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Comhairle Contae Maigh Eo
Mayo County Council
STRATEGY FOR THE
RENTAL SECTOR
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Housing Office
College House
Swinford
April 2018
INDEX
1. Introduction Page 1
2. Rental Sector in Mayo Page 2
3. Inspection Performance of Local Authorities/
Mayo County Council Page 3
4. Considerations Page 6
5. Actions Page 7
6. Appendix 1 – Procedures Page 10
7. Appendix 2 - Guide on Minimum Standards for
Rented Residential Accommodation Page 13
Page | 1
Strategy for the Rental Sector
Implementation Plan for Inspections of Rental Properties
2018—2021
1. Introduction
Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness in Pillar 4
committed to the development of a strategy for a viable and sustainable
rental sector and outlined a range of rental measures to achieve this. In
December 2016 the ‘Strategy for the Rental Sector’ was published in
response to that commitment.
In order to have a healthy housing market it is essential to have a
functioning private rental sector that is accessible and affordable, offers
security and is of a good standard. The strategy is structured around four
key areas central to the provision of a strong and viable private rented
sector:
• Security
• Supply
• Standards
• Services
It is understood at a Central and Local level that the ‘quality of rental
accommodation is critical to the success and sustainability of the
residential rental sector and to its attractiveness as a long term
accommodation option for households. Residential rental properties must
provide safe, efficient, durable, comfortable and environmentally
sustainable homes for those who live in them. They must also be solid,
stable and secure investments for those who own them’ (Strategy for the
Rental Sector, 2016).
The key area of propery standards has one main objective - to improve the
quality and management of rental accommodation. This is to be achieved
through three key actions:
• Introduce new standards regulations focusing on safety
• Increase inspections coverage and compliance through specific ring
fenced funding and annual inspections targets
Page | 2
• Develop a more efficient and effective shared service approach to
inspections, consolidating local authority inspection functions into a
national or regional set of arrangements, ensuring a more consistent
approach to the inspection and enforcement process, to the benefit
of landlords and tenants alike.
In this context each Local Authority has been tasked to draft an
Implementation Plan outlining its strategy for the inspection of private
rental accommodation in its functional area for the period 2018 -2021.
2. Rental Sector in Mayo
The interdependency between the private rental sector and the social rental
sector is continually growing with much of the demand for social housing
being met by the private rental sector through a number of schemes
administered by Local Authorities.
An analysis of the data available to Mayo County Council shows that
currently there are 2313 households subsidised in private rental
accommodation in Mayo as follows:
Housing Assistance Payment 927
Rental Accommodation Scheme/
Leasing 788
Rent Supplement (estimated) 598
Approximately, 10 properties join HAP on a weekly basis. Based on current
trends the number of households approved for Social Housing Support
(SHS), being subsidised in the private rental sector, will soon exceed the
number of households being accommodated in Local Authority & AHB
owned accommodation in Mayo (2,943).
This demonstrates the extent to which housing authorities have become
over reliant on the private rental sector to meet the accommodation needs
of households approved for SHS. It is imperative that the households being
subsidised in the private rented sector are residing in accommodation
which meets the minimum standards for private rented dwellings.
In an effort to ease the pressure on the private rented sector, Mayo County
Council has embarked on an extremely proactive Housing Capital
Programme for the period 2016 -2021. The programme will deliver circa
708 additional units of social housing accommodation in Mayo, almost
70% of which will be new build.
Page | 3
According to the latest figures available from the Residential Tenancies
Board (extract dated 28th February 2018) there are 6,754 registered
tenancies in Mayo. Census 2016 shows that nationally circa 30% of
households are renting. This is a dramatic change from 20 years ago and
this upward trend is going to continue.
It is evident that the tenure mix in Ireland is moving closer to that of other
European countries, with the number of households living in the private
rented sector continuing to grow. This trend along with increases in
population is going to put even greater pressures on the rental sector.
Ensuring that these private rented accommodation units are fit for purpose
and comply with the relevant standards is now more important than ever.
3. Inspection Performance of Local Authorities/Mayo County Council
The National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) published a report in
October 2016 ‘Rented Houses Inspections – A review of Local Authority
Performance of Private Rented Houses Regulations Functions’.
This report indicated that there was a low rate of compliance with the
regulations, little consistency across local authorities in their approach to
the implementation of the regulations and widespread low rates of
inspection of private rental accommodation. The report highlighted
insufficient numbers of staff working full time on inspection functions with
generally less than 10% of registered tenancies being inspected annually.
As a result of these findings, commitments have been made in Rebuilding
Ireland and the Strategy for the Rental Sector to increase the number of
inspections of properties and ensure greater compliance with the standards
regulations.
€2.5m in funding is being made available nationally in 2018 with
increases envisaged up to 2021 so as to achieve a 25% inspection rate of
rental properties annually by 2021.
Table 1 shows inspection rates for Mayo County Council for the period
2014 – 2017.
