RTB: More landlords registered this year than last

Knuttell said:
There are times the limb is so badly infected that it must be amputated in order that the patient recovers.
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Not sure that makes any sense in this context.

The RTB has been useful in dispute resolution and keeping things out of the courts, mostly.

The legislation was skewed to favour new (large) landlords I can see no other reason for it. Nothing anyone in RTB could do about that.

Its also been hamstrung with being under resourced. But you'd have to say it's processes were poorly thought out and then they tried a systems migration which was compounded by the existing processes and poorly executed. Otherwise I wouldn't been asked to register multiple times, unable to look up my records, lost my records, lost my login, required me to register yet again, in order to unregister. That ticks all the boxes of failed system.

In addition RTB has been used (in my opinion) to confusticate the reporting landscape. Their metrics have changed so the data can't be compared and the data is oddly at odds with the situation on the ground but oddly in line with govt policy.

While I'd be the first to say data and statistics often disprove what is thought to be true but aren't. But the discordance of their reporting, gives me no confidence in it. If feels like it's been selective edited to construct a narrative. The ambiguity to the terms used reinforces that impression.

So it's either being poorly managed, or more likely there is considerable political (govt) interference.
 
I have some sympathy with the RTB in having to keep up with constant legislative tinkering that they probably didn’t want.

In my experience though many RTB processes are really poor irrespective of the regulatory landscape.


Both things can be true.
 
Obviously they are never going to do as I suggested as that would make too much sense.

Getting rid of staff is rooted in my own experience of a company I worked for buying a poorly performing competitor and trying to incorporate it once job duplication had been executed.

This company and staff were rooted to the poorest of practice, procedures and old ways of doing things. It was an enormous undertaking to get them to adapt and change and many on our side were of the view that it was a pity they were rescued in the first place.
 
I would tend to agree with this. Setting up a system like this should be relatively straightforward.

Surely this type of system is currently operating in those countries with a more mature rental market. Why not simply copy and tweak to our specific requirements.

Yet again the reporting can be biased towards whichever way those who extract it want it to look.

I firmly believe if you want a professional rental market you have to accept those unpalatable political outcomes. If someone does not pay rent then they are evicted in a timely manner.

Political interference allows errant tenants remain housed, keeps housing figs lower than they should be and all at the expense of the private landlord.

Why fix something this is serving your purpose?
 
Always found it odd that the Revenue ROS system worked well from its inception. Revenue are always very proactive when glitches arise. Likewise, online banking works so smoothly too.

What the RTB's register does is far simpler than either of the above, yet it crashed literally within hours of its roll out and took months to resolve. They obviously never did a live test of the original iteration; an unbelievable omission.

Likewise, their previous register was completely wrong. Duplicate registrations were allowed. Spent registrations were never taken down. This went on for years because they were clueless this was happening. One look at the register should have led them to ask why some properties had multiple tenancies attached.
 

They also (I think) share their incorrect data with others so you'd get contacted by them in error.
 
Landlords had a better chance going to court than they do with the RTB. They are a woeful organisation and have been so from the very beginning. They have migrated to different systems since their inception, each of them difficult to navigate or catastrophic. They are raking in money, lack of resources is not the issue.

Nobody could rely on the RTB for any statistics on anything. They are accountable to no one and exceedingly poorly managed.
 

Changing ingrained corporate culture is one thing. A unionised public sector organisation is entirely different. They are not the same.

You can't run a loss making public service on the lines as profit generating company.
 
The few times I had disputes go through the RTB I (LL) never lost them. I was handy having a official ruling that stopped arguments from a tenant.

That said for more serious things I expect the court would be more effective for a LL.
 
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From the Oireachtas Housing Committee meeting on 2 July. System commissioned in 2017, operational by 2021 (4 years). Only realised there were huge problems with it when it became operational. 2024 still not working entirely correctly. The original system has had to be resurrected from scratch it seems.

Small shops managed to get online sales and delivery systems operational within weeks during Covid. This is a well resourced public body with a large staff. Also registration of a tenancy is not that complicated, it is just uploading information and paying a fee.


