[ad_1]
Only one owner faced legal action stemming from violations of housing standards at 7,848 privately rented properties that failed a first inspection this year, new figures reveal.
The inspections were carried out in the first six months of 2020, when investigations were hampered by coronavirus restrictions.
However, in the following three months to September, none of the 29 local authorities surveyed by RTÉ Investigates took legal action.
Municipalities inspected a total of 10,200 privately rented properties in the first six months of this year. Approximately 76% of these properties were found on first inspection not to meet housing standards.
That information was released in response to a parliamentary question from Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd. He said the numbers demonstrate the need for stronger action by city councils, which are responsible for enforcing housing standards.
RTÉ Investigates conducted additional monitoring of inspection reports from local authorities to identify compliance rates in individual counties during the first nine months of the year.
In response to a series of Freedom of Information requests, local authorities revealed that no properties met housing standards after the first inspections of 770 homes in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, 607 homes in Co Sligo and 259 homes in Co Offaly. .
In a first inspection of 654 properties in Co Galway, only one property was found to be eligible.
Read more:
Crowded house: 11 people crammed into an apartment during Covid-19
Compliance rates after the first few inspections were also low at Kildare, with 14 considered compliant out of the 472 properties inspected; Galway City, with five deemed compliant out of 345 properties inspected; County Cork, with six deemed compliant out of 607 inspected; and Longford, with six of the 253 properties deemed compliant.
“It’s a shame that the standards are so low,” said Congressman Fergus O’Dowd. “It is clear that the owners do not fear an inspection, as very few of them will eventually end up in court,” he said.
Figures provided to Rep. O’Dowd show that across the country, city inspectors issued 19 prohibition notices and 777 improvement notices stemming from housing violations in the first six months of the year.
However, all of this may have limited impact on a persistent rogue owner, according to Dublin City Council.
The Council has asked for a specific legal penalty to deal with homeowners who fail to comply with an upgrade notice or a ban notice.
He has also called for greater powers to deal with overcrowding, a post highlighted by a recent report by RTÉ Investigates, which showed examples of up to six tenants sharing a single room.
During the course of the investigation, RTÉ Investigates infiltrated to observe the harsh reality of tenants living in such conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A bill to change the law was proposed two years ago by Barry Cowen of Fianna Fáil.
However, his 2018 overcrowded housing bill is still making its way into the Dáil. Congressman Fergus O’Dowd called for the support of all parties for the bill.
“This is a matter of urgency,” he said. “We cannot allow this to go on any longer.”
[ad_2]