Madam, - I want to draw your readers' attention to serious problems arising in some private housing estates where large numbers of houses are rented to private tenants:
1. Failure of some landlords to maintain their houses or register their houses.
2. Failure of some tenants to keep houses in reasonable order.
3. Anti-social behaviour by a small minority of tenants which goes unchecked due to the failure of landlords to do their duty.
These are issues which the Private Residential Tenancies Board was set up to address. Although it was set up in September 2004, from what I can see, it still isn't functioning properly. By the PRTB's own admission, up to half the country's landlords have failed to register with it.
Figures that I have seen for one private estate in Clondalkin with a large number of rented houses indicate that fewer than a quarter of landlords have registered with the board, even though such landlords are liable to fines up to €3000.
I have some questions which I want the PRTB to answer: What is it doing to ensure that all landlords register with it? It is not really important that they register so that residents of estates who have a problem, whether home-owners or law-abiding tenants, can track down the landlord and have the problem sorted out?
When is the PRTB going to function in terms of dealing with day-to-day problems? A letter I sent it last January still hasn't been replied to. Most importantly, when will the board be able to assist residents who are struggling to cope with anti-social behaviour that is making life hell for them? - Yours, etc,
Cllr ROBERT DOWDS (Labour Party, Clondalkin), Castle Park, Dublin 22.