Tenant body sets aside 100 decisions over error on board

THE STATE body that referees landlord-tenant disputes has been forced to set aside more than 100 decisions after it emerged that two county councillors on its board were illegally appointed.

The Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) also said that because it is overloaded, it may not prosecute parties who ignore its decisions.

Minister for the Environment John Gormley appointed Dessie Larkin, a Fianna Fáil councillor from Co Donegal, and Vincent P Martin, a colleague from the Green Party in Co Monaghan, to the board last June. However, the 2004 Act under which the board was established precludes members of the Oireachtas and local authorities from membership. It wasn't until last month that the mistake was noticed. Both men were then contacted and told they were ineligible for appointment.

A department spokesman said: "The board, in the interests of legal certainty, reconsidered all decisions to which the two gentlemen had been party. All cases discussed at the board meetings of July 4th, July 16th, August 8th, August 20th and September 9th were reviewed at a board meeting on September 19th. Fresh determination orders and decisions were made and communicated thereafter."

The error has angered landlords already dissatisfied with the operation of the board and the Residential Tenancies Act which, they claim, is being exploited by tenants who have no intention of paying their rent.

One landlord who contacted The Irish Timessaid the mistake meant he had lost further months in an already frustrating process to remove a tenant who owes almost € 17,000. A shopkeeper who lived above his store, he and his family moved to a rented house when a new child was born. As a result, he is paying rent of more than € 1,500 a month while not receiving the rental income he planned to cover this cost.

The landlord won an adjudication against his tenant in April but it wasn't until July that the decision was confirmed by the board. In September, the determination order was issued and the tenant was given 21 days to leave, which she ignored.

Last week, he contacted the board asking it to take a prosecution. However, he received a call from the board advising him the original order was invalid because of the error.

He was also informed that "due to the increasing volume of cases coming before the PRTB, the board may not be in a position to or may in certain circumstances deem it not cost effective to prosecute the non-compliant party".