Southside concerns over rental properites

CONCERN has been expressed over substandard and potentially unsafe accommodation in the private rental market on the Southside.

The issue was raised in a Dáil question by Dublin Mid-West TD, John Curran (FF), who chairs the Oireachtas Committee on Housing. 

In response, the Minister for Housing, Eoghan Murphy, confirmed that 1,135 out of 1,362 rented properties inspected in the South Dublin local authority area were deemed not to be meeting the minimum standards. The comparative figures for Dublin City and Dún-Laoghaire Rathdown were 1,165 and 202 respectively.

Deputy Curran described the non-compliance figures for the private rental market as another consequence of Ireland’s housing emergency.

“Private landlords, local authorities and approved housing bodies all have a legal obligation to comply with the appropriate standards in rented dwellings,” he said. 

“Tenants are paying extortionate rents in my area of South and West Dublin that show no sign of abating. The very least they should expect is that their accommodation meets the basic relevant regulatory requirements in health and safety.”

He added: “A property must be in a proper state of structural repair and adequately maintained, inside and out, to be available for rent on the housing market. Many tenants avoid reporting or highlighting deficiencies out of fear that their tenancy could be affected as a result.

“There’s such a severe shortage of rental properties altogether that a lot of people feel forced to put up with these shoddy standards. These poor standards are a consequence of an unacceptable highly competitive market.

“It might sound extreme, but failing to put in place the essential safeguards against carbon monoxide or fire and smoke is effectively playing with people’s lives. It’s likely to be just sheer luck that no accident and injury has happened, at least that the general public have been made aware of.”

In response to Deputy Curran, the Minister for Housing said: “The Rental Strategy recognises the need for additional resources to be provided to local authorities to aid increased inspections of properties and ensure greater compliance with the Regulations. Provision has been made for an additional €2.5 million funding in 2018, with the intention of providing further increases each year in the period to 2021 to facilitate a targeted inspection coverage of 25 percent of rental properties annually.

“Since establishment of the RTB, over €36 million has been paid to local authorities to assist them in the performance of their functions under the Housing Acts, including the inspection of rented accommodation.”