Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 December 2018
267. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government when he expects the proposed register of landlords to be initiated and available for public inspection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52479/18]
View answerThe Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2016 set out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants in both the private rental sector and the Approved Housing Bodies (AHB) sector. The Acts provide that landlords in the sector must apply to register a tenancy of a dwelling with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) within one month of the commencement of the tenancy.
The RTB actively pursues landlords for non-registration. Failure of a landlord to register a tenancy with the RTB can result in criminal conviction. If convicted, a landlord may be liable to fines of up to €4,000 and/or six months' imprisonment, along with a daily fine of €500 for a continuing offence. In addition, if the tenancy is not registered, the landlord cannot avail of the dispute resolution services of the RTB should an issue arise with the tenancy.
To pursue non-compliant landlords, the RTB receives information on residential rented dwellings from several sources. Where non-compliance is identified, notice and warning letters are sent to the landlord. If the landlord still fails to register, enforcement action is taken through the courts.
The RTB's register of tenancies is available and searchable by rental dwelling address on the RTB's website at the following link https://onestopshop.rtb.ie/check/index.html/ . While legislative changes are proposed in order to publish additional data on rents, it is not proposed to publish individual landlord details.
