9 February 2005

Environment

Residential Tenancies Board

Ciarán Cuffe asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on the amount of tenancies that have been registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board; the plans which are being put in place to increase registration; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Environment, Heritage & Local Government: All of the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, which provides the legislative underpinning to a modernised private rental sector, are in operation. Key features of the legislation are provision for a new centralised system of tenancy registration and a statutory dispute resolution service. The Act also provided for the establishment of the Private Residential Tenancies Board as an independent body with a range of specific statutory functions, including responsibility for the administration of tenancy registration and dispute resolution.

The Board also has a statutory role of providing information in relation to its tenancy registration and dispute resolution functions and in relation to the operation of the private rented sector generally. Requests for information relating to these matters may appropriately be directed to the Private Residential Tenancies Board at Canal House, Canal Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6. I understand that the Board is currently processing a large volume of applications for registration from which the statutory tenancy register will be compiled and that until this work is completed it will not be possible for the Board to provide comprehensive data. When the statutory tenancy register is completed this will enable the Board to provide a range of enhanced information relating to the private rented sector.

The Board will be required to report on and account for progress in the performance of its functions. It also has a specific function to review the operation of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. It is the responsibility of the Board to maximise the effectiveness of the dispute resolution and registration systems and to take enforcement action, including prosecution, where appropriate, if it considers that a particular tenancy is required to be registered and has not been the subject of an application for registration. Landlords who fail to apply to the Board to register tenancies that are liable for registration do not have access to the Board’s dispute resolution service and are liable to prosecution. Tenants, however, have access to the dispute resolution service irrespective of whether the landlord fails to apply for registration.