Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 May 2023
141. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline his engagement with the Residential Tenancies Board concerning actions to address non-compliance with the requirement to register a tenancy. [23336/23]
View answerThe Residential Tenancies Board, (RTB), was established as a quasi-judicial independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2022 to regulate the rental sector; provide information to tenants and landlords; maintain a national register of tenancies; resolve disputes between tenants and landlords; and conduct research and provide information to inform policy. Registered landlords and all tenants can apply to the RTB for dispute resolution.
Section 134 of the Acts requires a landlord to apply to the RTB to register a tenancy of a dwelling within one month of its commencement date and annually thereafter, within 1 month from each anniversary of the tenancy commencement date. All private landlords, Approved Housing Bodies and providers of Student Specific Accommodation and Cost Rental Accommodation are required to register their tenancies with the RTB. Managing the registration of tenancies is a core function of the RTB. This allows the RTB to collect and provide definitive data on the rental sector and for transparency across the rental sector through the public register of tenancies; thus, enabling a better understanding of the sector.
Non-compliance with the requirement to register a tenancy is dealt with by two processes in the RTB, the Registration Enforcement Process or the Investigations and Sanctions Process.
The RTB has registration enforcement powers to pursue landlords who have not complied with their obligation to register their tenancies. Failure to register is an offence which may result in a criminal conviction, a fine of up to €4,000 and/or up to six months imprisonment. The RTB makes every effort to inform landlords of their obligations to register and legal action is taken as a last resort. The RTB, receives information from different sources regarding whether a tenancy is registered or not, including local authorities, members of the public, RTB checks and follow-ups and the Department of Social Protection.
Since 2019, the RTB also has an Investigations and Sanctions unit empowered to investigate and sanction, if appropriate, improper conduct by a landlord including failure to register a tenancy with the RTB, as legally required. The Investigations and Sanctions Unit may investigate on foot of information received from members of the public or its own information. A sanction may comprise one or all of the following: a written caution, a monetary sanction of up to €15,000 and up to €15,000 in respect of RTB investigation costs.
Following recommendations in the RTB Workforce Plan (2018 – 2021) and engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the RTB received sanction for significant additional staff over the past three years and my Department continues to work with the RTB to ensure that it is sufficiently resourced to deliver on its mandate, including the enforcement of tenancy registrations requirements. To this end, additional funding of €2.352M is being provided to the RTB for 2023, bringing its total allocation to €13.37M.
