Housing Committee to discuss standards in rental sector

In the first part of the meeting, the Committee will conduct Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals: Schedule A: COM(2018)337 on Minimum requirements for water reuse.

The second part of the meeting will be a discussion on Standards in the Private Rented Sector: Review of Policy and Practice. In this session, the Committee will hear from:

• Officials from the Dept. of Housing, Planning and Local Government;
• Representatives from Threshold;
• Representatives from the Residential Tenancies Board;
• Representatives from the County and City Management Association.

Committee Chair, Maria Bailey TD, said today, “Standards in the private rental sector are an ongoing issue of concern around the country. The Committee will tomorrow engage with the witnesses to discuss what measures can be taken to provide renters with safe and appropriate accommodation that represents value for money. The main issue surrounding standards in the rental sector is enforcement and awareness. Currently less than 10% of registered private rented accommodation is inspected annually with inspections carried out by local authorities. The Committee will seek to ascertain who is responsible for upgrades and inspections and how standards can be improved in a fashion that is both timely and affordable for both tenants and landlords.”