Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 October 2021
49. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the additional powers and resources that the RTB requires in order to adequately enforce compliance with rental rules; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48721/21]
View answerThe Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2021 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 facilitate the resolution of disputes between landlords and tenants.
Since 1 July 2019, the RTB is empowered under Part 7A – Complaints, Investigations and Sanctions – of the Residential Tenancies Acts to investigate improper conduct by landlords and to impose sanctions, where appropriate.
The breaches of rental law that the Investigations & Sanctions (I&S) unit of the RTB can investigate include a contravention of the rent increase restriction and related procedures in Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs). The RTB has the power to impose sanctions if improper conduct by a landlord is found to have occurred, ranging from a formal written caution and/or a fine of up to €15,000 and/or costs up to €15,000.
Section 56 of the Acts provides for the award of damages for abuse of the termination procedure, and the RTB can make a direction that a landlord pay an amount by way of damages for the deprivation of the tenancy.
The drafting of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 benefited from input from the sector, including the key Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) working in housing and homelessness. In particular, the 2019 amendments to legally tighten the tenancy termination provisions and to significantly extend the tenancy termination notice periods were informed by the experiences in the rental sector, as highlighted by the NGOs.
The Government is fully committed to ensuring that the full protections for tenants provided for in the Residential Tenancies Acts are applied. As of Quarter 2 2021, the RTB has commenced over 400 investigations into improper conducts and to date, almost €260,000 has been refunded to current and former tenants as a direct result of breach of rent setting rules.
I have formally requested the RTB to escalate its response to non-compliance with the RPZ rent increase restriction, given its extensive investigation and sanction capabilities. An increase of €2M in Current Exchequer Funding was made available to the RTB in 2020, bringing the total amount of funding available to the RTB for operational costs to €9M for 2020.
An additional €2M in Current Exchequer funding for RTB operational costs was secured in Budget 2021 bringing the total amount available to €11M in 2021.
