(4)If a sub-tenant does not comply with the requirement mentioned in subsection (2) within the period specified in that subsection then the sub-tenant may not refer to the Board for resolution any dispute concerning the termination of the tenancy concerned.
\n
(5)If the tenant— (a) does not comply with the second-mentioned requirement in subsection (2), then the tenant may not refer to the Board for resolution any dispute concerning the termination of the tenancy concerned, or (b) does comply with that requirement, the tenant may not refer to the Board for resolution such a dispute until 15 days elapse from the date of service of the notice concerned mentioned in subsection (3).
\n
Withdrawal of matter referred to Board.
\n
82.—(1) A party who has referred under this Part any matter to the Board may, at any stage, withdraw the matter.
\n
(2)Subject to subsection (3), a party shall indicate his or her wish to withdraw such a matter by serving a notice in writing on the Board to that effect.
\n
(3)If the matter is being dealt with by a mediator, an adjudicator or the Tribunal, it suffices for the party to indicate, orally to him or her or it, that the party is withdrawing the matter.
\n
(4)Without prejudice to subsection (5), on oral or written notice, as appropriate, being given in respect of the withdrawal, the Board, the mediator, the adjudicator or the Tribunal shall consider the matter concerned withdrawn and, accordingly, shall not deal with it any further.
\n
(5)On such notice being given to it or him or her, the Board, the mediator, the adjudicator or the Tribunal shall ascertain whether the other party to the dispute concerned objects to the withdrawal and, if he or she does so, the Board, mediator, adjudicator or Tribunal may direct that the party withdrawing the matter shall pay to the other party such costs and expenses incurred by that other party as it or he or she determines.
\n
Board not to deal with reference if fee not paid or tenancy not registered.
\n
83.—(1) Subject to subsection (3), the Board shall not— (a) deal initially with a dispute referred to it under this Part, or (b) allow any other procedure under this Part to be followed in relation to a dispute referred to it under this Part, if the fee of the specified amount prescribed by rules under section 109 in relation to that initial dealing or the following of that procedure has not been paid to it.
\n
(2)Subject to subsection (3), the Board shall not deal with a dispute in relation to a tenancy referred to it under this Part by the landlord of the dwelling concerned if the tenancy is not registered under Part 7.
\n
(3)The Board may, in the case of a default in payment of a particular fee or registration under Part 7 of a particular tenancy, notify the person or persons concerned of the default and afford the person or persons concerned a reasonable opportunity to rectify the matter; if the matter is rectified within a reasonable time the Board shall, subject to this Part, deal with the dispute or permit the other procedure to be followed in relation to it, as the case may be.
\n
Further right of Board not to deal with certain references.
\n
84.—(1) If the Board is of opinion that, in relation to a dispute referred to the Board— (a) the dwelling, the subject of the dispute, is not a dwelling to which this Act applies, (b) for any other reason, the dispute does not come within the Board's jurisdiction (including by reason of a failure to comply with any condition for its being referred to the Board), (c) proceedings in any court in respect of the subject matter of the dispute, would, were they to be capable of being instituted at the date of the reference, be statute-barred, or (d) the matter or matters concerned are trivial or vexatious, then the Board shall serve a notice on the party who referred the matter to it stating that it is of that opinion and, unless the party establishes, in accordance with the following subsections, that the opinion is not well founded, that it will not (subject to subsection (6)) deal with the matter.
\n
(2)For the purposes of subsection (1), the notice referred to in that subsection shall state that the party concerned may, within a period specified in the notice, make submissions to the Board as to why the party considers the opinion of the Board is not well founded.
\n
(3)The Board shall consider any submissions made to it by that party within the period specified in the notice concerned.
\n
(4)Unless the Board decides that any such submissions establish that the opinion of the Board referred to in subsection (1) was not well founded, the Board shall not, subject to subsection (6), deal with the dispute referred to it; the other party or parties to the dispute shall be notified in writing of a decision made by the Board that that opinion was not well founded and shall be furnished by the Board, on request, with a copy of the foregoing submissions (or, if they were not written submissions, a written summary of them prepared by the Board).
\n
(5)The party who referred the dispute concerned to the Board or, as the case may be, any other party to the dispute may appeal to the Circuit Court against a decision of the Board (made in consequence of the procedures under this section having been employed) not to deal with or, as appropriate, to deal with the dispute.
\n
(6)On the hearing of such an appeal the Circuit Court may, as it thinks fit, allow the appeal and direct the Board to deal with or, as appropriate, not to deal with the dispute concerned or dismiss the appeal; an appeal under this section shall be heard by the judge of the Circuit Court for the circuit in which the tenancy or dwelling is or was situated.
\n
(7)For the purpose of subsection (1)(c), proceedings are statute-barred if a defence under the Statute of Limitations 1957 or any other limitation enactment is available in relation to them.
\n
Right of Tribunal or adjudicator not to deal with reference.
\n
85.—(1) The Tribunal or an adjudicator shall, if the Tribunal or adjudicator is of opinion that paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of section 84
\n
(1)applies to a dispute with which it or he or she is dealing, not deal any further with the dispute.
\n
(2)Subsection (1) does not apply if— (a) previously the Board, in consequence of the procedures under section 84 having been employed by it in relation to the dispute, decided that an opinion formed by it (being a like opinion to that subsequently formed by the Tribunal or adjudicator) in relation to the dispute was not well founded, or (b) a decision of the Board, in consequence of those procedures having been employed by it, in relation to the dispute (being a decision of a like kind to the opinion subsequently formed by the Tribunal or adjudicator) was the subject of an appeal under section 84
\n
(5)and the Circuit Court, on that appeal, directed the Board to deal with the dispute.
\n
Status of certain matters pending determination of dispute.
\n
86.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), pending the determination of a dispute that has been referred to the Board (but subject to that determination when it is made)— (a) the rent payable under the tenancy concerned and the rent payable under any sub-tenancy arising out of it shall continue to be payable, (b) if the dispute relates to the amount of rent payable, no increase in the amount of the rent may be made, and (c) a termination of the tenancy concerned may not be effected.
\n
(2)Subsection (1) does not apply if— (a) in the case of paragraph (a) of that subsection, the parties concerned agree to payment of the rent being suspended, (b) in the case of paragraph (b) of that subsection, the parties concerned agree to an increase in the amount of the rent being made, (c) in the case of paragraph (c) of that subsection (unless the dispute is a dispute specified in subsection (3)), the notice of termination concerned was served— (i) before the dispute was referred to the Board for resolution, or (ii) after the dispute was so referred and the required period of notice to be given by the notice of termination is 28 days or less and that period of notice has been given, or (d) in any of the cases, the dispute is not dealt with, or ceases to be dealt with, under this Part pursuant to section 82 , 83, 84 or 85.
\n
(3)The dispute mentioned in subsection (2)(c) is a dispute relating to the validity of the notice of termination concerned or the right of the landlord or tenant, as appropriate, to serve it.
\n
Remedial action taken by party in certain cases to be disregarded.
\n
87.—If a dispute referred to the Board relates to the termination of a tenancy for failure by the landlord or tenant to fulfil his or her obligations relating to the tenancy, any remedial action taken by the other party subsequent to the receipt of the notice of termination shall not be taken into consideration by the Board, a mediator, an adjudicator or the Tribunal in dealing with the dispute.
\n
Extension of time for referring disputes to Board.
\n
88.—(1) The Board may, on application to it, extend the time limited by any provision of this or any other Part for the referral of a dispute to it for resolution.
\n
(2)The Board shall not extend the time concerned unless the applicant for the extension shows good grounds for why the time should be extended.
\n
(3)The reference in this section to the time limited by any provision of this or any other Part for the referral of a dispute to the Board for resolution includes a reference to the time limited by such a provision for fulfilling any condition precedent that is required by the provision to be fulfilled before a particular dispute may be referred to the Board for resolution.
\n
(4)An appeal shall lie to the Circuit Court (by the applicant for the extension or, as the case may be, any other party to the dispute concerned) against a decision of the Board under this section to, as appropriate— (a) refuse to extend the time concerned, or (b) extend the time concerned, and, on the hearing of such an appeal, the Circuit Court may, as it thinks fit, confirm, vary or cancel the decision of the Board.
\n
(5)An appeal under this section shall be heard by the judge of the Circuit Court for the circuit in which the tenancy or dwelling concerned is or was situated.
\n
Chapter 2
\n
Relationship between Part and certain other dispute resolution mechanisms Dispute subject of discontinued court proceedings may be subject of reference.
\n
89.—For the avoidance of doubt, any dispute that has been the subject of proceedings instituted in any court before the commencement of this Part and which proceedings were discontinued by agreement of the parties after such commencement but before the court made its final determination in the matter may be the subject of a reference to the Board under this Part.
\n
Arbitration agreement not effective to oust Board's jurisdiction save in certain circumstances.
\n
90.—(1) Notwithstanding any other enactment or any provision of the agreement itself, an arbitration agreement shall not operate to preclude a dispute to which the agreement applies from being referred to the Board for resolution unless the tenant at or after the time the dispute arises consents to the dispute being referred to arbitration.
