The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) has called for a dedicated rental court to be established in Ireland in its pre-budget submission to more effectively resolve serious issues between tenants and landlords.
SCSI members state that forming such a body would be more effective for handling serious disputes between tenants and landlords compared to the current “dysfunctional” system.
At present, rental disputes are managed by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) through mediation, where disputing parties reach an agreed resolution via negotiations facilitated by a neutral third party.
SCSI have labelled the current process “lengthy and inefficient,” calling RTB’s resolution time “unsatisfactory”.
In its pre-budget submission, SCSI emphasise that dispute resolution in the rental market requires “increased prioritisation” and attention.
Submission for the creation of the rental court arose from growing concerns by both renters and landlords regarding the administration of the rental market. These include dwindling tenant/landlord confidence resulting from rent arrears by the tenant or landlords withholding deposits unlawfully, among others.
SCSI president Kevin Hollingsworth says another contributing factor to issues in rental disputes is the lack of supply in the market due to mounting landlord exits.
Elaborating on this, he said: “We need to try and keep landlords in the market because they are exiting en masse and the reason they’re exiting is because of complex rent regulation and the high risks that are involved in renting a property.”
“The tenant/landlord relationship should be a co-operative one, involving willing partners. Too often in Ireland, the relationship becomes adversarial in nature,” said Hollingsworth.
Problems in the current dispute-resolution process exacerbate this stressed relationship. A dedicated rental court would mitigate some of these frustrations and better serve people in the rental market, Hollingsworth explained.
“We have complex problems and unfortunately the solutions are going to be complex,” he said.
