The Issue
Far too many people in Ireland are living in rental properties that are in poor condition. At Threshold, we talk to people living with damp and mould, troubles with their heating, infestation of pests and much more.
There are minimum standards in place to protect renters. Local Authorities carry out inspections and enforce these minimum standards. However, Local Authorities only have capacity to do so many inspections a year and a high percentage of the homes do not pass the inspection.
Meanwhile, there are renters left to live in homes that range from being merely uncomfortable to live in to homes that are a threat to their health. Our goal is to ensure renters live in safe and healthy homes that meet the already laid out minimum standards.
The Solution
To ensure rented homes meet the basic minimum standards from the outset of a tenancy, Threshold proposes a new compliance system: Fit for Rent. There are two key elements to this system.
- The Local Authority will inspect the home and issue a Certificate of Fitness if it passes. The landlord will be required to provide this certificate to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) as part of the tenancy registration process. No certification, no renting out the home. Updated certificates will need to be provided to the RTB every four years.
- The current pass-fail system used by Local Authorities will be replaced with a “traffic light” system. Minor breaches, which are easily remedied and do not pose a risk to the tenant’s health and well-being, will not result in an automatic fail. Instead, the landlord will be provided with time to address the breach and provide evidence showing the breach has been fixed. Tenant verification that the breach has been fixed and/or a virtual inspection may be completed before the Local Authority can issue the certificate.
In time, this will prevent properties that do not meet the standards from being rented out. Landlords who do rent out homes without a certificate will be subject to sanctions by the RTB.
An accompanying standardised housing quality checklist and assessment criteria will ensure consistent reporting on rental quality across Local Authorities. It is envisioned, with Fit for Rent, that Local Authority inspections would be standardised nationally. Threshold is advocating for these changes to ensure that all rental stock is in line with minimum standards. When introducing Fit for Rent to the rental market, we suggest having an appropriate lead-in period to provide time for all homes to be inspected and the certificates issued to avoid disrupting supply.
Fit for Rent would ensure renters begin a tenancy knowing that the property is safe and meets minimum standards for rental accommodation, which is surely the minimum a renter can expect.
To read more about Fit for Rent, please see our policy proposal, Fit for Rent (PDF).