Relevant Law: Section 18B, Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 (as amended)
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage provided stats for the 2023 nationwide Prohibition notices.
The current process for ensuring rental properties meet the required standards begins with an initial inspection by the council. If issues are identified, an Improvement Letter is issued to the landlord, detailing the necessary works and granting a specified timeframe for completion before the property is re-inspected.
The majority of landlords comply with the necessary improvements during this initial period. In cases where not all works are completed upon re-inspection, a second Improvement Letter may be issued, further extending the deadline for compliance.
If a landlord fails to make satisfactory progress, an Improvement Notice is issued. Unlike the Improvement Letter, an Improvement Notice carries legal weight and mandates compliance with the specified works.
Should conditions remain unchanged after the issuance of an Improvement Notice, the council may issue a Prohibition Notice. This notice is served when the housing authority believes the landlord has not complied with the Improvement Notice. A Prohibition Notice directs the landlord to cease re-letting the property for rent or any other form of valuable consideration until the necessary remedial actions outlined in the Improvement Notice are completed.
A landlord who re-lets a property in violation of a Prohibition Notice may face prosecution. Upon conviction, penalties may include a fine of up to €5,000 or imprisonment for up to 6 months, or both. Additionally, a daily fine of €400 may be imposed for continued non-compliance. The court may also order the landlord to cover the costs associated with the investigation, detection, and prosecution, which could be significant.
The current state of play in Ireland: as an example, Cork City Council issued 3000 letters to landlords for improvements, yet no prohibition notices were issued in all of 2023.
We propose that each council be required to publicly list all Prohibition Notices on their respective websites, as demonstrated by Kildare County Council. In cases where no Prohibition Notices have been issued, the council should display a blank section similar to the approach taken by Galway City Council. Additionally, in both instances, it is recommended that the page clearly state the date of its most recent update. Irish law currently provides for this in section(10) of the above law: A housing authority shall, in the interests of public health and safety, make such arrangements as they consider appropriate or necessary to bring the contents of a prohibition notice to the attention of the public.
As far as my research shows, only the following councils have information on their website regarding Prohibition Notices:
https://howmuchrent.com/r/prohibition_notices has all the above prohibition notices mapped out.
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