The long-awaited, much-anticipated rental strategy arrived in a 44-page document on Tuesday, which gives landlords and renters plenty of time to digest it before they tuck into their Christmas dinner. Minister for housing Simon Coveney tried to toe the line between investor and renter needs. Neither side was ever going to be overwhelmed.
While much of the commentary has been around the 4% cap on rents, little has been made about Coveney’s pledge to introduce new, much-needed standards for the rental sector.
As The Sunday Times revealed in October, the Department of Housing is set to introduce window-safety standards. The can has been kicked further down the road, though; the new measures, which will include carbon monoxide and heating appliance measures, won’t come into effect until July 1, next year.
The details in the report were scant, but the regulations may see the retrofitting of rental accommodation with window safety features. About 18 children fall from windows each year; many incur brain injuries and some have died. The majority are below the age of five. Temple Street children’s hospital has been campaigning for regulations for the past few years.
Inspections coverage will be increased and funding will be “ring-fenced” to ensure that annual inspection targets are met. Inspection of private rental stock is virtually non-existent. Compliance rates among landlords are appallingly low. According to Coveney’s plan, only 10% of registered tenancies are inspected each year – and that’s only in the best-case scenario, the figure is even lower in some areas. The money to improve inspection coverage won’t come until 2018, though, and the target is a modest 25% by 2021.
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While the regulations may meet with opposition from landlords, any move towards improving rental accommodation standards is positive. If it saves a child’s life, it should be applauded.