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Housing Issues

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 January 2021

Wednesday, 13 January 2021

Questions (353)

Darren O'Rourke

Question:

353. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when section 26 of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 will come into force. [1209/21]

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Written answers

The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2020 regulates the landlord-tenant relationship in the rented residential sector and sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Act to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants.

The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 made provision to enhance the rental data to be provided to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), including provision for the annual registration of tenancies. The aim is to gather more accurate and detailed tenancy and rental data on an annual basis to improve the information available to assist with policy formulation in the residential rental sector.

The amendments to sections 137 and 137A of the Residential Tenancies  Act 2004, contained in sections 25 and 26 of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019, update the RTB tenancy registration fee in the context of the move to annual registration - providing a €40 fee per tenancy registration by private providers and €20 per tenancy registration by an Approved Housing Body (AHB).  Under the new annual registration requirements, a fee can only be charged in respect of the same dwelling once per year and a discounted single registration fee (€170 for a private landlord, €85 for an AHB landlord) can be applied where the same landlord registers up to 10 tenancies of dwellings comprised in the same property.

The legal provisions requiring the annual registration of tenancies and setting associated registration fees have not yet come into operation. Preparations are underway in the RTB to roll out a simple online registration system during the second half of 2021 to cater for the commencement of annual registration. 

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