RTB tenant bias

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

I believe that was the journalist's spin rather than a quote from the RTB spokesperson.

Perhaps- however, if you talk to them- you'll find that it is the prevailing train of thought...........

All any tenants and landlords should do- is comply in full with the legislation in force at any given point in time- treat the tenancy a purely business transaction- no emotion involved- its a business transaction pure and simple. If a tenant falls into arrears- issue notice and move on. If a rent review is conducted in breach of the legislation- inform the landlord of such- and if you can't come to an agreement- lodge a complaint. If rent goes into arrears- lodge a case. Both tenants and landlords- should insist on the RTB chasing *all* judgements- and any interested third parties- should insist on their statistics being published in full and without spin- which is not the case at present.

The RTB are supposed to implement the legislation and act as a regulatory body. They need to be seen as impartial operators- which they patently are not at present.

As it stands- the only sane or logical advice anyone could give to a prospective landlord- is run-run-run- or to a pre-existing landlord- follow the letter of the law- no niceties for good tenants, 4% increase like clock-work, contact with the tenant to a minimum- and no entertainment of any changes in people's circumstances- its a business transaction plain and simple.

Part of this has to include landlords chasing tenants for unpaid rent- and registering judgements against them- as the RTB are not inclined to do so- I would suggest an ICB judement against either tenants or landlords found to be in breach- is the most logical course of action.

By all means have an independent deposit holding quango (who shouldn't be the RTB)- I would argue that they should be involved in pre-and-post tenancy inspections for the benefit of both tenants and landlords.

The RTB are not seen as honest brokers- then again, nor is the Minister- and the result of this- is supply is tightening for those who wish to rent in the market. The obvious answer to this- is remove those from the market who shouldn't be in the market- by forcing local authorities to construct both social and affordable housing- and getting it underway. And- DON'T SELL HOUSING STOCK THAT IS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR..............

The whole discussion is how to make things easier for the poor tenants- without any cognisance of the fact that the proposed changes- and the manner in which the legislation has evolved thus far- has driven landlords from the sector- and using statistical tricks to obsfusciate this- can only last so long- they've gotten away with it for two years- its not going to work- you can only use the same diddle for so long before you exhaust it- Churchill had a point with his infamous quote about 'lies, lies and damned statistics'. Statistics don't have to be lies- if you can twist them in such a way that they're not consistent and your inconsistent data can be suggested to be depicting a particular picture- without spelling out the shortcomings in the data.............

We need an impartial regulator- who do not have an agenda other than to implement the legislation in a fair and transparent manner. Fairness and transparency- are distinctly lacking at present (for both tenants and landlords)- the solution is not to give the quango yet more powers- its to get them to sort out their own house, get it in order- and only then- when they are objectively doing their duties- should they be allowed investigate taking on more duties..........

The RTB does not function for anyone- however, the partisan manner in which a lot of people think its actual name is 'The Residential Tenant's Board' speaks volumes.........