referred to a tenancy tribunal. The PRTB may issue directions regarding those obligations in its Determination Orders and, in the event of non-compliance with the Orders, it may pursue enforcement via Court proceedings.
