THE VAST majority of private rented accommodation in Dublin used by tenants in receipt of the rent supplement fails to meet legal minimum standards for proper heating or ventilation.
A report by the State-funded Centre for Housing Research shows that substandard housing is much more common among rent-supplement properties compared to the rest of the private rented market. Some 78 per cent of private rented properties in Dublin City Council where tenants were on rent supplement did not comply with basic legal minimum standards.
Much of this substandard accommodation includes a lack of hot or cold running water, mould growing on walls or ceilings, vermin infestation and tenants living in windowless rooms.
Failure rates were also high in areas such as Louth County Council (56 per cent), Clare (49 per cent), Longford (40 per cent), Limerick (38 per cent) and Cork (33 per cent). Galway was among the better performing areas, with a failure rate of 18 per cent.
About 60,000 people are in receipt of rent supplement, a form of social assistance aimed at providing support to people on low incomes who cannot afford to live in private rented accommodation.
The report notes that rent-supplement properties, which represent the lower end of the market, are less likely to be improved due to the high level of short-term lets.
The requirements of legal standards - introduced almost 15 years ago and aimed at ensuring a better quality of rental accommodation - have been widely criticised.
For example, the 1993 standards do not stipulate that a piped supply of hot water should be available for the full day. On heating, they allow for the sole source of heat to include open fireplaces or portable gas heaters.
Sr Breege Keenan of the Vincentian Refugee Centre, which helps to source housing for refugees and others in need, said she was regularly shocked by the poor standards. She said the inspection system was deeply flawed and the legal minimum standards were outdated.
Tenant support group Threshold has called for a system of certification to ensure all rented property meets a decent standard.
Under an "NCT for housing", qualified professionals would certify properties for minimum quality standards and fire safety.
Threshold chairwoman Aideen Hayden said: "People are entitled to live in safe, secure accommodation. We need a system that makes sure all rented property is fit to live in, both in relation to minimum standards and fire safety."
The Government says it is preparing to publish new minimum standards for rented accommodation. Minister of State for Housing Batt O'Keeffe says more money is being directed towards improving the policing of private rented standards.
The proceeds from tenancy registration fees - €3 million this year - are being linked to local authority performance in enforcement of private rented standards.
The new standards will update the 1993 regulations and introduce new requirements, such as ensuring that areas outside a flat or house, such as a garden, are maintained. Official figures for private rented accommodation show high failure rates when measured against existing standards.
Figures for 2006 show 30 per cent of 6,800 properties inspected fell below minimum standards. Legal action against landlords was initiated in just 11 cases.
