Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
809. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of HAP tenancies that were inspected within eight months of the tenancy commencing broken down by each local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41681/22]
View answerThe Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light, fire safety and the safety of gas, oil and electrical installations. With very limited exemptions, these apply to all private rented accommodation. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations. Responsibility for the enforcement of the Regulations rests with the relevant local authority.
The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is underpinned by the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014. Under section 41 of the 2014 Act, local authorities are required to commence the inspection process within 8 months of HAP support being provided in relation to a particular dwelling, if the dwelling was not already inspected within the previous 12 months. The majority of all private rental inspections conducted in 2021 (59%) were in respect of HAP supported tenancies.
Data in respect of the number of inspections conducted of dwellings with HAP supported tenancies within eight months of that tenancy commencing is not available. The number of HAP private rental inspections, including virtual, undertaken by each local authority in 2021 is set out in the table below:
|
Local Authority |
Total HAP Inspection 2021 |
Total Overall Inspections2021 |
|
Carlow County Council |
260 |
317 |
|
Cavan County Council |
44 |
83 |
|
Clare County Council |
102 |
173 |
|
Cork City Council |
684 |
837 |
|
Cork County Council |
518 |
557 |
|
Donegal County Council |
701 |
1621 |
|
Dublin City Council |
2468 |
3663 |
|
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council |
784 |
1175 |
|
Fingal County Council |
1457 |
2798 |
|
Galway City Council |
119 |
145 |
|
Galway County Council |
532 |
626 |
|
Kerry County Council |
283 |
699 |
|
Kildare County Council |
247 |
341 |
|
Kilkenny County Council |
128 |
437 |
|
Laois County Council |
236 |
247 |
|
Leitrim County Council |
92 |
142 |
|
Limerick City and County Council |
275 |
416 |
|
Longford County Council |
202 |
331 |
|
Louth County Council |
296 |
305 |
|
Mayo County Council |
466 |
682 |
|
Meath County Council |
664 |
664 |
|
Monaghan County Council |
70 |
89 |
|
Offaly County Council |
0 |
45 |
|
Roscommon County Council |
132 |
266 |
|
Sligo County Council |
111 |
611 |
|
South Dublin County Council |
103 |
1438 |
|
Tipperary County Council |
550 |
714 |
|
Waterford City and County Council |
24 |
40 |
|
Westmeath County Council |
85 |
241 |
|
Wexford County Council |
12 |
15 |
|
Wicklow County Council |
309 |
522 |
Annual data in respect of the level of inspections carried out by each local authority is available on my Department's website at:
www.gov.ie/en/publication/da3fe-private-housing-market-statistics/
A key principle of the HAP scheme is that eligible households source their own accommodation in the private rented sector, which best suits their needs, in their area of choice. The HAP legislation provides a very structured, time bound system where serious lack of compliance exists and can result in termination of HAP payment. Local authorities can issue Improvement Notices and Prohibition Notices to landlords who breach the minimum standards regulations. An Improvement Notice sets out the works that the landlord must carry out to remedy a breach of the regulations. Failure to comply with a Notice can result in penalties and prosecution.
In the case of a Prohibition Notice being enforced, a local authority may provide, or continue to provide, HAP in respect of that property for a period of 13 weeks, to enable the household to find an alternative dwelling.
