Locations
On 22 February 2016, two landlords were successfully prosecuted in the District Court by the Private Residential Tenancies Board (“PRTB”) for failing to register their tenancies under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2015. The first landlord was convicted and fined €1,000 while the second landlord was convicted and fined €1,500. Both landlords also were ordered to pay the costs of the PRTB in the sum of €2,500 plus VAT each.
The PRTB continues to clamp down on unregistered tenancies – registration is an obligation of the landlord under the Acts – with 22,854 letters issued to landlords to remind them of their registration obligations in 2015 alone.
Reacting to these latest convictions, Kathryn Ward, Assistant Director of the PRTB, noted the size of the private rented sector and commented: “It is important that the sector is well regulated and registration is the first step in that process. The Private Residential Tenancies Act has been in place for over ten years now. It is not acceptable that a minority of Landlords attempt to operate outside the law, despite several official communications setting out clearly what their obligations are and what the consequences for not registering may be.”
Further prosecutions before the District Court are being prepared.