“Delinquent landlords” are the root cause of the growing problem of anti-social activity in Galway and must be made financially responsible for their tenants’ behaviour.
This is the view of Labour Galway West TD Derek Nolan who is calling for “drastic action” on the issue and for the establishment of a task force to make landlords financially responsible for anti-social behaviour which occurs on their properties.
“We have a serious and growing problem with anti-social behaviour in residential areas,” the TD said. “There are a lot of very good landlords and tenants. When there is a good landlord there is rarely a problem. However, there are real problems with delinquent landlords who do not care.”
Dep Nolan argues that the problem stems from the rampant consumption of property during the Celtic Tiger era.
“People went from having very little to owning 20, 25, or 30 houses, all for the purpose of making a quick buck,” he said. “Many do not run it as a business or with any professionalism. They run it in a way that it does not matter who they get in as long as they can pay off the mortgage for 25 years in order to have a vast property portfolio and can retire comfortably.”
While Dep Nolan welcomed the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Bill, he said that as it relates to the Private Residential Tenancies Board, it was “merely tweaking around the edges of a failed system”.
He is instead proposing on-the-spot fines for simple forms of anti-social behaviour in residential properties, regardless of whether the property is owner occupied or rented.
