'The amount of red tape' to register premises is 'ridiculous' - Leitrim IPAV president

IPAV President, Fintan McGill, who has an Auctioneers in Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim, has spoken out after IPAV’s Chief Executive said that "a miracle will be required for the Residential Tenancies Board to be ready to implement the Government’s new rent control measures from 1st March."

Genevieve McGuirk, IPAV’s Chief Executive, said it is envisaged by the government that the RTB would have a new register in place to deal with the legislation and that "significant logistical and IT resources will be required to implement the revised public register which will include number of bedrooms; floor area; BER rating and rent payable."

Information will be searchable by postcode, not by individual property addresses, for data-protection reasons.

Mr McGill said that he agreed with Ms McGuirk's comments and that the "amount of red tape is absolutely ridiculous. Until it's streamlined and there is a simpler method of registering property, the whole thing is going to collapse."

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Ms McGuirk said: “Floor area data currently held may be inaccurate in many cases,” she said. “Landlords and agents will require training and time to familiarise themselves with the new system, and the new definition of market rent, which depends heavily on this register, cannot operate reliably until the register is complete and functional.”

She said Landlords will also require rent calculation details and three comparators.

“The RTB is already under severe pressure with its current workload,” she said. “And there’s an existing backlog in dealing with dispute resolutions, for example. Realistically, therefore, we believe a minimum six-month lead-in period after enactment will be necessary,” she warned.

Mr McGill said: "There was one case after an online meeting with the RTB for a dispute resolution, it took seven weeks to get a reply from a tenant who hadn't paid their rent in a year."

Welcoming the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage on Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the proposed new legislation, (The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025), to which IPAV contributed, Ms McGuirk said:  “As the report noted, not a single contributor from a very diverse range of organisations that participated believed the proposed reforms will lead to a reduction in rents.

“And neither is the legislation going to reduce homelessness. The absolute priority should be measures to build more homes.”