Sir, - As students once more begin to contemplate the beginning of a new academic year, one of the issues foremost in their minds is accommodation. Finding a place to live for the year is an extremely difficult task, with demand far exceeding supply. When too many people are chasing too few goods the price will go up. And so it is again this year.
I do not seek to criticise the marketplace; competition often works to the advantage of the consumer. My criticism is that standards within the private rented sector can be appalling and little is being done to rectify this.
The Government will point to minimum standards legislation and declare that tenants with a complaint should contact their local authority and it will be investigated. The problem, however, is that rented dwellings are not being examined at the beginning. In France, landlords are obliged to bring apartments up to a very high standard before the premises can be let. In this country the Housing (Registration of Rented Properties) Regulations, 1996 was rarely enforced and the High Court recently ruled that the legislation was ineffective, as although landlords were required to register their properties, and to renew this registration each year, the legislation did not provide any penalty for failing to do so. This resulted in large numbers of landlords who had already registered failing to renew their properties.
Examining properties prior to the lettings is important as people who complain retrospectively will inevitably have to move out of the sub-standard accommodation and this is a big disincentive for them to report minimum standards. It must also be noted that properties in a sub-standard condition are to a large extent rented to poorer members of society - a group who require greater protection.
The law needs to be tightened up immediately and they strictly enforced to ensure the most vulnerable members of our society can live in decent accommodation with dignity. - Yours, etc.,
Mark P. Dillon, Lake Lawn, Well Road, Douglas, Cork.