\n
(2)In this section “arbitration agreement” has the same meaning as it has in the Arbitration Act 1954 .
\n
Dispute may not be referred to Board where alternative remedy is being pursued.
\n
91.—(1) To the extent that an alternative remedy is available in respect of any dispute falling within this Part and a person takes any steps to avail himself or herself of that remedy, that person may not refer the dispute to the Board for resolution.
\n
(2)If a person, other than the person mentioned in subsection (1), refers a dispute to the Board for resolution, being a dispute— (a) to which that other person is a party, and (b) as respects which that other person takes or has taken steps of the kind mentioned in that subsection, then the Board, a mediator, an adjudicator or the Tribunal may, in dealing with the dispute, take account (with regard to the relief that may be granted and to such extent as it or he or she considers just) of the existence of that alternative remedy.
\n
Chapter 3
\n
Preliminary steps by Board (include power to refer matter to Tribunal) Initial steps that may be taken by Board to resolve matters referred.
\n
92.—(1) As soon as practicable after a dispute is referred to it, the Board may communicate with the parties for the purpose of— (a) endeavouring to ensure that they are fully aware of the nature of the issue or issues the subject of the reference, and (b) in cases where it considers the dispute is due to some basic misunderstanding of either or both of them as to the rights or obligations of landlords and tenants, achieving the objective mentioned in subsection (2).
\n
(2)That objective is to have the issue or issues between the parties resolved by agreement between them without recourse being needed to the other procedures in this Part.
\n
(3)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the communications by the Board under this section with the parties may, where it would be of assistance to the parties, include an indication by the Board, based on appropriate assumptions stated to the parties, of the typical outcome of issues of the kind concerned being determined under this Part.
\n
(4)Any such indication shall be communicated by the Board as fully to one of the parties as the other or others and the Board, in its communications generally with the parties under this section, shall bear in mind the right of the parties to invoke all of the procedures under this Part that are available to them.
\n
Invitation to parties to resolve matter through mediation.
\n
93.—(1) Unless the steps (if any) taken under section 92 have resulted in the parties agreeing a resolution of the matter concerned, the Board shall request each of the parties to state whether he or she consents to the dispute being the subject of mediation under section 95 .
\n
(2)If each of the parties states, in response to that request, that he or she consents to the dispute being the subject of such mediation the Board shall arrange for the matter to be the subject of mediation by a person appointed by it from amongst the panel of mediators under section 164
\n
(4).
\n
(3)If any of the parties fails to respond to a request under subsection (1) or responds by stating that he or she does not consent to the matter concerned being the subject of mediation under section 95 , the Board shall arrange for the matter to be the subject of adjudication under section 97 by a person appointed by it from amongst the panel of adjudicators under section 164
\n
(4).
\n
(4)This section is subject to section 94 .
\n
Exceptions to section 93 : direct reference of matter to Tribunal, etc.
\n
94.—Notwithstanding section 93 , the Board shall not be required to arrange for— (a) mediation of the kind mentioned in that section in relation to a dispute if it has made an application to the Circuit Court under section 189 in relation to the dispute, in which case the Board may, as it thinks appropriate— (i) arrange for the dispute to be the subject of adjudication under section 97 by a person appointed by it from amongst the panel of adjudicators under section 164
\n
(4), or (ii) refer the dispute to the Tribunal, or (b) mediation or adjudication of the kind mentioned in that section in relation to a dispute if, in all the circumstances, it considers it would be more appropriate for it to refer the dispute to the Tribunal and refers it accordingly.
\n
Chapter 4
\n
Mediation and adjudication Mediation.
\n
95.—(1) The following provisions apply to a mediation which the Board has arranged under section 93 in relation to a dispute.
\n
(2)The person appointed under section 93
\n
(2)to conduct the mediation (“the mediator”) shall inquire fully into each relevant aspect of the dispute concerned, provide to, and receive from, each party such information as is appropriate and generally make such suggestions to each party and take such other actions as he or she considers appropriate with a view to achieving the objective mentioned in subsection (3).
\n
(3)That objective is to have the issue or issues between the parties resolved by agreement between them without further recourse to the procedures under this Part being needed.
\n
(4)As soon as practicable after the mediation is completed, the mediator shall prepare a report containing the following— (a) a statement of what matters, if any, relating to the dispute are agreed by the parties to be fact, (b) a summary of the matter or matters, if any, whether they go in whole or part to resolving the dispute or not, agreed to by the parties (and this summary shall be contained in a document signed by each of the parties acknowledging that the matter or those matters are agreed to by them), and (c) relevant particulars in relation to the conduct of the mediation (including particulars in relation to the number and duration of sessions held by the mediator and the persons who attended any such session) and a list of any documents submitted to the mediator (but without disclosing any of their contents).
\n
(5)The mediator shall, after preparing a report under subsection (4), furnish a copy of it to the Director.
\n
(6)There shall then be furnished to the Board by the Director— (a) if the report contains a document of the kind mentioned in subsection (4)(b), a copy of that document (but not any other part of the report), or (b) if the report does not contain such a document, a statement that no matters have been agreed to by the parties which resolve in whole or part the dispute (but not any part of the report).
\n
Procedures to be followed on foot of Board's receipt of information under section 95
\n
(6).
\n
96.—(1) After the receipt by it of the document or statement referred to in section 95
\n
(6), the Board shall serve a copy of the document or statement on each of the parties, together with the following notice.
\n
(2)That notice is a notice requiring the party to inform the Board— (a) if the information served on the parties indicates that there is agreement between the parties such as to resolve in whole the dispute concerned, whether that agreement still exists, (b) if the information served does not indicate that to be the case, whether there now exists such an agreement between the parties.
\n
(3)If— (a) the Board is informed by the parties that an agreement of the kind referred to in subsection (2) exists, or (b) in the case of paragraph (a) of subsection (2), one or more of the parties fails to indicate whether the agreement referred to in that paragraph still exists, the Board shall, subject to subsection (4) and (5), follow the procedures under section 121 (which concerns the making of determination orders) in relation to the agreement.
\n
(4)Those procedures shall not be followed— (a) any sooner than 21 days, nor (b) any later than 28 days, from the date of service of the notice mentioned in subsection (2) on each of the parties (or if the date of service of the notice on each of them is not the same whichever of the dates of service is the later or latest).
\n
(5)The Board shall also not follow those procedures, if one or more of the parties, having stated, in the course of being communicated with under the preceding subsections, that agreement of the kind referred to in subsection (2) exists, subsequently, (but not later than 21 days from service of the notice mentioned in subsection (2) on him or her) states to the Board that such agreement no longer exists.
\n
(6)The Board shall, at the request of either or both of the parties, refer the dispute to the Tribunal for its determination if either— (a) as a result of the steps taken under subsection (1), the Board ascertains that an agreement of the kind referred to in subsection (2) does not exist, or (b) a statement of the kind referred to in subsection (5) is made to it.
\n
Adjudication.
\n
97.—(1) The following provisions and sections 98 and 99 apply to an adjudication which the Board has arranged under section 93
\n
(3)or 94 (a) in relation to a dispute.
\n
(2)The person appointed under section 93
\n
(3)or 94 (a) to conduct the adjudication (“the adjudicator”) shall inquire fully into each relevant aspect of the dispute concerned and provide to, and receive from, each party such information as is appropriate.
\n
(3)For that purpose, the adjudicator may require either party to furnish to him or her, within a specified period, such documents or other information as he or she considers appropriate.
\n
(4)The adjudicator shall determine the dispute by either— (a) reaching a decision himself or herself in the matter, or (b) subject to section 98 , declaring to the parties that he or she has adopted, as his or her determination of the dispute, a decision reached (through the adjudicator's assistance under subsection (5)) by the parties themselves in resolution of the matter, and the reference in paragraph (a) to the adjudicator's reaching a decision in the matter shall be deemed to include a reference to his or her deciding not to deal with the dispute in accordance with section 85 .
\n
(5)Where the adjudicator considers it would be of practical benefit, the adjudicator may provide assistance to the parties with a view to the parties themselves reaching a decision in resolution of the matter concerned; such assistance may include the adjudicator's stating to the parties any provisional conclusion he or she has reached in relation to any of the issues concerned.
\n
(6)Any statement of such a conclusion shall— (a) not be made in relation to any issue of fact which is in dispute between the parties, unless the parties request the making of such a statement, (b) not be made before every document submitted to the adjudicator by the parties and any initial oral submissions made by them have been considered by the adjudicator, and (c) be accompanied by a statement, whether oral or in writing, that the conclusion is of a provisional nature and its making does not absolve the adjudicator of his or her duty to determine the dispute impartially and in accordance with the requirements of procedural fairness.
\n
(7)The adjudicator may, in his or her discretion, permit another person to appear on a party's behalf at any hearing before the adjudicator. “Cooling-off” period for purposes of section 97
\n
(4)(b).
\n
98.—(1) A decision reached by the parties themselves in resolution of the matter concerned may not be the subject of a declaration under section 97
\n
(4)(b) unless— (a) a period of 21 days has elapsed from the date on which the parties first inform the adjudicator that such a decision has been reached by them, and (b) in that period none of the parties has informed the adjudicator that he or she no longer accepts that decision.
