THE Department of the Environment, under Housing and Planning Minister Jan O’Sullivan, has published the Residential Tenancies (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 2012. She says the bill “represents a significant reform of the residential tenant-landlord regulatory environment” and indicated that she hopes that some other significant policy issues will be addressed later in the Bill’s progress through the Oireachtas. The new Residential Tenancies Bill makes provision for:
* Those tenancies in the voluntary and cooperative housing sector that most closely parallel private rented tenancies being regulated under the Act
* The agency responsible for regulation of the tenant-landlord relationship, the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB), being re-named as the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB)
* Formal effect given to the merger of the Rent Tribunal with the Residential Tenancies Board
* A reduction in the size of the board, from 15 to 12 members
* Measures to increase the take-up of mediation as a key dispute resolution mechanism.
“The measures that promote mediation in dispute resolution are particularly welcome,” explained Minister O’Sullivan. “The extension of the registration requirement to a large number of voluntary housing tenancies is also a major development… This will bring greater transparency and accountability to this important sector that is playing an increasingly active role in social housing provision”.
The Programme for Government commits to the creation of a deposit protection scheme to address the issue of illegal retention of tenants’ deposits. The Minister is awaiting the outcomes of Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) commissioned research on this matter in Autumn 2012 and will, at that point, consider how best to address the research findings in the context of this Bill.
The Minister is also determined to address the issue of non-payment of rent by sitting tenants .
She confirmed that an amendment to address the matter is currently being drafted and will be ready in time for consideration when the Bill is presented to the Oireachtas.
