3 DFómh 2011, 17:58
A rental deposit protection scheme could cut down on the number of disputes between landlords and tenants and eventually save the Exchequer €50 million, according to the Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht.
Representatives from Threshold, the Union of Students in Ireland, the Irish Property Owners’ Association and the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers will appear before the Committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht tomorrow, Tuesday, October 4th to discuss proposals for a rental deposit protection scheme and to offer their own opinion and to offer their own opinion and views regarding the creation of such a scheme.
Director of the Private Residential Tenancies Board, Anne Marie Caulfield, will also attend the committee meeting to discuss its dispute resolution service.
Committee Chairman Ciarán Lynch, TD said: “Any regulation or scheme that improves fairness and transparency for tenants and landlords in relation to deposits and that deals definitively with disputes regarding deposits should be welcomed.
Not only would a rental deposit protection scheme provide specific structure to deal with rent deposits, it could also facilitate a situation where deposits in relation to rent allowance, (approximate 96,000 rent supplement tenancies) can be notionally deposited creating a saving to the state of around €50 million.
At our meeting tomorrow, we will examine proposals for a rental deposit protection scheme with a number of interested parties, including Threshold, the Union of Students in Ireland, the Irish Property Owners’ Association and the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers. This should enable us to get the views of all sides on a rental deposit protection scheme and how it should operate in practice.
We are also looking forward to our meeting with Anne Marie Caulfield to get an update on the current dispute resolution service operated by the Private Residential Tenancies Board. It will provide the Committee with an opportunity to get a measure of the current situation regarding disputes between tenants and landlords, particularly in the area of deposits and the number of cases being brought by both tenants and landlords. It should enable us to ascertain how widespread or significant the issue is.”
This meeting will take place on Tuesday, 4th October, in Committee Room 4, Leinster House 2000 at 2.30pm.
Committee proceedings can be followed live at:
http://www.oireachtas.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=/documents/livewebcast/Web-Live.htm&CatID=83&m=o
For further information please contact:
Ciaran Brennan,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 3903
M: 086-0496518
F: +3531 618 4551
Committee Membership
Deputies:
Ciarán Lynch, Labour Party (Chairman)
Noel Coonan, Fine Gael (Vice-Chairman)
James Bannon, Fine Gael
Paudie Coffey, Fine Gael
Terence Flanagan, Fine Gael
Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, Fine Gael
Tony McLoughlin, Fine Gael
Patrick O’Donovan, Fine Gael
Brian Walsh, Fine Gael
Kevin Humphreys, Labour Party
Gerald Nash, Labour Party
Seán Kenny, Labour Party
Robert Troy, Fianna Fáil
Timmy Dooley, Fianna Fáil
Niall Collins, Fianna Fáil
Sandra McLellan, Sinn Féin
Dessie Ellis, Sinn Féin
Brian Stanley, Sinn Féin
Clare Daly, Socialist Party
Catherine Murphy, Independent
Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, Independent
Senators:
Cáit Keane, Fine Gael
Catherine Noone, Fine Gael
Labhrás Ó’Murchú, Fianna Fáil
Ned O’Sullivan, Fianna Fáil
Eamonn Coghlan, Independent