\n
(2)If, in the period mentioned in subsection (1), the adjudicator is informed by any of the parties that he or she no longer accepts the decision mentioned in that subsection, the adjudicator shall, subject to conducting any further hearings in the matter as he or she thinks appropriate, proceed to reach a decision himself or herself in the matter.
\n
(3)The adjudicator shall indicate to the parties the effect of this section upon being first informed by them that a decision has been reached by them in resolution of the matter concerned.
\n
(4)That indication of the adjudicator shall also include an indication that the decision reached is not capable of being appealed to the Tribunal and shall become binding on the parties on a determination order under section 121 being made in relation to it.
\n
Adjudicator's report.
\n
99.—(1) As soon as practicable after an adjudicator has made a determination under section 97 in relation to a dispute, the adjudicator shall prepare a report containing the following— (a) a statement of what matters, if any, relating to the dispute are agreed by the parties to be fact, (b) a summary of the matters (whether they go in whole or part to resolving the dispute or not) agreed to by the parties, (c) the terms of the determination made by the adjudicator, (d) in the case of a determination under section 97
\n
(4)(a), a summary of the reasons for the determination, and (e) relevant particulars in relation to the conduct of the adjudication (including particulars in relation to the number and duration of hearings held by the adjudicator, the persons who attended any such hearing and any documents submitted to the adjudicator).
\n
(2)The adjudicator shall, after preparing a report under subsection (1), furnish a copy of it to the Board.
\n
(3)After the receipt by it of a report under subsection (2), the Board shall serve on each of the parties a copy of the report and the following statement.
\n
(4)That statement is one to the effect that the Board will follow the procedures under section 121 (which concerns the making of determination orders) in relation to the determination of the adjudicator unless, in the case of a determination under section 97
\n
(4)(a), an appeal is made under, and in accordance with, section 100 against the determination and that appeal is not subsequently abandoned.
\n
Appeal to Tribunal against adjudicator's determination.
\n
100.—(1) One or more of the parties may appeal to the Tribunal against a determination of an adjudicator under section 97
\n
(4)(a).
\n
(2)Such an appeal shall be made within 21 days from the date the Board serves on the party the report and statement referred to in section 99
\n
(3).
\n
Provisions common to mediators and adjudicators.
\n
101.—(1) In respect of a matter dealt with by him or her under this Chapter, the mediator or adjudicator shall— (a) declare to the parties at the outset of dealing with the matter any potential conflict of interest of which he or she is aware or ought reasonably be aware, (b) act at all times in accordance with the highest standards of the professional body, if any, of which he or she is a member, (c) maintain the confidentiality of the proceedings concerned and shall not disclose any report prepared by him or her under section 95
\n
(4)or 99 , otherwise than in accordance with those sections.
\n
(2)Where a declaration referred to in subsection (1)(a) is made to the parties then, unless the parties agree to the mediator or the adjudicator continuing to deal with the matter, the Board shall appoint another person from amongst the panel of mediators or adjudicators under section 164
\n
(4)to deal with the matter.
\n
(3)References in this Part to the person appointed under section 93
\n
(2)or (3) or section 94 (a) to conduct the mediation or adjudication concerned shall be construed as including references to the person appointed for that purpose pursuant to subsection (2).
\n
(4)Subject to any rules under section 109 , the manner in which a mediation or adjudication is conducted shall be at the discretion of the mediator or adjudicator concerned but it shall be the duty of that person to ensure that the mediation or adjudication is conducted without undue formality.
\n
Chapter 5
\n
Tenancy Tribunal Tenancy Tribunals and the “Tribunal”.
\n
102.—(1) From time to time as occasion requires the Board shall cause to be constituted, for the purposes of this Part, one or more tribunals which or each of which shall be known as a “Tenancy Tribunal”.
\n
(2)A reference in section 103 or any other provision of this Act to the “Tribunal” is a reference to whichever of the tribunals constituted under this section the provision concerned falls to be applied.
\n
Membership of Tribunal, etc.
\n
103.—(1) The number of members of the Tribunal shall be 3.
\n
(2)Each of the members of the Tribunal shall be a person who is, for the time being, a member of the Dispute Resolution Committee.
\n
(3)The members of the Tribunal shall be appointed by the Board.
\n
(4)One of the members of the Tribunal shall be the chairperson of the Tribunal; subject to subsection (5), the Board shall determine which of the members shall be the chairperson.
\n
(5)If a member of the Board is a member of the Tribunal he or she shall be the chairperson of the Tribunal or, if 2 or more members of the Board are members of the Tribunal, whichever of them the Board determines shall be the chairperson.
\n
(6)The Tribunal shall be independent in the performance of its functions.
\n
(7)A decision of a majority of the members of the Tribunal suffices for any purpose.
\n
Chapter 6
\n
Dispute resolution by Tribunal Determination of disputes by Tribunal: procedures generally.
\n
104.—(1) This section and the other sections of this Chapter contain the principal provisions regarding the procedures to be adopted by the Tribunal in relation to the determination by it of a dispute, whether that dispute— (a) has been referred to it by the Board under section 94 (which provides for the direct reference of a matter without mediation or adjudication taking place in relation to it), (b) has been referred to it by the Board under section 96
\n
(6)(which provides for the reference of a matter after mediation has not resulted in the matter being resolved), or (c) is the subject of an appeal under section 100 from a determination of an adjudicator of the matter.
\n
(2)The Tribunal shall hold one or more hearings for the purposes of determining the dispute.
\n
(3)The parties to the dispute shall be given by the Tribunal notice (to be of the duration specified in subsection (5)) of the holding of a hearing.
\n
(4)The following information shall be included in such a notice— (a) the date, time, venue and purpose of the hearing, (b) an outline of the substance of the matters to be dealt with at the hearing, (c) an outline of the procedures to be adopted at the hearing, (d) a reference to the provisions of this Act and any rules made under it that are relevant to the holding of the hearing, (e) a statement that the Tribunal will, unless substantial grounds arise for its deciding to do otherwise, proceed with the hearing at the date and time concerned notwithstanding that a party does not attend the hearing, (f) a statement that the Tribunal will determine the dispute notwithstanding that a party does not take part in the proceedings before the Tribunal, and (g) any other information the Tribunal considers appropriate.
\n
(5)The duration of the notice under subsection (3) shall be— (a) at least 21 days beginning on the date of the giving of the notice, or (b) such lesser period as the Board may specify where— (i) one or more of the parties requests the Board to specify such a period and the other party or parties consent to such a specification, or (ii) the dispute concerns alleged behaviour by the landlord or the tenant that poses an imminent danger of death or serious injury or imminent danger to the fabric of the dwelling concerned or the property containing that dwelling.
\n
(6)Each of the parties shall be entitled to and be given the opportunity to be heard at the hearing and to be represented and to present evidence and witnesses before the Tribunal.
\n
(7)In the case of an appeal under section 100 , the Tribunal may have regard to the report of the adjudicator.
\n
Provisions in relation to evidence, summoning of witnesses, etc.
\n
105.—(1) The Tribunal may require that the evidence of a witness before it be given on oath.
\n
(2)Each witness of a party before the Tribunal (including the party as a witness) may be cross-examined by or on behalf of every other party.
\n
(3)For the purposes of its functions under this Part, the Tribunal may— (a) summon witnesses to attend before it, (b) administer an oath, and (c) require any person to produce to the Tribunal any document in his or her power or control.
\n
(4)A witness before the Tribunal shall be entitled to the same immunities and privileges as if he or she were a witness before the High Court.
\n
(5)Any person who— (a) on being duly summoned as a witness before the Tribunal and having had tendered to him or her the sum, if any, which has been directed under subsection (6)(a) to be paid in respect of the expenses of his or her attendance makes default in attending, (b) being in attendance as a witness refuses to take an oath legally required by the Tribunal to be taken, or to produce any document in his or her power or control legally required by the Tribunal to be produced by him or her, or to answer any question to which the Tribunal may legally require an answer, or (c) does any other thing which, if the Tribunal were a court having power to commit for contempt of court, would be contempt of such court, is guilty of an offence.
\n
(6)The Tribunal may, out of moneys at the disposal of the Board, direct that the whole or part of the reasonable expenses— (a) that will be incurred by a person summoned to attend before it in so attending, or (b) that have been incurred by a person summoned to attend before it in so attending, shall, as it thinks appropriate, be paid to him or her before he or she so attends or, as the case may be, be re-imbursed to him or her.
\n
Proceedings to be in public.
\n
106.—(1) Proceedings before the Tribunal shall be conducted in public; this is without prejudice to an order that may be made under subsection (2).
\n
(2)In the particular circumstances of a case, if the Board considers it appropriate to do so, it may make an order directing that the identities of all or one or more of the parties to a dispute over which the Tribunal has jurisdiction shall not be disclosed.
\n
(3)A person who contravenes an order under subsection (2) is guilty of an offence.
\n
Adjournments of hearing.
\n
107.—The Tribunal may adjourn the hearing by it of a matter until a date specified by it.
\n
Determination by Tribunal of dispute and notification to Board.
