People Before Profit has expressed deep concern over new figures showing that 82% of rented properties in South Dublin failed to meet minimum legal standards upon initial inspection in 2024, up from 72% in 2023. Environmental health inspectors for South Dublin County Council conducted 4,285 inspections from Q1 to Q3 this year, uncovering a worsening crisis of substandard housing conditions across the county.
Commenting on these figures Deputy Gino Kenny said “These numbers reveal an appalling disregard for tenants’ safety in South Dublin. Landlords are clearly failing to meet basic legal standards, and tenants are paying the price”.
Despite rising rates of non-compliance, South Dublin County Council has only issued seven improvement notices to landlords this year, after issuing none in 2023. This figure stands in stark contrast to Dublin City Council, which issued 946 improvement notices to landlords in 2023. Improvement notices are essential first steps toward enforcing standards, as they outline the specific repairs and upgrades that landlords must make to bring properties up to legal requirements.
“For too long, South Dublin County Council has allowed landlords to get away with renting unsafe properties. Tenants are living in poor conditions, yet enforcement is virtually non-existent. We need real action to hold landlords accountable. The government has failed to address the housing crisis, allowing landlords to ignore basic standards because they know people are desperate,” said Deputy Kenny.