Page | 4
Table 1
Inspections in Mayo 2014-2017
Year
Total No. of
Registered
Tenancies at year
end
Number of Private
Rented Inspections
Carried Out
Inspection rate as a
percentage of no. of
registered tenancies
2014
5,535
322
5.82%
2015
5,966
255
4.27%
2016
6,082
106
1.74%
2017
6,663
195
2.93%
The need to address the issue of inspections was recognised in Mayo
County Council following the re-establishment of the Central Housing Office
in 2016.
In March 2017, a technician was appointed to the Housing Department to
carry out Private Rented Inspections on a full time basis. Administrative
support was also provided which is currently 0.8 WTE. This has accounted
for the increase in the number of inspections of private rented
accommodation in 2017.
Based on increases in the number of registered tenancies and the number
of inspections achieved in 2017, Table 2 outlines the target number of
inspections required by Mayo County Council each year to achieve an
inspection rate of 25% by 2021.
Page | 5
Table 2
Target Inspection Programme in Mayo 2018 -2021
Year
No. of Inspections
Required
Percentage no. of
inspections this will
achieve
2018
666
10%
2019
999
15%
2020
1,333
20%
2021
1,666
25%
This will equate to the following number of initial inspections on a
quarterly basis.
Table 3
Target Inspection Programme by Quarter in Mayo 2018 -2021
Year
Qtr 1
Qtr 2
Qtr 3
Qtr 4
Total
2018
50
90
263
263
666
2019
250
250
250
249
999
2020
334
333
333
333
1,333
2021
417
417
416
416
1,666
Page | 6
A review will take place at the end of each quarter to monitor progress.
There are a number of considerations and actions required if the targets
are to be achieved.
4. Considerations
Staff Resources
Based on performance over the last number of years the targets are very
ambitious and could not possibly be met within the existing staffing
structure of 1 WTE Inspector and 0.8 WTE Administrative Support. Mayo is
a very large county with private rented dwellings dispersed across every
town and village. This does impact on efficiency in the inspection workflow,
particularly so in respect of the response to complaints
Allowing for pre-inspection work, the inspection, post inspection work, travel
time and follow up work to ensure compliance it is estimated that an
inspector will carry out approximately 10/12 inspections per week.
Allowing for annual leave, flexi leave and closed periods this equates to
450 inspections (initial & re-inspections) annually. In order to meet the
inspection target of 666 inspections in 2018 a second full time inspector
would be required to be in place by Quarter 3 of 2018. In order to meet the
2020 and 2021 targets of 1,333 and 1,666 respectively, a third full time
inspector and a second administrative support team member will be
required.
Income and Expenditure
The running cost of a dedicated inspection unit is an integral consideration
which has been explored. The estimated costs for the years 2018-2021
are based on the number of staff required in the unit to meet the targets
and office overheads etc.
The anticipated income arising from the targeted inspection programme is
based on funding available from the RTB per inspection.
Funding arising from re-inspections at €50 per inspection has not been
included in Table 4 as the number of such inspections is very difficult to
quantify. This will however be an additional income stream which will
mitigate the shortfall in funding.
Page | 7
The income and expenditure arising from the enhanced inspection
programme is set out hereunder:
Table 4
Year
Targeted
Inspections
RTB
Inspection
Rate €
Income
€
Expenditure
€
2018
666
100
66,000
100,000
2019
999
100
99,900
150,000
2020
1,333
100
133,300
200,000
2021
1,666
100
166,600
250,000
The actual cost of an inspection in Mayo is estimated at €150.
It is proposed that in respect of inspections carried out on Housing
Assistance Payment (HAP) and Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) units
that the costs per inspection in excess of the RTB applicable rate will be
charged to those workstreams in order to help address the funding
shortfall.
Efficiences will also be explored as learning from the enhanced inspection
programme gives valuable feedback.
5. Actions
• Introduce systems and procedures that allow for tenants in both the
social and rented sectors to make a complaint pursuant to the
standards regulations. This should be a clear, simple and easy to
use system.
Page | 8
• Standardised template to be introduced for the recording and
detailing of inspections, follow up inspections and enforcement steps
taken. This will be supported by mechanisms to ensure timely
inspections and for keeping all parties informed of both the outcome
and actions to be taken at each stage of the process. Mayo County
Council are currently in the process of developing such an access
database.
• Introduce a dedicated email address for making complaints to Mayo
County Council pursuant to the standards regulations.
• Raise public awareness of both tenants and landlords on their rights
and responsibilities through Mayo County Council’s website and
social media.
• Quantify on a yearly basis the extent of the rental sector within our
operational area by referencing data sources such as the Census,
RTB register of registered tenancies, Summary of Social Housing
Assessments, HAP unit, RAS/Leasing unit and DSP database of short
and long term rent supplement claimants. This information along
with monitoring advertisements for properties to let and dispute
outcomes from the RTB will be used to inform the conduct of
response based and planned inspections.
• Assign an order of priority to inspections to ensure a balance
between planned and response based inspection activity. An annual
review of the order of priority will be carried out.
Priority 1 → Response based inspections
➢ Properties joining RAS
➢ Complaints/Emergencies
Priority 2 → Planned Inspections
➢ HAP (required within 8 months)
➢ Enforcement
➢ Targeted Random Inspections
(registered with RTB and not part of
HAP & RAS)
Page | 9
• From Quarter 3 of 2018, assign areas geographically by town to
Inspectors to ensure each area is covered. This will be reviewed in
2020 with the addition of the third Inspector.