\n
108.—(1) Unless it has sooner made a determination of the kind specified in subsection (2), the Tribunal shall, on completion of its hearing in relation to the dispute, make its determination in relation to the dispute and notify the Board of that determination.
\n
(2)The determination firstly mentioned in subsection (1) is a decision by the Tribunal not to deal with the dispute in accordance with section 85 ; such a determination shall be notified to the Board by the Tribunal.
\n
Chapter 7
\n
Supplementary procedural matters Power of Board to make procedural rules.
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109.—(1) The procedure to be followed under this Part in relation to a dispute shall, subject to this Part, be such as shall be determined by the Board by rules made by it with the consent of the Minister.
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(2)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), rules under this section may— (a) specify the forms to be used for referring a dispute to the Board under this Part, (b) require specified notifications to be given in respect of the referral of a dispute to the Board under this Part, (c) specify that a fee of specified amount shall be paid to the Board in respect of the Board's initially dealing with a dispute or the following of any other procedure under this Part in relation to it, (d) specify the period within which— (i) a mediator or adjudicator must be appointed under section 93
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(2)or (3) or section 94 (a) to deal with or determine a dispute referred to the Board, (ii) a mediator or adjudicator must furnish his or her report under section 95 or 99 to the Board, (iii) the Board must serve the documents referred to in subsection (1) of section 96 on each of the parties and ascertain the matters referred to in that section, (iv) the Board must serve the documents referred to in section 99
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(3)on each of the parties, (v) a dispute must be referred under section 94 , 96(6) or 100 to the Tribunal, (vi) the Board must, from the date of receipt by it of a determination of an adjudicator under section 97
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(4)(a) (contained in a report made to it under section 99 ), make a determination order on foot of that determination, (vii) the Tribunal must, from the date of a dispute being referred to it, or a determination in relation to a dispute being appealed to it, arrange a hearing in relation to the dispute, (viii) the Tribunal must, from the date of completion by it of a hearing or hearings in relation to a dispute, make its determination in relation to the dispute, (ix) the Board must, from the date of receipt by it of a determination of the Tribunal under section 108 make a determination order on foot of that determination, and (x) the Board must make an application under section 124 to enforce a determination order on being notified that that order is not being complied with.
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(3)In the absence of a specification, by rules under this section, of the period within which a thing referred to in a provision of this Act specified in subsection (2)(d) must be done, the provision shall be construed as requiring the thing to be done as soon as practicable after the doing of the thing that immediately precedes it.
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Title to lands or property not to be drawn into question.
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110.—The title to any lands or property shall not be drawn into question in any proceedings before a mediator, an adjudicator or the Tribunal under this Part.
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Power to enter and inspect dwelling.
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111.—(1) Subject to subsection (3), a mediator, an adjudicator or a member of the Tribunal or the Board who is dealing with a dispute under this Part may, for the purposes of his or her functions under this Part, enter and inspect any dwelling to which the dispute relates.
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(2)The powers under subsection (1) may be exercised in relation to a dwelling to which a dispute relates even though the dwelling is occupied by a person who takes no part in the proceedings concerned or initially takes part in them but subsequently withdraws from them.
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(3)The powers under subsection (1) shall not, without the consent of that person, be exercised in relation to a dwelling occupied by a person referred to in subsection (2) unless, at least 24 hours before the date on which the person concerned intends to exercise those powers, he or she serves on the first-mentioned person a notice of that intention.
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(4)A person mentioned in subsection (1) may authorise in writing a person who he or she is satisfied has an expertise in any area relevant to the dispute concerned (for example, engineering, valuation or surveying) to exercise the powers under that subsection in relation to the dwelling concerned; a person so authorised shall, if requested, produce to any person concerned his or her authorisation under this subsection before exercising the powers under subsection (1).
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(5)A person who obstructs or impedes a person mentioned in subsection (1), or a person authorised under subsection (4), in the exercise of his or her powers under this section is guilty of an offence.
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Obligations of confidentiality.
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112.—(1) A mediator or adjudicator shall not disclose to any person any statement or information of a confidential nature made or supplied to the mediator or adjudicator in connection with the performance of his or her functions under this Part unless one or more of the conditions specified in subsection (2) is complied with.
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(2)The conditions referred to in subsection (1) are— (a) the person who makes the statement or supplies the information consents to its disclosure, (b) the mediator or adjudicator has reasonable grounds for believing that the disclosure is necessary to prevent or reduce the danger of injury to any person or damage to any property, (c) the disclosure is for the purpose of proceedings for an offence under section 113 , (d) it would not be possible for the mediator or adjudicator to deal with or determine the dispute concerned without disclosing the statement or information.
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(3)A statement or information is of a confidential nature for the purposes of subsection (1) if— (a) it was expressed to be of such a nature by the maker or supplier of it to the mediator or adjudicator, or (b) from the circumstances in which it was made or supplied to him or her or its subject matter, the mediator or adjudicator ought reasonably to have concluded that it was of such a nature.
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(4)A person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence.
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Offence of providing false information to Board.
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113.—A person is guilty of an offence if— (a) he or she makes a statement or supplies information to an adjudicator, the Tribunal or the Board in connection with the performance by the adjudicator, Tribunal or Board of his or her or its functions under this Part in relation to a dispute, (b) that statement or information is false or misleading in a material respect, and (c) the person knows that that statement or information is so false or misleading.
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Certain proceedings and acts privileged.
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114.—(1) Any report or other document prepared, or communication made, by the Board, the Tribunal, a mediator or an adjudicator for the purposes of, or in connection with, proceedings under this Part dealt with by it or him or her shall, for the purposes of the law of defamation, enjoy absolute privilege.
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(2)Any report or other document prepared, or communication made, by the Board, the Tribunal, a mediator or an adjudicator that does not fall within subsection (1) but which is prepared or made for the purposes of, or in connection with, the performance by it or him or her of functions under this or any other Part of this Act shall, for the purposes of the law of defamation, enjoy qualified privilege.
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Chapter 8
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Redress that may be granted under this Part Redress that may be granted on foot of determination.
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115.—(1) A power conferred by this Part on an adjudicator or the Tribunal to make a determination in relation to a dispute includes a power to make such declarations or give such directions as the adjudicator or the Tribunal thinks appropriate for the purpose of providing relief to one, or more than one as appropriate, of the parties.
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(2)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) and the subsequent provisions of this Chapter, one or more of the following declarations or directions, as appropriate, may be made or given in respect of a dispute— (a) a direction that a specified amount of rent or other charge shall be paid on, or on and from, or by a specified date, (b) a declaration as to whether or not an amount of rent set under a tenancy of a dwelling complies with section 19
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(1)(and if the declaration is that that amount does not so comply, the declaration shall be accompanied by an indication by the adjudicator or the Tribunal as to what amount, in his or her or its opinion, would comply with section 19
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(1)), (c) a direction as to the return or payment, in whole or in part, of the amount of a deposit, (d) a direction that a specified amount of damages or costs or both be paid, (e) a direction that a dwelling be quitted by a specified date, (f) a declaration as to the validity or otherwise of a notice of termination of a tenancy, (g) a declaration with regard to the right to return to, or continue in, occupation of a dwelling (and such a declaration may include provision to the effect that any period of interruption in possession that has occurred is to be disregarded for one or more purposes), (h) a declaration that a term of a lease or tenancy agreement is void by reason of section 184 , (i) in the special circumstances of a dispute heard under this Part, a direction that the whole or part of the costs or expenses incurred by the adjudicator or the Tribunal in dealing with the dispute shall be paid by one or more of the parties.
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(3)The amount (or, as appropriate, the aggregate of the amounts), other than costs or expenses of whatsoever kind, that an adjudicator or the Tribunal may direct to be paid to a party in respect of the matter (or, as appropriate, all of the matters) the subject of a dispute referred to the Board for resolution shall not exceed— (a) if the amount or amounts consist solely of damages — €20,000, (b) if the amount or amounts consist solely of an amount or amounts by way of arrears of rent or other charges — €20,000 or an amount equal to twice the annual rent of the dwelling concerned, whichever is the higher (but subject to a maximum under this paragraph of €60,000), (c) if the amount or amounts consist of both damages and an amount or amounts referred to in paragraph (b)— (i) in so far as the amount or amounts consist of damages — €20,000, (ii) in so far as the amount or amounts consist of such other amount or amounts — €20,000 or an amount equal to twice the annual rent of the dwelling concerned, whichever is the higher (but subject to a maximum under this subparagraph of €60,000).
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Determination may require sub-tenancy to be quitted in certain cases.
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116.—If— (a) the determination of an adjudicator or the Tribunal includes a direction that a dwelling, the subject of a tenancy, be quitted by a specified date, (b) that tenancy is one out of which a sub-tenancy has been created, and (c) the landlord, when he or she served a notice of termination on the tenant in respect of that tenancy, required the tenant to terminate that sub-tenancy, then the determination may include a direction requiring the subtenant to quit the dwelling by a specified date.
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Redress of an interim nature may be granted.
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117.—(1) In addition to the powers conferred by this Part with respect to the determination of disputes, an adjudicator or the Tribunal, in dealing with a dispute, may give such directions as he or she or it thinks appropriate for the purpose of providing relief of an interim nature to one, or more than one as appropriate, of the parties.
