This recently proposed Bill, which will have the effect of amending the existing Residential Tenancies Act 2004, heralds mostly good news for landlords. This article sets out the main issues which this new Bill intends to address.
What stage is it at?
Although no hard copy is available yet, the Bill, which is expected to be published sometime in 2011, is aimed primarily on streamlining and simplifying the Act and reducing the delays of the PRTB. The Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government are currently drafting Heads of Bill which will hopefully be presented to government before the end of 2010.
The impending Bill drew submissions from a number of key stakeholders including landlord and tenant representative groups, social and voluntary bodies together with residents associations and individual submissions from landlords as well as staff and the board of the PRTB.
“No Pay No Stay”
A main difficulty for landlords under the current system has been tenants’ refusal to pay rent while they are in dispute with their landlords, where lengthy delays for such resolution are to be expected. A recent landlordsolutions.ie case is a perfect example of tenants’ manipulation of this frustrating situation. In this case a tenant’s representative brazenly stated at a PRTB hearing that one of the reasons for withholding rent was because the landlord referred the dispute to the PRTB. The tenant continues to remain in the property rent free and there is nothing the landlord can do pending the PRTB decision – Shocking ! Minister Michael Finneran when discussing the Bill made a commitment he would stop tenants from abusing the system. The Bill will be a bid to allow legal termination of a tenancy in these circumstances. This would allow landlords to legally gain occupation of the property within a reasonable timeframe.
Quicker Turnaround
The Minister has acknowledged that current legislation is complicated and does not always best support the PRTB “in the speedy delivery of its services”. The Bill may introduce a statutory objective of 6 months as the time within which the PRTB will aim to process and issue determination in disputes referred to them. In addition, it suggests bringing in measures to increase the viability of mediation as an alternative option as well as the creation of an online tenancy registration system. This online system is currently underway and is due to be brought into operation in early November.
Deposit Retention
Landlords may face mandatory fines if found to have illegally retained deposits. This is something that landlords should make note of and ensure henceforth that there is full justification for holding the tenant’s deposit i.e. rent arrears or damage beyond normal wear and tear. Rationale for this proposal is based on recent statistics which show that it is one of the main causes of dispute before the PRTB.
Room for more
A number of other changes are suggested. Among such is the simplification of procedures dealing with Notices of Termination and the rules for the service of documents. The Minister has stated that there are a number of issues requiring further research. These include the Act’s engagement with anti-social behaviour matters, third party complaints under the Act and how to best address further issues surrounding the retention of deposits.
landlordsolutions.ie anxiously awaits the outcome of these issues and will be commenting on the draft legislation. Comprehensive submissions on the law have also been submitted by the IAVI and the IPOA. In particular, we commend the recommendation by the IAVI that there should be a register of “rogue tenants” on the PRTB website and that the PRTB should be given more power to enforce determination orders. We also support the suggestion by the IPOA that a compensation account be created for landlords who have been unsuccessful in recovering rents, costs etc from tenants through the PRTB.
Concluding Reflection
If such changes materialise and the Bill is passed it would have the effect of remedying some of the major flaws of current legislation. Although only at an early stage, an encouraging aspect of the anticipated changes are the focus on the simplification and streamlining of procedures from a landlords perspective, not just that of the tenant. If the bill retains this focus, it could have the effect of making the lives of landlords a little easier. In this respect this new Bill is intervention that is much welcomed and badly needed.
This document contains a general summary of recent developments and is not a definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice must be obtained before taking action based on the summary set out herein and landlordsolutions.ie take no responsibility for any loss or damage caused in reliance on the information herein.
