COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, October 14, 2024

QUESTION NO.34

QUESTION: Councillor K. Keane

To ask the Chief Executive what powers the council have to enforce the recommendations of council environmental health inspections on HAP properties. 

REPLY:

The minimum standards for private rented accommodation are set out in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. The Council has a statutory obligation to enforce the regulations, and to inspect private rented accommodation to ensure minimum standards are met. Inspections of Housing Assistant Payment (HAP) properties, privately rented properties, Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) properties, and properties managed by Approved Housing Bodies are carried out on a pro-active basis, and in response to complaints from tenants. 

By agency agreement, Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) from the Health Service Executive carry out the enforcement function on behalf of the Council. Where contraventions of the regulations are identified, an improvement letter issues to the landlord detailing works to be completed within a prescribed timeframe. Both the Council and the EHOs actively work with landlords with the aim of achieving compliance. Failure by the landlord to complete the required works may result in escalation to enforcement proceedings. These include the following:

Improvement Notice
On recommendation by the EHO, an improvement notice may be served by the Council where there are significant contraventions of the regulations, or a history on non-compliance with improvement letter(s).

Prohibition Notice
On recommendation by the EHO, where a landlord fails to comply with an improvement notice, the Council may serve a prohibition notice. The prohibition notice directs the landlord not to re-let the property until contraventions identified in the improvement notice have been remedied.

Legal Proceedings
On recommendation by the EHO, the Council may consider initiating legal proceedings where a landlord fails to comply with an improvement notice, or re-lets a property in breach of a prohibition notice.