Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 January 2018
631. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the difference in the tenancy rights of a tenant in a local authority property, a tenant in a housing association property and a tenant in a private rented property, respectively; the reason these rights differ; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4120/18]
View answerThe Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2016 prescribe the rights and obligations of tenants and landlords in both the private rented sector and the Approved Housing Body (AHB) sector. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Acts to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants.
With effect from 7 April 2016, the remit of the Residential Tenancies Acts was applied, through the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015, to dwellings let by AHBs to social tenants. The tenancy rights of social tenants in the AHB sector are now aligned with those of private tenants in the private residential rental sector.
The Residential Tenancies Acts provide, inter alia, for:
- security of tenure;
- access to RTB dispute resolution procedures; and
- binding obligations on landlords to, inter alia, register all tenancies, keep dwellings in good repair and allow peaceful occupation.
The application of the Residential Tenancies Acts to the local authority housing sector was carefully considered during the drafting of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015. Unlike AHB tenancies, social housing provided by local authorities is governed by an extensive legislative code which is set out in the Housing Acts 1966-2015. This Code provides extensively for the rights and obligations of local authorities and their tenants. The legislation recognises the democratic nature of local government by assigning certain housing functions to the elected members. In addition, local government legislation, more generally, provides for significant roles for the elected members in overseeing the work of the local authority executive.
Against that background, I have no plans at this stage to extend the application of the Residential Tenancies Acts to the local authority sector.
