Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson has urged that all private rental properties undergo mandatory inspections and certification, reports RTE.
New data released by the Department of Housing reveals that over half of private rental homes assessed last year failed to meet the legal minimum housing standards at first inspection.
Out of 62,085 rental homes examined by local authorities, 37,800 initially fell short of required standards, reports RTE.
Responding to the statistics, Eoin Ó Broin stated that “not only did 60% of inspected properties fail to meet legally required minimum standards, but the level of inspection is low.
“There are 240,964 private rental tenancies registered with the RTB [Residential Tenancies Board], however we know many more tenancies are not registered,” he said in a statement, reports RTE.
“While some council inspection levels are high, others are abysmally and unacceptable low. Today’s figures demonstrate that the introduction of a mandatory inspection and certification regime for all private rental properties is now urgent,” reports RTE.
Mr Ó Broin also recommended that the Government ensure that one-quarter of the entire private rental market is subject to inspection and certification each year.
He added that landlords should be obligated to show proof of compliance when listing their properties for rent, reports RTE.
Under the Housing Regulations Act of 2019, every private rental home on the Irish market must adhere to a range of standards, including those for heating, fire safety, ventilation, lighting, electricity, and sanitation.
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The areas with the highest number of substandard rental properties included Dublin’s four local authorities: Fingal County Council (3,768), South Dublin County Council (3,594), Dublin City Council (3,209), and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (2,961), reports RTE.
Next were Meath County Council (2,692), Cork City Council (2,669), Cork County Council (2,208), Waterford City and County Council (1,735), Louth County Council (1,582), Kildare County Council (1,421), Limerick City and County Council (1,365), and Mayo County Council (1,241).
The figures also show that 2,330 official improvement notices were issued to landlords, directing them to bring properties up to standard. Of these, 1,274 were in Dublin City Council’s area, while Sligo County Council had the second highest with 554, reports RTE.
Last year, 210 prohibition notices were issued, which legally prevent landlords from letting unsafe properties. These included 148 in Dublin City, 13 in Kildare, and 11 in Wicklow.
Ten legal actions were also taken by local councils, involving properties located in areas such as Donegal, Dublin City, Wicklow, and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, reports RTE.
The trend of high failure rates on first inspection has been consistent in recent years, with the Department of Housing recording similar results every year since 2012.
However, 2023 saw a record number of inspections carried out, with 62,085 properties inspected a total of 80,151 times, reflecting cases where follow-up visits were needed, reports RTE.
This compares with 63,567 inspections conducted in 2022, 40,308 in 2019, and an average of around 20,000 each year between 2005 and 2017.
Commenting on the figures, Minister for Housing and Fianna Fáil TD James Browne said: “Ensuring that private rented accommodation regardless of what town, city or rural area you’re renting meets required standards is incredibly important, reports RTE.
“We want to ensure that rental tenants are afforded standards which ensure requirements such as adequate heating, ventilation, sanitation, and fire safety measures are met. It’s the basics, and it is what renters should be able to expect from every landlord,” the minister added, reports RTE.
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