• Maximise consistency through continued use of standardised
Inspection Form. This will also ensure accuracy and precision to
ensure effective detection of non-compliance. Standardised form to
be updated in line with changes in regulations as they are
introduced.
• Adhere to procedures as detailed in Appendix 1.
• Identify training requirements for staff and attend relevant courses
as required.
• Implement performance monitoring by measuring:
➢ Activity levels and comparing them with the quarterly targets.
➢ Number of complaints received vs number addressed
➢ Length of time taken to respond to a complaint
➢ Time elapsed between initial and follow up inspections taking
into account timeframes set out in Appendix 1.
Page | 10
Appendix 1 Procedures
Decide on property to be inspected/receipt of a complaint/receipt of request from
RAS unit
↓
Arrange appointment to inspect the property
HAP Property – 10 days notice in writing to landlord & tenant
RAS Property – Telephone call to either landlord/tenant
Response based – Telephone call to tenant
If tenant cannot facilitate inspection please see procedure outlined on page 13.
↓
Carry out inspection and compile report
If property is compliant file is closed
↓
For non-compliant property a Letter of Works is issued to the landlord with a
timeframe of 12 weeks to complete works.
Follow up with phone call to the landlord to assess progress on works. If within
the 12 week period the landlord confirms works are complete a re-inspection is
carried out.
An extension of time may be granted by the inspector to the landlord to complete
works where works are in progress.
↓
Failure to complete works in required timeframe will result in a Notice of Works
letter being issued to the landlord with a timeframe of a further 8 weeks to
complete required works. Follow up with phone call to the landlord to assess
progress on works. If within the 8 week period the landlord confirms works are
complete a re-inspection is carried out.
An extension of time may be granted by the inspector to the landlord to complete
works where works are in progress.
↓
Failure to complete works in required timeframe will result in an Improvement
Notice being issued to the landlord with a timeframe of a further 4 weeks to
complete required works. Signed Chief Executive’s order for issuing of
Improvement Notice.
Follow up with phone call to the landlord to assess progress on works. If within
the 4 week period the landlord confirms works are complete a re-inspection is
carried out. Where works are complete a Chief Executive’s Order will be prepared
to withdraw the Improvement Notice.
An extension of time may be granted by the inspector to the landlord to complete
works where works are in progress.
Page | 11
↓
If the landlord wishes to contest the Improvement Notice, they may, within 14
days, beginning on the day on which the notice was issued to them, submit an
objection to the notice. This objection must be in writing and detail the specific
grounds on which the notice is being objected to.
Mayo County Council will consider the objection and advise the landlord in writing
of the decision within 14 days of receipt of the objection.
Landlord may appeal the objection decision to a judge of the District Court, no
later than 14 days after receipt of Mayo County Council’s objection decision.
Landlord must notify Mayo County Council in writing of appeal, grounds for
appeal, Court date and venue.
↓
Failure to complete works in required timeframe will result in a Prohibition Notice
being issued to the landlord with a timeframe of a further 6 weeks to complete
the required works. Signed Chief Executive’s order for issuing of Prohibition
Notice. Follow up with phone call to the landlord to assess progress on works. If
within the 6 week period the landlord confirms works are complete a re-
inspection is carried out.
Where works are complete a Chief Executive’s Order will be prepared to withdraw
the Prohibition Notice.
An extension of time may be granted by the inspector to the landlord to complete
works where works are in progress.
↓
If the landlord wishes to contest the Prohibition Notice, they may, within 14 days,
beginning on the day on which the notice was issued to them, submit an
objection to the notice. This objection must be in writing and detail the specific
grounds on which the notice is being objected to.
Mayo County Council will consider the objection and advise the landlord in writing
of the decision within 14 days of receipt of the objection.
Landlord may appeal the objection decision to a judge of the District Court, no
later than 14 days after receipt of Mayo County Council’s objection decision.
Landlord must notify Mayo County Council in writing of appeal, grounds for
appeal, Court date and venue.
↓
Legal Proceedings initiated if works not complete
Preparation of Chief Executives Order to authorise legal action
Issue letter to landlord notifying them that legal action is commencing
Page | 12
If tenant cannot facilitate inspection, the landlord/owner will be given a
minimum of 2 weeks notice in writing of inspector’s intention to carry out
an inspection
↓
If landlord does not keep the appointment, a second appointment letter
will issue within 10 working days
↓
If the second appointment is not kept by the landlord, Mayo County Council
will contact landlord and advise that failure to facilitate inspection will lead
to initiation of court action
A third appointment letter will issue to the landlord within 5 working days
↓
Failure to keep this appointment and where the inspector is satisfied that
adequate notice has been given to the landlord and the landlord has failed
to give access, will result in Mayo County Council initiating legal action.
↓
Preparation of Chief Executive’s Order to authorise legal action.
Issue letter to landlord advising legal action is commencing.
Page | 13
Appendix 2
Page | 14