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(2)Such a direction shall indicate that the relief it provides for may not necessarily be the relief provided for by the final determination made in the matter.
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(3)As soon as such a direction is given, the adjudicator or the Tribunal shall reduce it to writing and forward it immediately to the Board.
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(4)This section is without prejudice to section 189 and the power under subsection (1) may not be exercised in a manner which is inconsistent with or would derogate from any interim or interlocutory relief granted by the Circuit Court under that section.
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Discretion to refuse direction for possession.
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118.—(1) If the inclusion of a direction in a determination that a party (“the first-mentioned person”) be permitted to resume possession of a dwelling, the subject of a tenancy, would cause hardship or injustice to a person (“the second-mentioned person”) not party to the dispute who is in possession of that dwelling, then the determination may, instead of including such a direction, include— (a) a declaration that the first-mentioned person was wrongfully deprived of possession of the dwelling, and (b) a direction that damages of a specified amount be paid by the landlord to that person in respect of that deprivation.
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(2)In deciding whether the inclusion in a determination of a direction of the kind firstly mentioned in subsection (1) would cause hardship or injustice to the second-mentioned person, the matters to which regard shall be had shall include— (a) the length of time the second-mentioned person has been in possession of the dwelling concerned, (b) any involvement the second-mentioned person may have had in the first-mentioned person being deprived of possession of the dwelling, and (c) any knowledge the second-mentioned person may have had, before he or she took possession of the dwelling, of the existence of a dispute concerning the right of the first-mentioned person to possession of the dwelling.
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(3)The second-mentioned person shall be afforded an opportunity to make submissions with regard to whether a determination should include a direction of the kind firstly mentioned in subsection (1); if necessary, for that purpose, the proceedings concerned shall be adjourned and the second-mentioned person notified of the matter.
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Certain directions to be given in the case of arrears of rent.
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119.—(1) Any amount of arrears stipulated to be paid by a determination shall be the gross amount of the rent and other charges (if any) concerned which the adjudicator or the Tribunal considers to be in arrears as reduced by— (a) any relevant debts due, in the opinion of the adjudicator or the Tribunal, by the landlord to the tenant in accordance with section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Law Amendment Act Ireland 1860 , (b) any set-off for expenditure on repairs the tenant would be entitled to make under section 87 of the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act 1980 , (c) any compensation due by the landlord to the tenant in circumstances where section 61 of the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act 1980 applies, (d) any other amount which the adjudicator or the Tribunal considers warranted in the circumstances of the case, and as increased by any amount that the adjudicator or the Tribunal, in all the circumstances of the matter, considers appropriate in respect of— (i) costs reasonably incurred by the landlord in pursuit of the arrears of rent, (ii) damages, (iii) an amount in respect of the cost of any repairs which fell to be carried out by reason of the failure of the tenant to comply with section 16 (f).
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(2)A determination of an adjudicator or the Tribunal in respect of an amount referred to in subsection (1) shall, if any of paragraphs (a) to (d) or paragraphs (i) to (iii) of that subsection have had to be applied in calculating the amount, indicate how the amount was calculated by reason of the application of the paragraph or paragraphs concerned.
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Circumstances of landlord or tenant not to be taken account of in certain cases.
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120.—(1) If the dispute being dealt with by a mediator, adjudicator or the Tribunal relates to the amount of the rent that ought to be set under a tenancy at a particular time or as to when a review of such rent ought to take place, the circumstances, financial or otherwise, of the landlord or tenant may not be taken into consideration— (a) by the mediator in taking any of the steps mentioned in section 95 , or (b) by the adjudicator or the Tribunal in determining the dispute.
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(2)The reference in subsection (1) to the setting of the rent under a tenancy shall be construed in accordance with section 19
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(2).
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Chapter 9
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Determination orders and enforcement generally Determination orders.
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121.—(1) Each of the following— (a) an agreement mentioned in a report of a mediator under section 95
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(4), (b) a determination mentioned in a report of an adjudicator under section 99 , (c) a determination of the Tribunal notified to the Board under section 108 , (d) a direction given by an adjudicator or the Tribunal under section 82
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(5)or 117 , shall be the subject of a written record (in this Act referred to as a “determination order”) prepared by the Board and issued by it to the parties concerned.
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(2)A determination order shall contain the terms of the agreement, determination or direction concerned; those terms may be expressed in the order in a manner different from the manner in which they are expressed in the agreement, determination or direction if the Board considers it appropriate to do so for the purpose mentioned in subsection (3).
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(3)That purpose is to remove any ambiguity that the Board considers exists in the terms of the agreement, determination or direction or to clarify, generally, those terms in a manner that it considers will be of benefit to the parties or will facilitate compliance with the agreement, determination or direction.
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(4)In considering whether it is appropriate to exercise the power under subsection (2) with respect to the terms of a particular agreement or determination referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1), the Board shall have regard to— (a) in the case of such an agreement, the relevant document furnished to it under section 95
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(6), (b) in the case of such a determination, the relevant report of the adjudicator furnished to it under section 99
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(2).
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(5)In the case of doubt as to whether it is appropriate to exercise that power the Board may also consult with, as appropriate, the mediator, the adjudicator or the Tribunal and with the parties themselves.
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(6)The seal of the Board shall be affixed to a determination order.
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(7)Subsection (1) is, in the case of an agreement to which paragraph (a) of that subsection applies, subject to subsections (4) and (5) of section 96 .
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(8)The reference in subsection (1)(b) to a determination mentioned in a report of an adjudicator under section 99 does not include a reference to such a determination against which an appeal has been made under, and in accordance with, section 100 unless that appeal has been subsequently abandoned.
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Provision to ensure consistency between determinations.
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122.—(1) If, on consideration of a determination of the Tribunal, the Board is of opinion that the determination is not consistent with previous determinations of the Tribunal in relation to disputes of a similar nature to the dispute concerned then the Board may exercise the powers under subsection (2).
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(2)Those powers are— (a) to notify the members of the Tribunal who made the determination concerned of that opinion and request each of them to submit any views he or she has in relation to the matter to the Board, (b) having had regard to the views, if any, submitted by those members to it, pursuant to that request, to notify the parties to the dispute concerned of that opinion and request each of them to indicate whether he or she consents to a fresh determination being made pursuant to paragraph (c) by the Tribunal in relation to the dispute or wishes to make representations to the Board in relation to the matter, (c) if the parties consent to such a fresh determination being made or the Board, having had regard to the representations, if any, made to it by one or more of them pursuant to the request under paragraph (b), considers it appropriate to direct the Tribunal to do so, to direct the Tribunal to make a fresh determination in relation to the dispute.
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(3)The making of any such fresh determination shall be preceded by a re-hearing of the matter by the Tribunal and the provisions of Chapters 5 to 7 shall apply accordingly.
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(4)For the purposes of subsection (1), one dispute is of a similar nature to another dispute if the issues involved in each of them are the same and the facts that gave rise to each of them, as appearing from any record kept by the Tribunal in relation to its proceedings or any other record available to the Board, are the same in all material respects.
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Binding nature of determination orders.
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123.—(1) A determination order embodying the terms of an agreement mentioned in a mediator's report under section 95
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(4)or the determination of an adjudicator under section 97 shall become binding on the parties concerned on the order being issued to them.
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(2)A determination order embodying the terms of a determination of the Tribunal shall, on the expiry of the relevant period, become binding on the parties concerned unless, before that expiry, an appeal in relation to the determination is made under subsection (3).
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(3)Any of the parties concerned may appeal to the High Court, within the relevant period, from a determination of the Tribunal (as embodied in a determination order) on a point of law.
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(4)The determination of the High Court on such an appeal in relation to the point of law concerned shall be final and conclusive.
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(5)The High Court may, as a consequence of the determination it so makes, direct the Board to cancel the determination order concerned or to vary it in such manner as the Court specifies and the Board shall cancel or vary the order accordingly; if the cancellation or variation directed to be made relates to a determination of the Tribunal not to deal with the dispute in accordance with section 85 , the Board shall, in addition, refer all or part, as appropriate, of the dispute to the Tribunal for determination by the Tribunal and the provisions of this Part shall, with any necessary modifications, apply to that determination.
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(6)References in section 124 to a determination order shall, where that order embodies the terms of a determination of the Tribunal, be construed as references to— (a) such an order as respects which an appeal against the determination embodied in it has not been made under this section within the relevant period or, if such appeal has been brought, it has been abandoned, or (b) if such an appeal has been brought (and the result of the appeal does not require the Board to cancel the order under subsection (5)), as the case may be— (i) such an order in the terms as it was originally made, or (ii) such an order in the terms as it stands following the variation of it by the Board under subsection (5).
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(7)The Board may publish, in such manner as it thinks fit— (a) a determination order issued by it (including such an order as it stands varied by it under subsection (5)), (b) notice of the cancellation of such an order under subsection (5) or section 125 .
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(8)In this section “relevant period” means the period of 21 days beginning on the date that the determination order concerned is issued to the parties.
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Enforcement of determination orders.
