Review of the Role and Regulation of the Private Rented Sector - Private Tenancies Bill - screening
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Date published:
This is a screening review following receipt of a complaint under Paragraph 10 of Schedule 9 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.
The proposals being taken forward in the Private Tenancies Bill are:
- restriction on rent increases;
- tenants to be given prescribed information relating to the tenancy;
- requirement for receipt to be provided where rent payment is made in cash;
- extension on the length of notice to quit to be provided by landlords;
- restriction on the amount of tenancy deposit that can be requested for a private tenancy;
- making some tenancy deposit offences continuing offences;
- increasing time limits for protecting a tenancy deposit from 14 days to 28 days and the time limit for providing information to the tenant from 28 days to 35 days;
- making it a legal requirement for private landlords to have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors installed in their rented properties and to carry out periodic electrical checks;
- provision to make regulations concerning the energy efficiency of dwelling houses let under a private tenancy.
Collectively these proposals will assist in addressing the aim of the review in making the PRS a safer and more secure housing option for a wider range of households including the most vulnerable in our society who, in part, due to limits on social housing provision, find themselves in this sector.
Exisiting/Revised/New: Revised
Date of Screening: 28/03/2022
Screening Outcome - Full EQIA recommended: No