Updated RTB Data Publication

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RTB Data Publication Update May 2023

As of 30 May 2023, the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) has updated the Data and Research Hub on the RTB website with information on the RTB Publication Schedule for 2023, Dispute Resolution activity and Notice of Termination statistics for Q1 2023.

The following is a summary of the updates together with some background information on the RTB’s Registration Process

Please note: There has been an update to the scheduling of Publication of RTB Rent Index Q4 2022. It will now be published on 28 June 2023. Previously it was stated that it would be published on the 29 June 2023

Update to the RTB Data and Research Hub

 
Publication Schedule

One of the core public interest objectives of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) is to provide reliable data and insights to inform policymakers and the public in general.

In keeping with this objective, a publication schedule for 2023 is now available on the RTB website.

The schedule provides transparency and clarity on when data updates will become available. This schedule will be updated periodically to reflect revised or additional publication dates. 

Dispute Resolution Service

The RTB is the statutory body with responsibility for providing a quasi-judicial dispute resolution service for the residential rental sector. This means that the RTB, within its limited jurisdiction, has the necessary powers required to mediate and, where necessary, adjudicate on rental disputes.

For more information on the RTB’s Dispute Resolution Service, please visit the RTB website.

Information on the applications for dispute resolution received by the RTB in Q1 2023 are now available on the Data and Research Hub - click here to access the Data and Reseach Hub. 

A minor discrepancy has also been corrected in Q4 2022 information.

Notices of Termination

The Notice of Termination (NoT) is the document, required under the law, which notifies a tenant of the ending of a tenancy. A landlord must give (also referred to as “serve”) the Notice to the tenant(s). A landlord must also send a copy of the NoT to the RTB on the same day as the notice is served on the tenant. 

Information on the number of NoTs received by the RTB in Q1 2023 is now available on the Data and Research Hub - click here to access the Data and Reseach Hub.

Background information on the RTB Registration Process

A very important function of the RTB is the maintenance of an accurate register of private residential, Approved Housing Body (AHB) and Student Specific Accommodation tenancies. The RTB operates three statutory processes through which landlords and letting agents, acting on behalf of landlords, can fulfil the registration requirements.

  1. Registration on the commencement of a tenancy (First Registration). Landlords or their agents are required to register each tenancy within one month of the tenancy being created and must ensure that the correct information in respect of tenants, landlord and dwelling, is entered. These tenancies may be in brand new housing or in existing houses or apartments which may or may not have been a rented dwelling in the past.
  2. Annual registration during a tenancy (Renewal Registration). Since 4 April 2022, all private landlords and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) are also required to register all tenancies that fall within the remit of the RTB on an annual basis (renewal). These tenancies may be one or more years in existence. Where a tenancy is not renewed on time, it is removed from the RTB’s register.
  3. Registration of a “Further Part 4” tenancy. A “Further Part 4 tenancy” is one where the tenancy was created before 11 June 2022 and the tenant has been renting for at least 6 months and has not been served with a valid written notice of termination. A Further Part 4 tenancy confers additional rights on the tenant.

For more information on the RTB’s registration process, please visit the  RTB website.

Registration Volumes: Q1 2023

Landlords or their agents may register tenancies via the online portal on the RTB website or in hard copy by post.

During Q1 2023, and based on activity recorded in our registration system, the RTB received approximately:

  • 27,000 applications for first registration of private tenancies and 1,500 applications from Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs)
  • 45,000 applications to renew private tenancies and 6,600 applications to renew AHB tenancies which had an anniversary in the quarter.
  • 3,100 applications for Further Part 4 private tenancies and 300 Further Part 4 tenancies with AHBs.

Important note:  The following must be noted in respect of these volumes:

  • All data contained within the registration application is self-declared by the landlord or their agents.
  • Applications are for registration of private and AHB tenancies only and include online and hard copy applications.
  • A tenancy which has ended can still be registered; a landlord’s obligation to register a tenancy remains even after the tenancy has ended.
  • An application for registration may be for a tenancy which is still active, and which commenced, or was renewed, during Q1 2023 or at any time prior to Q1 2023.  
RTB Registration Information

Not all the data currently recorded in the RTB registration system is as accurate as it should be.  This is a product of practices in the past whereby, for example, some data held by the RTB was not current as tenancies were only required to be registered every four or six years (or more regularly on the commencement of a new tenancy). In addition, there were known weaknesses in the previous RTB registration system which allowed, for example, duplicate tenancies to be created. The RTB is moving forward with a programme of improvements to our registration system as well as data cleansing to ensure the highest standards of data quality and integrity are maintained on in our register. This essential work will continue throughout 2023.

The RTB considers its tenancy registration dataset to be an important national asset which, progressively, will provide better insights and more reliable information for enhanced regulation.  Our improved and more reliable data will also provide a strong basis for policy formulation, future legislative proposals and ongoing monitoring of trends in the sector.

The RTB is currently reviewing the registration data from 2022 and we intend to publish the size of the register at the end of 2022 in the RTB’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2022.

The introduction of the requirement to register a tenancy annually will greatly improve the quality of the data collected and held by the RTB. This expanded data will allow the RTB to provide new insights and improved information to tenants, landlords and the wider public while also providing enhanced data to inform the development of policy for the residential rental sector. This will see the RTB publishing more accurate, timely, reliable and complete information. This will include the type and duration of tenancies, profile of landlords as well as rent levels in all existing rental stock, the identification of new stock that has not been let previously and identify the type/size of landlord of this stock.

Our intention is to commence publication of enhanced information later this year.

Recent and future updates to the RTB Online Registration System

The RTB introduced a new online registration system in November 2021 to facilitate registration of private and AHB tenancies. Registration of tenancies in Student Specific Accommodation is a separate process.

We recognise that some landlords or their agents experienced difficulties registering their tenancies on the new system over the last year. We have been working collaboratively and constructively with landlords and letting agents to resolve these issues and to provide assistance in using the new system.

Since 9 May 2023, all landlords (or their agents) are required to enter the Eircode of the dwelling as part of the registration process for private and AHB tenancies. Our online registration system will no longer allow two dwellings with the same Eircode to be registered without being submitted to the RTB for review. This change has been made to ensure that the same dwelling is not registered twice and to improve the accuracy of our registration data. Landlords and agents will be able to search for the correct Eircode during the online registration process.  

We will be making significant enhancements to improve the efficiency and operation of our system over the course of this year; details of these updates will be published on our website in due course.

Compliance with requirement to register tenancies

We thank those landlords and agents who have registered and renewed their tenancies with the RTB.

We will soon be contacting landlords and agents who have not yet completed annual registrations due between April 2022 and April 2023 and reminding them of the obligation to do so as soon as possible.

The RTB takes seriously any deliberate non-compliance with the requirement to register a tenancy.  Recognising that the vast majority of landlords (and their agents) comply voluntarily with their obligations, the RTB aims to invoke formal compliance action in those cases where this is in the public interest, and where other approaches have clearly failed.

The RTB has a range of sanctioning and prosecution powers which may be invoked in the context of non-registration of tenancies. Deliberately failing to register a tenancy is a criminal offence and also constitutes an “improper conduct” under the law. A prosecution through the District Court can lead to a conviction, a fine and/or imprisonment while a formal finding of an “improper conduct” can lead to the imposition of a civil sanction in the form of a financial penalty.