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124.—(1) If the Board or a party mentioned in a determination order is satisfied that another party has failed to comply with one or more terms of that order, the Board or the first-mentioned party may make an application under this section to the Circuit Court for an order under subsection (2).
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(2)On such an application and subject to section 125 , the Circuit Court shall make an order directing the party concerned (the “respondent”) to comply with the term or terms concerned if it is satisfied that the respondent has failed to comply with that term or those terms, unless— (a) it considers there are substantial reasons (related to one or more of the matters mentioned in subsection (3)) for not making an order under this subsection, or (b) the respondent shows to the satisfaction of the court that one of the matters specified in subsection (3) applies in relation to the determination order.
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(3)The matters mentioned in subsection (2) are— (a) a requirement of procedural fairness was not complied with in the relevant proceedings under this Part, (b) a material consideration was not taken account of in those proceedings or account was taken in those proceedings of a consideration that was not material, (c) a manifestly erroneous decision in relation to a legal issue was made in those proceedings, (d) the determination made by the adjudicator or the Tribunal, as the case may be, on the evidence before the adjudicator or Tribunal, was manifestly erroneous.
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(4)If, on the hearing of an application under this section, it appears by credible testimony that there is reason to believe the respondent will be unable to pay the costs of the applicant of so much of the hearing as relates to the determination of whether any of the matters specified in subsection (3) have been established by the respondent (in the event that none of them is established) the court may require sufficient security to be given for those costs.
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(5)If the determination order, the subject of an application under this section, is one requiring a dwelling to be vacated and— (a) the basis for that requirement is that the tenancy concerned was validly terminated by service of a notice of termination, and (b) that notice was served by reason of the tenant's failure to pay an amount of rent due, the court may, before hearing any arguments or receiving any evidence in relation to whether any of the matters specified in subsection (3) have been established, require the respondent to lodge in court or pay to the applicant, as it thinks appropriate, that amount of rent together with such amount as it specifies in respect of the dwelling's continued occupation by the respondent after the service of that notice.
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(6)If the applicant under this section is not the Board, the respondent shall give notice to the Board that he or she proposes to oppose the application and the Board shall be entitled to appear and be heard at the hearing of the application.
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(7)The court may make such ancillary or other orders as it considers just on the hearing of an application under this section.
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(8)The Board may furnish to the registrar of the court such information derived from the register as, in its opinion, is likely to assist in the execution of an order made by the court under subsection (2) (including, if the court gives a direction authorising the Board to give that number to the registrar, the personal public service number of any party concerned).
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(9)An application under this section to the Circuit Court shall be made to the judge of the Circuit Court for the circuit in which the tenancy or dwelling concerned is or was situated.
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Cancellation of determination order in cases of nonappearance.
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125.—(1) A person who establishes to the satisfaction of— (a) the Board, or (b) if the determination order is the subject of an application under section 124 , the Circuit Court, on the hearing of that application, that, in relation to a determination order embodying the terms of a determination of the Tribunal or an adjudicator, there are good and substantial reasons for his or her having failed to appear at the relevant hearing conducted by the Tribunal or the adjudicator, the Board or the Circuit Court may, subject to subsection (3), exercise the powers referred to in subsection (2).
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(2)The powers mentioned in subsection (1) are to cancel the determination order and direct that a fresh determination of the matter shall be made by the adjudicator or the Tribunal as appropriate (and the making of any such fresh determination shall be preceded by a re-hearing of the matter by the adjudicator or the Tribunal and the provisions of Chapters 4 to 7 shall apply accordingly).
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(3)The Board or the Circuit Court, as the case may be, may direct that that cancellation shall not have effect unless specified conditions are, within a specified period, complied with by the person referred to in subsection (1) (being conditions analogous to the terms the High Court may impose under the Rules of the Superior Courts ( S.I. No. 15 of 1986 ) for setting aside a judgment obtained in circumstances where one of the parties did not appear at the trial concerned).
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(4)Without prejudice to subsection (3), if it is sought to oppose an application under section 124 on the grounds that the determination order ought to be cancelled under this section, subsections (4) and (5) of section 124 shall apply as if references to the determination of, or evidence in relation to, whether any of the matters specified in subsection (3) of that section have been established include references to the determination of, or evidence in relation to, the issue as to whether the grounds for the court's exercising its powers under this section have been established.
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(5)The Board, before deciding whether to exercise the powers under this section, shall afford the other party or parties concerned an opportunity to be heard.
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(6)The reference in subsection (3) to the Rules of the Superior Courts is a reference to those Rules as amended for the time being; if those Rules should be revoked then the reference to them in that subsection shall be read as a reference to such rules corresponding to those Rules as may be for the time being in force.
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Offence for failure to comply with determination order.
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126.—(1) A person who fails to comply with one or more terms of a determination order is guilty of an offence.
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(2)Subsection (1) has effect notwithstanding the means provided under section 124 for enforcement of a determination order.
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(3)A person convicted of an offence under this section shall not be sentenced to any term of imprisonment in respect of that offence if he or she shows that the failure to comply with the term or terms concerned was due to his or her limited financial means.
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PART 7
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Registration of Tenancies
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Chapter 1
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Private residential tenancies register Establishment of register.
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127.—(1) The Board shall, as soon as practicable after the establishment day, establish and maintain a register which shall be known as the “private residential tenancies register” and is in this Act referred to as the “register”.
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(2)There shall be registered in the register each tenancy of a dwelling in the State the subject of an application for registration made under, and in accordance with, this Part.
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(3)The form of the register, the types of information to be contained in it, the format of any aspect of that information and any other matters relevant to the maintenance of the register shall be such as the Board determines from time to time.
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(4)Save under and in accordance with this Act and subject to subsection (5), no information contained in the register shall be disclosed to any person.
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(5)Subsection (4) does not apply to a disclosure of information contained in the register by— (a) a member of the Board, (b) a member of a committee of the Board, (c) a member of staff of the Board, (d) a mediator or adjudicator, or (e) a person whose services are provided to the Board under section 167 , in the performance of any of his or her functions under this Act, being a disclosure the making of which is necessary for the performance by him or her of any such function.
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Published register.
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128.—(1) The Board shall, as soon as practicable after the establishment of the register, prepare a document (in this Act referred to as the “published register”).
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(2)Subject to subsections (3) and (4), the published register shall consist of an extract of the information contained in the register.
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(3)The extent of that extract shall be such as the Board determines is likely to make the published register useful to members of the public.
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(4)The published register shall not contain any information, as respects a particular dwelling, that discloses or could reasonably lead to the disclosure of— (a) the identity of the landlord or the tenant or tenants of the dwelling, (b) the amount of the rent payable under a tenancy of the dwelling.
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(5)The form of the published register, the format of any aspect of the information contained in it and any other matters relevant to its maintenance shall be such as the Board determines from time to time.
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Inspection of published register.
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129.—(1) The published register shall be kept at an office that is designated, for the time being, by the Board for that purpose.
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(2)The published register shall be made available for inspection, at all reasonable times, at that office and by such other means, if any, as the Board may determine.
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(3)A fee of such amount as the Board determines to be reasonable may be charged in respect of the inspection of the published register.
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Register and published register may be kept in electronic form.
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130.—The register and the published register may each be prepared and maintained otherwise than in a legible form but only if that form allows the particular register to be converted into a legible form and any entry in it to be copied or reproduced in a legible form.
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Publication of aggregated details derived from register.
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131.—(1) Without prejudice to section 128 , the Board may publish details concerning the private rented sector derived from the register, being details of an aggregated nature.
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(2)In this section— “details of an aggregated nature” means details of such a nature as could not reasonably lead to a disclosure of the kind mentioned in section 128
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(4)occurring; “private rented sector” has the same meaning as it has in section 151 .
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Furnishing of entries in registers, etc.
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132.—(1) On application by the landlord or tenant of a dwelling, the Board shall, on being supplied by the landlord or tenant with such information as it may require for the purpose of confirming the identity of the applicant concerned, provide to him or her a copy of the entry in respect of that dwelling in the register.
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(2)On application by a person who is not the landlord or tenant of a particular dwelling, the Board shall provide to him or her a copy of the entry in respect of that dwelling in the published register (but not the entry in the register).
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(3)A fee of such amount as the Board determines to be reasonable may be charged in respect of the provision of a copy of an entry under subsection (1) or (2).
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(4)A copy of an entry in the register or the published register purporting to be certified by an officer of the Board as being a true copy of that entry shall, without proof of that person's authority to so certify the copy, of any signature of the person appearing on the copy or that he or she is or was an officer of the Board, be received in evidence in any proceedings and shall be presumed to be such a copy unless the contrary is shown.
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(5)Evidence that any particular matter in respect of a dwelling stood registered in the register on a particular date may be given by the production of a copy of the entry in respect of that dwelling under subsection (4) and which copy bears that date beside, or as part of, the certification mentioned in that subsection.
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Confirmation to parties to tenancy as to particulars specified in an application under section 134 .
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133.—(1) Either party to a tenancy of a dwelling may request the Board to confirm to him or her what are the particulars specified in an application made under section 134 to register the tenancy.
