Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 July 2026
298. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if steps will be taken in relation to anti-social behaviour (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52535/26]
View answerMy colleague the Minister for Justice has overall responsibility for policy and legislation relating to serious incidents of anti-social behaviour through the criminal code which is enforced by An Garda Síochána.
My Department also has a key role to play in this by providing a framework of legislation giving social housing landlords a range of tools to tackle anti-social behaviour being perpetrated by their tenants. Local authorities are responsible under the Housing Acts for the management and maintenance of their housing stock and the management of their estates, including taking appropriate measures to counter anti-social behaviour. The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997 Act provides for the issuing of court orders to exclude a household member engaged in anti-social behaviour from the dwelling and, if appropriate, the estate in question. The 1997 Act also empowers a housing authority to refuse to allocate or sell a dwelling to a person engaged in anti-social behaviour.
The powers of local authorities in this area were also significantly enhanced by Part 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014, which provides for the issuing of a tenancy warning requiring that tenants cease any anti-social activity. Part 2 of the 2014 Act also gives local authorities the power to recover possession of their dwellings from households in serious breach of their tenancy agreements, including engaging in anti-social behaviour.
The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as a quasi-judicial independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2026 (RTA) to regulate the rental sector; provide information to tenants and landlords; maintain a national register of tenancies; resolve disputes between tenants and landlords; and conduct research and provide information to inform policy.
The remit of the RTB covers the private rental sector, the not-for-profit housing providers commonly known as Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) and Student-specific Accommodation providers (SSA). As previously set out, action to deal with anti-social behaviour is primarily a matter for An Garda Síochána, in the case of private rented dwellings, landlords are responsible for enforcing the obligations that apply to their tenants under the RTA. The RTA, in this regard, prohibits a tenant engaging in anti-social behaviour in, or in the vicinity of, a dwelling to which the Act applies.
It also allows a landlord to terminate any tenancy where the tenant is engaging in or allowing others to engage in such behaviour, subject to a notice period of only 7 days in the case of serious anti-social behaviour or 28 days in the case of less serious but persistent behaviour.
Section 77 of the RTA provides that third parties who are directly and adversely affected by tenants engaging in anti-social behaviour may, subject to certain conditions, refer a complaint to the RTB against a landlord who has failed to enforce the tenant’s obligations.
Furthermore, the Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026, which is expected to pass through all stages of enactment before the summer recess, provides that an RTB adjudicator may, under certain circumstances, receive evidence of alleged anti-social behaviour by way of a statement by a member of the Garda Síochána or an officer of a housing authority.
