Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 June 2021
566. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the inspections of houses that are in a contractual agreement with a local authority have been resumed such as in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30620/21]
View answerThe minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. 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.
Given the need for inspectors to enter tenants’ homes, Covid-19 pandemic restrictions have impacted on the inspection of all rented dwellings. The City and County Management Association’s Local Authority Resilience and Recovery Plan for Living with Covid-19 (October 2020) and its subsequent Local Authority Services Frameworks for Future Covid-19 Pandemic Response (January and May 2021) do not currently permit rental inspections. This is in order to protect tenants, landlords and rental inspectors. The City and County Management Association is currently reviewing the situation.
In response to the difficulties caused by pandemic restrictions, some local authorities have been piloting virtual inspections. Dublin City Council have led this initiative which entails landlords receiving a checklist for self-assessment and being required to submit photographic/video evidence by email, tenants being invited to raise any non-compliance issues they are aware of and being asked to confirm that any remedial works requested by the local authority have been completed, and the Council reserving the right to conduct a physical on-site inspection when it is safe to so.
While virtual inspection systems present certain challenges and limitations, they do offer a way of improving the standard of rental accommodation despite the pandemic. I support these initiatives and my Department is encouraging local authorities not involved in the pilots to consider adopting them. I have committed to providing Exchequer funding for those that do. Clare County Council have expressed an interest in piloting virtual inspections.
Being a social housing leasing tenant offers security as the scheme's operation ensures that in the event that a tenant's current leased accommodation becomes unavailable (through no fault of the tenant); it remains the responsibility of the local authority to find alternative accommodation for the tenant's household either in another property leased by the local authority or a local authority property.
Where a lease is due to expire, the local authority can avail of the option to renew a lease but it remains the owner's decision whether to renew the lease or to sell the property.
