There is no doubt that the quality of rented accommodation in this State has improved in line with the massive building programme which has been under way for the past 15 years.
That is as it should be. Nobody wants to see a reappearance of the Strumpet City-style dwellings which became a feature of Dublin life in the bad old days.
And, because of that, the warnings of Threshold, a voluntary body that provides housing advice for some of the most vulnerable members of our society, should be paid immediate attention by city planners and the Government.
Serious problems continue to exist at the lowest end of the rental market. Of the 7,000-plus units inspected last year by local authorities, almost one-third were found to be sub-standard: lacking hot water, vermin-infested and with mould growing on walls. And yet only four prosecutions were taken. That official response, as Threshold points out, sends the wrong signal to ruthless and greedy landlords. Not alone should more prosecutions be taken, it argues, but the minimum standards established for such accommodation should be raised.
Threshold has also advised that the quality of many apartment blocks being built for private investors is simply unacceptable. They lack storage space and somewhere to dry clothes, have poor sound insulation and are not designed with the needs of children in mind. They are, in effect, transitional dwellings designed for young, single people. They are totally unsuited to family living. And yet an increasing number of them are being let to families on rent support, resulting in a significant concentration of poverty in certain areas. This pattern is likely to accelerate because of a new requirement on local authorities to provide accommodation in the private sector for those who have been in receipt of rent supplement for 18 months or more. An estimated 28,000 recipients will be affected in the short term.
The failure of local authorities to build a sufficient number of social houses for needy people may explain their past, lackadaisical approach to enforcing standards at the lowest end of the rental market. Under the new Residential Tenancies Act, however, they have been given the money and the power to police this area. Much remains to be done. Tenement-style accommodation, with single units sharing toilets and bathrooms, is not acceptable. And something must be done about the shoddy quality of inner-city apartment blocks. Given local authority rentals now account for 40 per cent of the private market, they must ensure higher standards and construction of more family-friendly accommodation.