Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 June 2026
453. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the plans to strengthen local authorities powers in enforcing minimum standards in private and HAP rented housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48796/26]
View answerThe standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 and specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light, fire safety and the safety of gas, oil and electrical installations. These Regulations apply to all properties let or available for let. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties, including those with HAP-supported tenancies, comply with the standards set down in the Regulations.
Responsibility for the enforcement of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 in the private rental and Approved Housing Body sectors rests with the relevant local authority.
If a property has been found to be non-compliant with the Regulations, it is a matter for the local authority to determine what action is necessary and appropriate. They can issue an Improvement Letter or serve an Improvement Notice. In most cases they opt for the former.
Sections 18B of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 provides that where a landlord fails to comply with an Improvement Notice, the local authority may serve a Prohibition Notice (which directs that a dwelling cannot be re-let until all contraventions are remedied). The local authority may also consider instituting legal proceedings. These are very seldom required.
Under Section 34 of that Act, any person who by act or omission contravenes the Regulations, fails to comply with an Improvement Notice, or re-lets a house in breach of a Prohibition Notice, will be guilty of an offence and will be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both. If the offence continues after conviction, the person will be guilty of a further offence on every day on which the offence continues and for each such offence will be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €400 per day.
While the rental standards Regulations are kept under review, I have no plans to change local authority enforcement powers at this time.
The Government is committed to ensuring that a stock of high quality accommodation is available for those who live in the private rented sector. The Government’s Action Plan on housing supply and targeting homelessness - Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030 - sets a target of inspecting 25% of private residential tenancies each year. A total of €10.5 million in Exchequer funding is being made available by my Department to local authorities this year to help them meet their private rental inspection targets.
The number of rental inspections conducted by local authorities has increased significantly in recent years. Increasing from an average of 20,000 a year in the period 2008 to 2017 to over 49,000 in 2022, 63,500 in 2023, 80,000 in 2024 and an all-time-high of over 82,500 in 2025.
Detailed data in respect of the level of inspections and enforcement actions carried out and legal actions initiated by each local authority is available on my Department's website at www.gov.ie/en/publication/da3fe-private-housing-market-statistics/.