Mr. Owen Keegan​

I was not around at the time but the RTB commissioned a new ICT system in 2017. It probably came online in 2021. The reality is there were major issues with the system and it never achieved the targeted level of functionality. Tremendous work had to be done, particularly by my colleagues, to get a minimal level of service. We need to revisit the system and get the full range of functionality. Part of this is to improve the customer experience, which is not at an acceptable level. While the system has greatly improved on what it was, we need to invest in it. There are issues such as the bulk uploading of renewals and restrictions on the number of properties people can pay for. There are many minor issues which customers find quite frustrating. The customer experience is not what would be expected from a public body. There are plans afoot to address these omissions.

Senator Mary Fitzpatrick​

The question users have is why it is taking so long. The IT system was introduced in 2017 and it was recognised in 2021 there were problems. In May 2024, three years later, the board approved significant investment. I presume the investment is significant and the witnesses might advise the committee how much the budget is. Will they share with us why it has taken so long?

Mr. Owen Keegan​

I have clearly failed to convey the amount of work that had been done to resurrect the system. At the time we had to deal with annual registration and the system simply was not fit for purpose.
 
AlbacoreA said:
Changing ingrained corporate culture is one thing. A unionised public sector organisation is entirely different. They are not the same.

You can't run a loss making public service on the lines as profit generating company.
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Voluntary redundancy or move them across other depts
 
Owen Keegan is a good guy. Is he a new appointment?

It would be a tough ship to turn around, but he would be well placed to do it if he has the resources.

That IT farce is a good example.


Brendan
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Owen Keegan is a good guy. Is he a new appointment?

It would be a tough ship to turn around, but he would be well placed to do it if he has the resources.

That IT farce is a good example.


Brendan
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He is a new appointment and is only interim. Niall Byrne, the previous head, resigned suddenly at the end of last year.

He does come across as effective alright and with an understanding of the nuances of the market; see the below

Mr. Keegan, you said the numbers increased, I think, by 10%.

Mr. Owen Keegan​

They were 10% up from January to May last year.

An Cathaoirleach​

What would be the reason for that increase? Are people becoming more aware of their rights and the role of the RTB, or are we talking about more tenancies ending?

Mr. Owen Keegan​

We have not done any research, but it certainly seems to me from my limited experience that we are dealing with a much more pressurised rental market. In the past, for example, a landlord might serve a perfectly legitimate notice to quit and the tenant would have no issue and would say "fine" and go somewhere else. Similarly, if I was pissed off with the standard of my rented accommodation, I would just move somewhere else. Now it is very hard to go somewhere else because it is very hard to access properties. I think the pressure on the rental market has caused a huge rigidity such that options that people had in the past are no longer there and the only recourse they have is increasingly to the RTB. That is my take on why the numbers are going up so dramatically.
 
Knuttell said:
Voluntary redundancy or move them across other depts
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Can you give an example of such in the Irish Public Sector. Closest I've seen is early retirement. Tbh all the better people grab it, and all it does is shred the organisation of the best people. Same in private sector tbh.
 
In my opinion theres some one, or some people, usually managers at some level in there insisting on certain work practices and this has been mirrored in their IT systems. They then doubled down and dug their heels in when it caused problems.
 
AlbacoreA said:
Can you give an example of such in the Irish Public Sector. Closest I've seen is early retirement. Tbh all the better people grab it, and all it does is shred the organisation of the best people. Same in private sector tbh.
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Given there is 110 (circa) of them presumed this would be achievable but no, don't have any examples of it except where it occurs on an individual basis.
 
RTB and efficiency are two different animals.
In the past week I got 9, yes 9 separate notifications and 3 text messages for the annual registration of the same property and 3 email messages regarding same property.
 
Dermot said:
RTB and efficiency are two different animals.
In the past week I got 9, yes 9 separate notifications and 3 text messages for the annual registration of the same property and 3 email messages regarding same property.
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Owen Keagan is probably counting you 3 times, no wonder there is a 10% rise in a few months.
 
Knuttell said:
Given there is 110 (circa) of them presumed this would be achievable but no, don't have any examples of it except where it occurs on an individual basis.
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Throwing the baby out with the bath water would seem to be the same bloody mindedness that's got them where they are.

Also how the legislation ended up making problems worse.
 
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