REGISTERING property under the Registration of Rented Houses Regulations is "not a matter of choice - it's a matter of abiding by the law", Ms Liz McManus has warned private landlords.
The closing date for registration was July 1st and the Irish Property Owners' Association has urged that the scheme be suspended and rethought because of the few landlords registered under it.
"I am determined to ensure that we have a private rented sector that meets basic standards of accommodation and the registration system is part of making sure we reach that point," said the Minister of State for Housing yesterday. "Registration protects the good land lords while secrecy and the absence of registration, which we had in the past, protects the bad landlords.
Ms McManus accused the IPOA of trying to "sabotage" the scheme by putting advertisements in national newspapers containing untrue statements claiming that it would bring in rates by the back door and would expose landlords to security risks.
She warned that landlords failing to register would face fines of up to £1,000, plus another £100 for every day they failed to comply with the law.
Ms McManus was reacting to a statement by IPOA spokesman, Mr Fintan McNamara, in which he said that there had been a "poor level of registration" because of the many flaws in the scheme.