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(2)The Board shall comply with such a request if it is satisfied, having been supplied by the person making the request with such information as it may require, that the person is a party to the tenancy.
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Chapter 2
\n
Procedure for registration Obligation to apply to register tenancy.
\n
134.—(1) The landlord of a dwelling shall apply to the Board to register the tenancy of the dwelling under this Part.
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(2)An application under this section shall be made— (a) in the case of a tenancy that commences on a date that falls 3 or more months from the commencement of this Part — within 1 month from the commencement of the tenancy, (b) in the case of a tenancy that has commenced on a date falling before or after the commencement of this Part (other than one to which paragraph (a) applies but including one that commenced before the passing of this Act)— (i) in case it commenced before the passing of this Act — within 3 months from the commencement of this Part, (ii) in any other case — within whichever of the following periods expires the later— (I) the period of 3 months from the commencement of this Part, or (II) the period of 1 month from the commencement of the tenancy.
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(3)An application under this section shall be in the prescribed form and, subject to subsection (4), be accompanied by the fee specified in section 137 .
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(4)The foregoing requirement with respect to the application being accompanied by a fee does not apply in relation to an application (the “relevant application”) by a person (the “applicant”) in respect of a particular dwelling (the “relevant dwelling”) if the application is made within the period specified in subsection (2)(a) or (b) and one of the following conditions is satisfied.
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(5)Those conditions are that, in the 12 months preceding the relevant application— (a) 2 applications, each accompanied by the fee specified in section 137 , have been made under this section by the applicant in respect of the relevant dwelling (and each within the period specified in subsection (2)(a) or (b)), (b) the applicant has paid, in respect of several applications falling within subsection (3) of section 137 , the single fee referred to in subsection (2) of that section and the dwellings to which those several applications related included the relevant dwelling, (c) an application, under the Housing (Registration of Rented Houses) Regulations 1996 and accompanied by the fee specified in those Regulations, to register a tenancy in respect of the relevant dwelling has been made by the applicant.
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(6)An application under this section may not relate to more than one tenancy of a dwelling; accordingly separate applications under this section are required for separate tenancies.
\n
Section 134
\n
: supplemental provisions.
\n
135.—(1) For the avoidance of doubt— (a) a fresh application must be made under section 134 in respect of each new tenancy that is created in respect of a dwelling, (b) the fact that a tenancy is continued in being as a Part 4 tenancy does not give rise to any requirement under section 134 to apply to register the Part 4 tenancy, and (c) the coming into being of a further Part 4 tenancy in respect of a dwelling does, however, give rise to a requirement under section 134 to apply to register that further Part 4 tenancy.
\n
(2)The form used for making an application under section 134 shall— (a) be signed by the landlord of the dwelling concerned or his or her authorised agent and bear the date on which it is so signed, and (b) be signed by the tenant or each of the tenants, as the case may be, of the dwelling concerned and bear the date or dates on which it is signed by the tenant or tenants.
\n
(3)The Board shall assign a unique number to each application made under section 134 to register a tenancy and that number shall be used by the Board as the reference number for the tenancy when it is registered.
\n
(4)An acknowledgement, in such form as the Board considers appropriate, shall be given to an applicant under section 134 of the receipt by the Board of his or her application and the fee mentioned in subsection (3) of that section.
\n
(5)When an application under section 134 is received by the Board that is incomplete or is not accompanied by the fee mentioned in subsection (3) of that section, the Board shall notify the applicant of the omission concerned and afford him or her a reasonable opportunity to rectify the matter.
\n
Particulars to be specified in application under section 134 .
\n
136.—An application under section 134 shall contain the following particulars— (a) the address of the dwelling, (b) the name, address for correspondence and personal public service number (if any) of the landlord and, where the application is made by his or her authorised agent, the name, address for correspondence and personal public service number (if any) of the agent, (c) if the landlord is a company, the registered number and registered office of that company, (d) if (where the application is made by the landlord's authorised agent) the authorised agent is a company, the registered number and registered office of that company, (e) the number of occupants of the dwelling, (f) the name and, unless it cannot be ascertained by reasonable inquiry, personal public service number of the tenant, or (as the case may be) of each of the tenants, of the dwelling, (g) the name of the housing authority in whose functional area the dwelling is situated, (h) if the dwelling is one of a number of dwellings comprising an apartment complex, the name of the management company (if any) of the complex and the registered number and registered office of that company, (i) a description of the dwelling, indicating— (i) the estimated floor area, (ii) the number of bed spaces, (iii) a statement as to which of the following categories it belongs namely, a whole or part of a house, a maisonette, an apartment, a flat or a bedsitter and, in case it falls within the category of a house or maisonette, an indication as to whether the house or maisonette is detached, semi-detached or terraced, and (iv) the number of bedrooms, (j) the date the tenancy of the dwelling commenced, (k) the amount of the rent payable under that tenancy, the frequency with which it is required to be paid and any taxes or other charges required to be paid by the tenant, (l) if the tenancy is for a fixed term, the period of that term, (m) if the tenancy consists of a sub-letting, an indication to that effect, (n) the number assigned under section 135
\n
(3)in respect of a previous tenancy that was registered under this Part in respect of the dwelling (but only if the particulars provided under paragraph (f) in respect of that tenancy were the same as those that are being provided, under that paragraph, in respect of the immediate tenancy), and (o) such other matters as may be prescribed.
\n
Fee to accompany application under section 134 .
\n
137.—(1) The fee to accompany an application under section 134 shall, subject to subsections (2) and (6), be— (a) if the application is made in the period of 12 months beginning on the commencement of section 134 , a fee of the amount of €70, or (b) if the application is made in any subsequent period of 12 months— (i) unless subparagraph (ii) applies, a fee of that amount, or (ii) such fee of a greater or lesser amount as may stand declared for the time being under section 138
\n
(1)for the purposes of this paragraph.
\n
(2)The requirement under section 134
\n
(3)for a fee specified in this section to accompany an application under section 134 shall be regarded as satisfied, as respects the applications mentioned in subsection (3), if the applicant mentioned in that subsection opts to pay to the Board a single fee of the amount specified in subsection (4) in respect of those applications.
\n
(3)The applications referred to in subsection (2) are applications made by the same person at the same time in respect of tenancies of dwellings comprised in the same property.
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(4)The amount of the single fee referred to in subsection (2) is— (a) if the applications concerned are made in the period of 12 months beginning on the commencement of section 134 , €300, or (b) if the applications concerned are made in any subsequent period of 12 months— (i) unless subparagraph (ii) applies, €300, or (ii) such greater or lesser amount as may stand declared for the time being under section 138
\n
(1)for the purposes of this paragraph.
\n
(5)The option of paying the single fee referred to in subsection (2) is not available to the person mentioned in subsection (3) if the applications concerned are not made within the period specified in section 134
\n
(2)(a) or (b).
\n
(6)If an application under section 134 is not made within the period specified in subsection (2)(a) or (b) of that section then the fee to accompany that application shall be a fee of an amount that is double the amount referred to in paragraph (a) or (b)(i) or, as the case may be, paragraph (b)(ii) of subsection (1).
\n
Variation of fee in line with changes in value of money.
\n
138.—(1) If the Board is satisfied that, having regard to changes in the value of money generally in the State that have occurred in— (a) any period ending on or before the date that falls 12 months after the commencement of section 134 , or (b) any period subsequent to that date, it is appropriate for it to declare a fee of a greater or lesser amount than— (i) in the case of section 137
\n
(1)(b)— (I) €70, or (II) the amount that was last previously declared (in exercise of the power under this section) for the purposes of that provision, or (ii) in the case of section 137
\n
(4)(b)— (I) €300, or (II) the amount that was last previously declared (in exercise of the power under this section) for the purposes of that provision, it may, subject to subsection (2), declare in writing, for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) or (4)(b) of section 137 , a fee of such a greater or lesser amount.
\n
(2)The amount (expressed as a percentage) by which the amount of a fee declared under this section is greater or lesser than the amount of the relevant fee mentioned in subsection (1) shall be such as, in the opinion of the Board, approximates to the percentage increase or decrease in the value of money generally in the State that has occurred in— (a) unless paragraph (b) applies, the period beginning on the commencement of section 134 and ending on the making of the declaration, or (b) if the power under this section has previously been exercised for the purpose of subsection (1)(b) or (4)(b) of section 137 , as the case may be, the period beginning on the date that that power was last exercised and ending on the making of the declaration.
\n
Chapter 3
\n
Updating of register and enforcement of requirement to register Updating of particulars entered in the register.
\n
139.—(1) Within 1 month from an alteration of the rent payable under a tenancy registered in the register taking effect, the landlord under the tenancy shall furnish to the Board the information mentioned in subsection (2) in the prescribed form.
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(2)That information is— (a) the amount of that rent as it stands altered and the date from which that alteration took effect, and (b) so far as any of the other matters in respect of which particulars were entered in the register in respect of the tenancy have changed in any material respect since, as appropriate— (i) the tenancy was registered in the register, or (ii) information in respect of them was last previously furnished to the Board under subsection (1), particulars in respect of those other matters as they stand at the date of this furnishing of information under subsection (1).
