THE DAYS of damp, unsanitary bedsits and apartments may be drawing to a close because of new regulations that come into force next February.
From that time, all new first-time lettings will have to meet minimum standards involving heating, sanitary and kitchen facilities, ventilation and fire safety. Landlords of existing rented accommodation will be granted a four-year phasing-in period, during which properties will have to upgraded if necessary. The effectiveness of the new regulations will, as always, depend on enforcement. And local authorities have been particularly sluggish in that regard.
It is not just the quality of rented accommodation that has to be improved. The level of tax compliance within the sector has generated much critical comment by the Comptroller and Auditor General John Buckley and the Dáil Committee of Public Accounts. As a consequence, the Revenue Commissioners asked the Government to grant it new powers to identify recalcitrant landlords in this week's Finance Bill. Instead, the authority to gain automatic access to the database of the Private Rented Tenancies Board (PRTB) will be delayed until a new Housing Act becomes law. This apparent reluctance to tackle the dark side of the private rented sector has been a consistent feature in official behaviour.
Local authorities are required by law to ensure rented accommodation, amounting to about 150,000 units, is of an adequate standard. But only a handful of councils carry out inspections. Last year, less than 5 per cent of properties were examined. Thirty per cent of those were sub-standard but only 11 prosecutions were taken.
The same lackadaisical approach is taken to tax compliance. The Department of Social Welfare has failed to keep proper records of payments amounting to €442 million made to landlords under its rent supplement and accommodation schemes. As a result, its records cannot be matched with the Revenue Commissioners. And while the Revenue is seeking powers to access the database of the PRTB, those records are incomplete. At a conservative estimate, 50,000 flats and apartments have not been registered.
At a time when compliant citizens are being called upon to shoulder a larger tax burden, this perverse attitude towards the rights - rather than the obligations - of landlords can no longer be tolerated. The interests of tenants must also be protected. As a priority, however, the owners of all rented accommodation should be tracked down and registered.