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Minister Michael Finneran announces significant changes to Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) legislation - focus on streamlining & expediting service delivery

04/11/09

Michael Finneran T.D., Minister for Housing and Local Services, today (4 November 2009 ) announced the preliminary results of his review of the Residential Tenancies Act. The review, which commenced in April this year, was conducted by his Department and makes recommendations in a number of key areas with an overall emphasis on streamlining and simplifying the Act and reducing delays.  

“The PRTB has achieved considerable success since it was established 5 years ago, but there is a lot more to be done”, the Minister said. “The current legislation is complicated and does not always best support the PRTB in the speedy delivery of its services. A range of issues still remain to be considered but I am committed to initiating a comprehensive piece of amending legislation within the next 12 months”, he added.

Among the main issues that will be addressed by the amending legislation are
• A statutory objective of 6 months to be set for the issuing of determination orders arising out of dispute resolution applications
• The Board of the PRTB to be reduced from 15 to 12 members
• The introduction of fixed fines where deposits are illegally retained by landlords
• Measures to address non-payment of rent by tenants during a dispute process, in particular to introduce scope for the legal termination of such a tenancy.
• Measures that will encourage the greater use of mediation as a means of settling disputes
• The separation of the governance and quasi-judicial functions of the Board
• The simplification of procedures in general, including those for the registration and termination of tenancies
• The inclusion within the remit of the Residential Tenancies Act of those segments of the voluntary and co-operative housing sector that most closely parallel the current remit of the RTA, i.e. standard social housing.

A number of issues requiring further research, including third party complaints under the Act, the Act’s engagement with anti-social behaviour matters and how best to address issues surrounding the retention of deposits, will also be considered in detail.

Speaking today at a meeting with recently-appointed members of the Board of the PRTB the Minister also said that his Department will examine all opportunities for the introduction of time and procedural efficiencies in the Act. The Department will now begin work on drafting a comprehensive revision to the Residential Tenancies Act with the intention of presenting a draft Bill to Government before the end of 2010. Minister Finneran commented, “When I announced this review I emphasised the need to amend the Act in order to enhance the operational efficiency with which the PRTB does its work. Today’s proposals will achieve that goal and will best equip the PRTB to meet head on the challenges it faces. I look forward to working closely with the PRTB and other stakeholders over the next year to produce the best possible legislation to further enhance the regulatory environment governing the private rented sector.”

ENDS
 Further information: Sean Dunne, Press Officer. Tel: 01 8882393 Email: sean_dunne@environ.ie

Note for Editors

Organisational Efficiency
The new legislation will introduce a statutory objective of 6 months as the time within which the PRTB will aim to process and issue determinations in disputes referred to them. This is akin to the provision in the Planning Acts under which An Bord Pleanála aims to hear planning appeals within 18 weeks.

Reduction in Board Members
The current legislation provides for up to 15 members to sit on the Board of the PRTB; this will be reduced to a maximum of 12 members.

Deposit Retention
Of the almost 1,650 disputes referred to the PRTB in 2008, 43% were due to deposit retention; in 76% of these, it was determined that the landlord should refund either all or part of the deposit they had retained to their tenants. The introduction of a system whereby the landlord will face a mandatory fine if found to have illegally withheld a deposit will act as a deterrent to landlords who automatically refuse to return deposits. This system has worked successfully in the UK where landlords can face fines of up to 3 times the deposit where it is found to have been illegally withheld.

Compliance
The Residential Tenancies Act provides that the tenant is legally obliged to pay rent; this obligation continues during the dispute process but, unfortunately, this does not always prove to be the case in practice. Under the current legislation, a landlord cannot terminate a tenancy during the dispute process, even for non-payment of rent, which can lead to situations where a tenant can remain in occupation for upwards of a year while not paying rent. An amendment to the Act will allow the landlord to terminate a tenancy during the dispute process in circumstances where the tenant discontinues the payment of rent but remains in occupation of the property.  This should allow a landlord to legally gain occupation of the property within a reasonable timeframe.

Mediation
While the Residential Tenancies Act does provide for the use of mediation as a means of settling disputes, only a small number of applicants in dispute cases referred to the PRTB choose to avail of mediation. The new legislation will introduce measures to increase the efficacy of the mediation provisions and make it a viable alternative to the more adversarial adjudication option where disputes arise.


Governance
Under the current legislation, members of the Board of the PRTB have a role in the dispute resolution process as well in the areas of policy formulation and corporate governance. The new legislation will remove the Board’s direct role in the dispute resolution process and allow them to concentrate specifically on policy and governance.

Streamlining Procedures
Certain provisions of the RTA can appear complex and difficult to interpret if a tenant or landlord is not familiar with the Act. The amending legislation will simplify and streamline procedures under the Act. In particular, the procedures dealing with Notices of Termination will be simplified as will the rules for the service of documents and notices.

Voluntary and Co-Operative Sector
The Government is committed to the continued development of the voluntary & co-operative housing sector including expanding their role in social housing delivery, improving governance and achieving more formal accountability generally in relation to the activities of the sector. In view of the ongoing evolution of the sector and its greater role in social housing provision, it is proposed to extend the remit of the Residential Tenancies Act to the voluntary and co-operative sector. However, segments of the voluntary sector, such as sheltered housing, may not be suitable for regulation under the RTA so it will be important that those segments of the sector that most closely parallel the current remit of the RTA, that is, “standard social housing” be carefully defined.


Media queries:
Press and Information Office
Tel: (01) 888 2638  (direct)
(01) 888 2000
E-Mail: press-office@environ.ie
Web site: www.environ.ie

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