Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 November 2018
1185. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if he will consider reviewing legislation (details supplied); if he will direct the RTB in relation to enforcement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45238/18]
View answerThe minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2017. They specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light, safety of gas, oil and electrical supply and fire. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these Regulations.
Responsibility for enforcement of the Regulations rests with the relevant local authority.
Following enactment of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, local authorities have a strengthened legislative framework available to them which provides for the issuing of Improvement Notices and Prohibition Notices where landlords are in breach of their obligations. Under Section 34 of Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992, any person who by act or omission contravenes the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2017, fails to comply with an improvement notice, or re-lets a house in breach of a prohibition notice, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both. If the contravention, failure to comply or re-letting is continued after conviction, the person shall be guilty of a further offence on every day on which the contravention, failure to comply or re-letting continues and for each such offence shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €400 per day.
If an inspection has been found to be non-compliant with the regulations, it is a matter for the Local Authority to determine what action is necessary and appropriate, including the issuing of an Improvement Letter, Improvement Notice, Prohibition Notice or further legal recourse.
Security of tenure provisions under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2016 apply once a tenant has been in occupation of a dwelling under tenancy for a continuous period of 6 months, with no valid notice of termination having been served during that time. If a landlord is terminating the tenancy on the grounds that he or she intends to substantially refurbish or renovate the dwelling in a way that requires the dwelling to be vacated for that purpose, the notice of termination must include a statement:
(a) specifying the nature of the intended works and providing a copy of any related planning permission. Where planning permission is not required, the notice or statement must specify the name of the contractor and the proposed dates for the works; and
(b) that the landlord is required to offer to the tenant a tenancy of the dwelling if it becomes available for re-letting within a period of 6 months, subject to certain conditions.
Notice periods for the termination of a tenancy by a landlord vary, depending on the duration of the tenancy, up to a maximum of 224 days.
On 23 November 2017, the RTB published a comprehensive set of guidelines on what constitutes substantial refurbishment or renovation for the purposes of a section 34 ground for tenancy termination. The guidelines are available on the RTB website at the following link:
https://onestopshop.rtb.ie/images/uploads/Comms%20and%20Research/RTB_Guidelines_for_good_practice_on_the_substantial_change_exemption_in_Rent_Pressure_Zones.pdf.
In the event of a tenant not vacating a rental property by the expiration of a valid notice of termination, the landlord can avail of the RTB's Dispute Resolution Process.
