Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 February 2018
684. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the targets he has set to improve the rate of inspections for privately rented properties by local authorities; the monitoring system in place to ensure persons that rent substandard accommodation can expect to be held to account; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7322/18]
View answer687. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of rental property inspections expected to be carried out in each local authority as a result of the provision of €2.5 million of funding for this purpose, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7354/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 684 and 687 together.
As I outlined in my reply to Question No. 1825 of 16 January 2018, the Strategy for the Rental Sector, published in December 2016, set out a series of measures to be introduced to ensure the quality of private rental accommodation by strengthening the applicable standards and improving the inspection and enforcement systems.
Since the establishment of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), over €34 million has been paid to local authorities to assist them in the performance of their functions under the Housing Acts, including the inspection of rented accommodation. Over 185,000 inspections were carried out during this period.
However, the Rental Strategy recognises the need for additional resources to be provided to local authorities to facilitate increased inspections of properties and ensure greater compliance with the Regulations. Provision has been made for an allocation of €2.5 million in 2018, with the intention of providing further increases each year in the period to 2021 to enable targeted inspection coverage to reach 25% of rental properties annually.
The Working Group on Rental Standards, comprising representatives of my Department, local authorities and the RTB, will be examining resource and performance management issues, including budget allocation, target setting and performance monitoring and reporting, as part of its work programme for the first half of 2018.
