Half of private lettings fail standards

Almost half of all private rented accommodation inspected in Cork City over the last three years failed to meet basic housing standards.

The most common breaches were failure to provide smoke alarms or inadequate ventilation in certain rooms which can contribute to chronic dampness.

However, while some landlords have received written warnings and improvement notices, Cork City Council has not taken a single landlord to court for any of the 1,052 individual breaches recorded since 2010.