Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 February 2024
246. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of improvement letters, improvement notices and prohibition notices issued by Galway City Council and Galway County Council, respectively in 2023; and if he will provide additional resources to local authorities to ensure properties in private rental market meet minimum standards. [7336/24]
View answerThe standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 and 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 supplies. These Regulations apply to all properties let or available for let. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with the standards set down in the Regulations. Responsibility for the enforcement of the Regulations in the private rental sector rests with the relevant local authority.
If a property has been found to be non-compliant with the Regulations, it is a matter for the local authority to determine what action is necessary and appropriate. Under sections 18A and 18B of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992, a housing authority may serve an Improvement Notice or Prohibition Notice, respectively, where a property is found to be non-compliant.
The Government is committed to ensuring that a stock of high quality accommodation is available for those who live in the private rented sector. Housing for All sets a target of 25% for the inspection of all private residential tenancies from 2021. A total of €9 million in Exchequer funding is being made available by my Department to local authorities this year to help them meet their private rental inspection targets.
Local authorities conducted over 49,000 inspections of private rented dwellings in 2022, up from circa 25,000 in 2020 and 20,000 in 2021, when pandemic restrictions had impacted on inspections. Provisional data indicates that all-time high of over 63,000 inspections were conducted last year.
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/. Full-year data in respect of 2023 is currently being collated and will be uploaded in due course.
The preliminary data in respect of the number of improvement letters issued and improvement and prohibition notices served by Galway City Council and Galway County Council in 2023 are set out in the table below:
|
Local Authority |
Improvement Letter 2023 |
Improvement Notices 2023 |
Prohibition Notices 2023 |
|
Galway City Council |
317 |
0 |
0 |
|
Galway County Council |
1715 |
63 |
0 |
