Nearly 75% of private rental properties inspected by councils fail to meet minimum standards

Housing charity Threshold calls for tracking compliance after initial inspection and urges certification system

Threshold has long advocated for the certification of rental homes where landlords would be obliged to have the property inspected by a building professional every four years. Photograph: Getty Images
Threshold has long advocated for the certification of rental homes where landlords would be obliged to have the property inspected by a building professional every four years. Photograph: Getty Images

Nearly three-quarters of privately rented properties inspected by local authorities in the first nine months of the year failed to meet minimum standards, prompting renewed calls for a “National Car Test-style” system from a leading housing charity.

Of the 61,141 private rental inspections carried out countrywide until the end of September, 44,699 — or 71 per cent — failed to meet minimum standards, according to new figures received under Freedom of Information.

Breaches can vary across requirements in structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light, fire safety and the safety of gas, oil and electrical supplies.

Just over 42,300 resulted in improvement letters being issued to landlords while a further 2,213 improvement notices were served, an escalation from an improvement letter. Upon failure to comply with improvement letters, some 165 prohibition notices were served, directing landlords not to re-let the properties until all breaches are remedied.

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Legal action, another escalation in the process, was initiated three times in the first three quarters of this year, twice by Dublin City Council and once by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Overall, Cork City Council recorded the highest number of inspections (14,113) and failures (9,503), followed by Dublin City Council, which carried out 5,747 inspections, resulting in 3,738 failures.

While the majority of breaches are considered to be minor, such as faulty extraction fans or incorrectly placed fire blankets, housing charity Threshold said more serious failings can include holes in ceilings, significant levels of black mould or a lack of water and heating.

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“Some of that 71 per cent could be living in dire conditions and others might be facing really simple things that the tenants themselves haven’t even noticed,” said Ann-Marie O’Reilly, national advocacy manager at the charity.

“It’s quite frustrating to see such a high proportion fail year in, year out,” she said, adding that there is a general lack of compliance among landlords following improvement letters.

She believes there is a greater focus on the number of inspections carried out rather than on tracking compliance after an initial inspection, saying a certification system would ensure ongoing compliance.

While the figures obtained contain several re-inspections, a breakdown of follow-up reviews to track compliance in the same period was requested, but the Department of Housing said the record did not exist or could not be found.

Threshold has long advocated for a National Car Test-style certification system for rental homes where the onus would be on the landlord to have the property inspected by a building professional every four years.

Under the proposals, a certificate of compliance would be issued which the landlord would submit to the Residential Tenancies Board as part of the registration process.

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While the proposal has been considered by the department, a spokesman said it requires further “careful examination to avoid any unintended consequences or rental market disruption ... Should an NCT-type certification system be introduced, a significant number of properties would lie empty as they await inspection by the relevant local authority.”

He added that “many of these properties could fail their initial inspection and remain uncertified and unavailable to rent for a further period until noncompliance issues are resolved and re-inspections scheduled and completed by local authorities. This could have an adverse effect on the rental market, through market disruption and reduction in supply.”

The department expects the number of private rental inspections to be more than 80,000 in 2024, an all-time high, up from 63,500 in 2023.

More inspections as a result of allocated funding of €10 million for local authorities to carry out the checks this year, it said, has led to an increase in compliance across the private rental sector.

Jack White

Jack White

Jack White is a reporter for The Irish Times