When landlords, tenants and third parties bring disputes to the RTB through mediation, adjudication or tribunal, they receive a legally binding Determination Order. The majority of these are complied with but where they are not, the RTB recognises that the impact can be considerable and takes non compliance with Determination Orders very seriously. This move from the Circuit to the District Court is therefore an important and welcome change in terms of trying to address these issues more quickly.
What to do if a Determination Order is not complied with?
If an order is not complied with, there are two options for enforcement.
You can request Legal Assistance from the RTB to enforce an Order through the District Court through the Legal Assistance Program.
In order to provide legal assistance to people enforcing Determination Orders in the District Court the RTB has set up a panel of Solicitors, local to each District Court, who have agreed to enforce orders on their behalf. The RTB is given a budget each year to provide assistance to those seeking to enforce its Orders, and it assists as many as possible within this budget, but cannot provide assistance to all who request it. One of the reasons for moving to the District Court was to help to lower the cost of enforcement. While the budget for RTB activities is still limited, it is expected that by reducing the cost of enforcement proceedings by changing to the District Court the RTB will be able to provide legal assistance in a higher number of cases.
If you wish to make an application to access this program you can find more information and download a form here.
Requests for Legal Assistance in urgent cases are prioritised, this includes cases concerning overholding, serious rent arrears, the non return of deposits and unlawful termination.
or
You can take your own enforcement proceedings in the District Court.
In order to support parties who wish to take their own enforcement proceedings, the RTB have developed a step-by-step guide to the new process in the District Court which can be downloaded here.