More than 140 rentals in UCC area not registered, Dáil hears
Fine Gael TD Colm Burke told the that the list of rented properties not registered with the Residential Tenancies Board are in the College Road, Magazine Road and Connaught Avenue areas of Cork City. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins
More than 140 rented properties in just one area of Cork City are not registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) leaving tenants unprotected, the Dáil has heard.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said there is a "real problem" around the number of landlords who are not registering their properties, which is a legal requirement.
The issue was raised by Cork North-Central TD Colm Burke who hit out at the low number of inspections and prosecutions.
He said that in 2016 a total of 29 people were prosecuted for not having their properties registered. However, this dropped to just 10 last year.
"In the area in my constituency around UCC, a survey done by the residents association there who examined the records of 242 properties found 142 of the properties, which had tenants in them, were not registered with the residential tenancy board," Mr Burke told the Dáil.
Mr Burke asked the Tánaiste to take action to ensure the RTB follow through in their role and make sure that all landlords register their properties.
Responding, Mr Varadkar said: "There does seem to be a lot of unregistered properties, just from my own sense of things, particularly in our city centres, including Dublin and Cork and that's a real problem in terms of taxes unpaid and in terms of tenants being unprotected.
"I do know that the board has received a significant increase in budget in recent years so that it can carry out inspections, so that it can enforce action, but from what you are telling me a lot more needs to be done."
Mr Varadkar said he would follow up on the matter with Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien.
Mr Burke told the that he has now passed on the list of rented properties identified in the College Road, Magazine Road and Connaught Avenue areas of Cork City which were found to be unregistered following a survey carried out by the local residents association. He added that there are similar levels of non-registration in other cities, including Limerick.
The vast majority of landlords who are renting are registering, but it appears that around student accommodation areas there seems to be an attitude of ignoring their legal requirements.
He suggested that there is up to 60% non-registration and this can cause significant problems when members of the public trying to report anti-social behaviour to landlords.
"It's not only about registration but it's also about making sure that properties are up to a certain standard from a fire regulation point of the view and everything else, you know," he said.
Catherine Clancy, Chairperson of the Magazine Road and Surrounding Areas Residents Association, said it wants the RTB to be brought before the Public Accounts Committee to answer questions on the lack of compliance and enforcements.
"The non-compliance by landlords has consequences for tenants and neighbouring properties on issues of management, maintenance, health and safety, upkeep of standards and antisocial behaviour," she said. "This results in unacceptable delays of many months in complaints being dealt with by the RTB."
