Landlords will be forced to register their rental properties with local authorities under legislation debated in the Dáil yesterday.
The Government will use a "carrot-and-stick" approach with landlords under the Residential Tenancies Bill, according to the Minister of State for the Environment, Mr Noel Ahern.
He agreed with the Opposition that the current figures for registration of properties were "appalling", and it was a "joke" that in one large tourism county, only one or two properties had been registered with the local authority, some of which "might have given up on the job".
However under the legislation, "measures are being put in place to deal with" landlords who fail to register.
The Bill aims to improve the rights of private tenants, including a four-year right of tenancy. It includes fines of €3,000 or up to six months' imprisonment or both for conviction on summary offences, including offences such as neglecting a property, not carrying out essential repairs or not providing essential services, such as switching off electricity or water.
However, Opposition TDs were highly critical that parts of the Bill would not come into effect for up to five months after enactment.
Labour's environment spokes- man, Mr Eamon Gilmore, said it was "perfectly obvious that the Government is dragging its feet in giving rights to tenants. It has made a conscious decision to place itself on the side of landlords and to delay this for as long as possible."
The Bill establishes a Residential Tenancies Board to adjudicate on disputes and complaints, and to implement the system of registration for local authorities.
Mr Gilmore said that this would not come into effect for some time, but "the rights which this Bill gives to tenants should come into operation immediately".
He added that tenants had been waiting for the legislation since 1999. "Would farmers have to wait for five years for the enactment of legislation relating to an agricultural matter?"
Fine Gael's environment spokesman, Mr Bernard Allen, questioned the ability of the tenancies board "to ensure that dwellings are registered when local authorities in every part of the country are attaining a success rate of less than 20 per cent".
Mr Allen also doubted the ability of the board to take a "firm hand in the case of unregistered accommodation".
