Tenancy board launched 51 investigations into alleged breaches of rental laws last year

Half of all notices to quit investigated last year were found to be invalid, the Residential Tenancies Board said. File picture: PA

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) launched investigations into 51 alleged breaches of rental laws last year, with the majority of cases relating to increases in rent over the 4% threshold for properties in rent pressure zones.

The investigations follow the granting of new powers to the RTB in July last year to investigate and sanction landlords who engage in certain breaches of rental laws.

The new powers saw the RTB launch a confidential phone line, email address, and formal complaint form to allow members of the public to report concerns.

According to the board’s 2019 annual report, it received 263 reports through this mechanism between July and December last year, which led to the opening of 51 investigations.

The key issues being raised were a failure by landlords to register a tenancy and rent increases in RPZ areas, which accounted for 63% of all reports.

Of the 51 investigations underway, 77% related to rental increases above permitted 4% threshold in RPZ areas.

Under the new powers, the RTB’s dedicated investigations and sanctions unit can issue a formal written caution and/or a fine of up to €15,000 and/or costs of up to €15,000 where they identify breaches.

Ireland's rental sector has doubled in size since the agency was established in 2004, with one-fifth of the population now renting privately, and a further 10% renting either from Approved Housing Bodies (AHB) or local authorities.

By the end of 2019, there were over 360,000 registered tenancies. These figures now include student accommodation providers, as of last year. The majority (86%) of the 169,000 registered landlords managed one or two tenancies.

While applications for dispute resolution accounted for 2% of all registered tenancies, the RTB received 6,185 reports of rental disputes, down slightly on 2018 levels, but the second highest number recorded.

Key issues raised in disputes between tenants and landlords included rent arrears, issues around notices to terminate a tenancy, and rental deposits. Of all new disputes recorded, 57% were brought by tenants and 41% by landlords.

Over €2.1m was paid out to landlords for rent arrears, while damages in the order of €750,000 were paid out to tenants and close to €250,000 was paid to landlords following adjudications and appeals hearings.

The validity of notices to terminate a tenancy agreement were also an issue, with half of all notices found to be invalid. Housing charity, Threshold, said this reflects its experience on the ground.

“We found 50% of notices of terminations that were brought to us by tenants were, in fact, invalid. We’re concerned that so many landlords are issuing invalid notices of termination and there are likely many tenants who take them at face value and don’t challenge them,” John Mark McCafferty, Threshold CEO, said.

The retention of deposits by landlords also remains an issue and requires action, he said, to progress plans for a rental deposit protection scheme, for which legislation was introduced in 2015.

“We’ve been calling for a deposit protection scheme for many years. It's been legislated for but hasn’t commenced, but we’re glad to see that it is in the programme for government,” Mr McCafferty said.