80% of landlords refuse to provide PPS details

EIGHT out of 10 landlords of private rented property are refusing to pass on details of their PPS (Personal Public Service) number to the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

The Dáil’s public spending watchdog heard that just 31,000 landlords whose tenants are in receipt of rent supplement replied to such a request last year.

The department’s secretary general, Bernadette Lacey, told the Dáil Public Accounts Committee that it had gathered details on only 31,000 landlords for 2009 to date, despite the fact that it had paid rent supplement to 150,000 recipients.