A new State body responsible for registering landlords is facing backlogs of up to three months, after it was inundated with applications to register more than 80,000 properties.
The Private Residential Tenancies Board, which was established last year to take responsibility for regulation of the rented sector, expects the figure to reach 90,000 over the next few months, reflecting growing levels of second-home ownership in the State.
The increase in new applications was caused by a change in regulations, which could see the prosecution of home owners for failing to register property they rent out.
Landlords are now legally obliged to register their property if they are renting it out on a full-time basis as a residential property. Short-term holiday home lettings are not included.
Landlords who fail to register face prosecution and fines for failing to register.
The board also has a mediation service for disputes between landlords and tenants.
It has received 100 applications for the service since it was established last year.
Before the establishment of the board, local authorities were responsible for registering landlords, with just 26,000 of an estimated 120,000 rented properties in the State being registered with the councils.
Yesterday a spokesman for Minister of State Noel Ahern acknowledged there were delays in processing applications.
"I accept that there is a backlog, but this is down to the unprecedented number of registrations," he said.
He said extra staff had been drafted in to the board to help process the applications, while existing staff were working overtime to process the applications.
He said that although there had been a registration deadline of last December, those who applied in recent months were unlikely to be pursued, although those who have yet to apply could face prosecutions.
"The Minister is delighted with the rate of registrations," he said. "It shows that the tenancies board is working, and that people are taking it seriously."
The board is the first time that the Government has attempted to bring in a national system of regulation for the rented sector, although recent reports have indicated there are ongoing problems in the sector.
Earlier this year, a study for the Government found that the enforcement of basic standards in rented accommodation needed to be improved. It showed that inspections by local authorities revealed rented accommodation that did not meet basic standards for structural stability, access to hot and cold water and ventilation.
Of 4,703 inspections in 2003, 1,753 private rented units (33 per cent) failed to meet basic standards, although the report said this failure rate could be attributed to the previously low registration rate of properties.