Tenants have to be registered

THE estimated 80,000 landlords who have not registered their tenants have not realised that the days of illegal evictions and withholding deposits are over, a housing agency warned yesterday.

Threshold said that landlords should sign up immediately to the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB).

This is the law and we want 100% compliance,” said chairperson Aideen Hayden.

Around 70,000 landlords have registered their tenancies with the PRTB since last September, which Threshold estimates is less than half of the total of 150,000 landlords.

Ms Hayden said: “Maybe a lot of landlords don’t realise it is in their interest to register. If they don’t, they have no access to the dispute mechanism,” she said.

The PRTB has already resolved around 100 landlord-tenant disputes informally and has issued determination orders in 10 cases.

Landlords who do not register with the board face fines of up to €3,000 or six months’ imprisonment.

PRTB deputy director Shirley Groake said all tenancies had to be registered within one month of tenants moving in.

The Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA) said landlords had shown exceptional compliance.

But spokesperson Fintan McNamara said it was grossly unfair that landlords had to pay registration fees each time a tenant arrived.

He said landlords were waiting to see how the board’s low-cost dispute resolution system operated.