\n
(3)No fee shall be payable in respect of the furnishing to the Board of the information mentioned in this section.
\n
(4)The Board, as soon as may be after receipt of the information mentioned in this section, shall amend the relevant particulars in the register with respect to the tenancy concerned.
\n
Amendment of register by Board of its own volition.
\n
140.—(1) If the Board becomes aware that any particular entered in the register is incorrect it shall amend the register to correct the matter.
\n
(2)For the purpose of complying with subsection (1) and, in particular, for the purpose of determining what needs to be stated in the register by way of correction of the matter, the Board may make such inquiries as it thinks fit (whether of the landlord or tenant under the tenancy concerned or any other person).
\n
Deletion from register of a tenancy.
\n
141.—(1) Where, in the opinion of the landlord of the dwelling, a dwelling in respect of which a tenancy has been registered in the register has ceased to be a dwelling to which this Act applies, the landlord shall notify in writing the Board of that opinion and the grounds for it.
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(2)That notification shall be made within 1 month from the date that, in the opinion of the landlord, the cessation concerned occurred.
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(3)Having considered the grounds stated in a notification made to it under subsection (1), the Board shall— (a) if it is satisfied that the dwelling concerned is no longer a dwelling to which this Act applies, delete the entry in the register in respect of the dwelling and notify the landlord of that deletion, or (b) if it is not satisfied that the dwelling is no longer a dwelling to which this Act applies, notify the landlord that it is not so satisfied.
\n
(4)For the avoidance of doubt, no refund of the whole or part of the fee charged under section 134 in respect of the registration under this Part of the dwelling concerned may be made to the landlord in a case to which subsection (3)(a) applies.
\n
(5)Despite the deletion, under subsection (3)(a), of the entry in the register in respect of a tenancy of a dwelling, the Board may, if it considers it appropriate to do so for the purpose of its functions under section 151 , keep a record of all or any of the particulars in respect of that tenancy that were contained in the entry.
\n
Presumption in relation to date of commencement of tenancy.
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142.—In any proceedings under Part 6, it shall be presumed until the contrary is shown that the date stated in the register as the date on which the tenancy, the subject of the proceedings, commenced is the date on which that tenancy commenced.
\n
Offence for furnishing false or misleading information.
\n
143.—A person who, in purported compliance with section 134 or 139, furnishes information to the Board which is false or misleading in a material respect knowing it to be so false or misleading or being reckless as to whether it is so false or misleading is guilty of an offence.
\n
Provision in aid of enforcement of registration requirements.
\n
144.—(1) If it appears to the Board that a particular tenancy that ought to be registered in the register has not been the subject of an application for registration under section 134 , it shall serve the notice referred to in subsection (2) on the person whom it considers to be the landlord under that tenancy.
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(2)That notice is a notice— (a) stating the Board's opinion that the tenancy mentioned in the notice is required to be registered in the register and, accordingly, that an application for registration of the tenancy under section 134 must be made by the addressee of the notice, and (b) requesting the addressee of the notice to furnish to the Board, within a period specified in the notice, the reasons why the addressee considers (if such be the case) that the opinion is not well founded.
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(3)If the addressee of the notice referred to in subsection (2)— (a) does not furnish to the Board, in accordance with the notice, the reasons requested, or (b) furnishes, in accordance with the notice, reasons to the Board which do not result in its altering the opinion stated in that notice, the Board shall (unless an application has by then been made under section 134 to register the tenancy) serve a further notice on the addressee stating that he or she is required to apply to the Board under section 134 to register the tenancy in the register and that, if he or she fails to do so within 14 days from the receipt by him or her of the notice, he or she is guilty of an offence.
\n
(4)A person who fails to comply with a notice under subsection (3) within the period of 14 days from the receipt by him or her of the notice is guilty of an offence.
\n
(5)For the purpose of a person's complying with the requirement in a notice under subsection (2) or (3) to register a tenancy under section 134 , that section shall apply as if subsection (2) were omitted from it (but for that purpose only and not so as to affect the application of section 137
\n
(6)(fee of double the ordinary amount to be paid on late application)).
\n
(6)Proceedings for an offence under subsection (4) may not be brought if more than a year has elapsed between the date of service of the notice under subsection (2) and of the notice under subsection (3) in relation to the matter concerned.
\n
(7)The reference in subsection (1) to a particular tenancy that ought to be registered shall be deemed to include a reference to a tenancy which, in the opinion of the Board, exists in respect of a dwelling and, accordingly, ought to be registered; where the Board is of that opinion in respect of a dwelling then the notice referred to in subsection (2) concerning that dwelling shall expressly state that as part of the opinion stated by the Board in the notice.
\n
Further provisions in aid of enforcement of registration requirements.
\n
145.—(1) A person authorised in writing by the Board for the purposes of this section as respects the particular dwelling may, at all reasonable times, enter into and inspect a dwelling for the purposes of determining the correctness of any particular specified in an application made under section 134 in respect of a tenancy of that dwelling.
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(2)A person shall not be authorised under subsection (1) unless the Board has reasonable grounds for believing that a particular specified in the application mentioned in that subsection is false or misleading in a material respect.
\n
(3)A person who obstructs or impedes a person authorised under subsection (1) in the exercise by that person of his or her powers under that subsection is guilty of an offence.
\n
(4)If it appears to the Board that a particular tenancy that ought to be registered in the register has not been the subject of an application for registration under section 134 it may, by service of a notice on the tenant under the tenancy, require the tenant to supply to it, within a period specified in the notice, the name and address of the landlord under the tenancy or, if those particulars are not known to the tenant, any information in the possession of the tenant that could reasonably lead to the Board's ascertaining the identity of the landlord or his or her address.
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(5)A person who fails to comply with a notice under subsection (4) or supplies information to the Board in purported compliance with the notice which is false or misleading in a material respect knowing it to be so false or misleading or being reckless as to whether it is so false or misleading is guilty of an offence.
\n
Chapter 4
\n
Data exchange — private residential tenancies Data exchange — private residential tenancies.
\n
146.—(1) A local authority shall, at such intervals as are specified by the Board, supply to the Board such information in its possession as falls within any class of information specified by the Board for the purpose of this subsection, being a class of information the supply of which to the Board is reasonably necessary for the performance by the Board of its functions.
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(2)The Minister for Social and Family Affairs shall, at such intervals as are specified by the Board, supply to the Board such information in his or her possession as falls within any class of information specified by the Board for the purpose of this subsection, being a class of information the supply of which to the Board is reasonably necessary for the performance by the Board of its functions.
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(3)The Board shall, at such intervals as are specified by a local authority, supply to the local authority such information in the possession of the Board as falls within any class of information specified by the local authority for the purpose of this subsection, being a class of information the supply of which to the authority is reasonably necessary for the performance by the authority of its functions relating to houses, dwellings or other structures (either generally or those which have been provided by it).
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(4)The Board shall, at such intervals as are specified by the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, supply to that Minister of the Government such information in the possession of the Board as is reasonably necessary for the performance by that Minister of his or her functions under Chapter 11 of Part III of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993 .
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Exchange of public service data.
\n
147.—(1) A local authority shall, at such intervals as are specified by the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, supply to that Minister of the Government such information in its possession as falls within any class of information specified by that Minister for the purpose of this subsection, being a class of information the supply of which to that Minister is reasonably necessary for the performance by that Minister of his or her functions under Chapter 11 of Part III of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993 .
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(2)The Minister for Social and Family Affairs shall, at such intervals as are specified by a local authority, supply to the local authority such information in his or her possession as falls within any class of information specified by the local authority for the purpose of this subsection, being a class of information the supply of which to the authority is reasonably necessary for the performance by the authority of its functions relating to houses, dwellings or other structures (either generally or those which have been provided by it).
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Provision of details of tenancy to Revenue Commissioners.
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148.—(1) In this section “identification number” means— (a) in the case of an individual, the individual's personal public service number, and (b) in the case of a company, the registered number of the company.
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(2)On the request of— (a) a landlord of a dwelling, on his or her furnishing— (i) his or her identification number, or (ii) his or her name and the identification number of his or her authorised agent, or (b) the Revenue Commissioners, on their furnishing— (i) the identification number of a landlord of a dwelling, or (ii) the name of a landlord of a dwelling and the identification number of his or her authorised agent, the Board shall, at such time or times as are reasonably specified in the request, furnish to the Revenue Commissioners— (I) confirmation as to whether the landlord has registered a tenancy in respect of a dwelling, and (II) in the event of there being one or more than one tenancy so registered, such of the particulars registered in respect of it or them as the Revenue Commissioners may require.
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PART 8
\n
Private Residential Tenancies Board
\n
Chapter 1
\n
Establishment and principal functions of Board Establishment day.
\n
149.—The Minister shall by order appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Part.
\n
Establishment of Board.
\n
150.—(1) On the establishment day there shall stand established a board to be known as An Bord um Thionóntachtaí Cónaithe Príobháideacha or, in the English language, the Private Residential Tenancies Board (in this Act referred to as “the Board”) to perform the functions conferred on it by this Act.
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(2)The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and, with the consent of the Minister, to acquire, hold and dispose of land, or an interest in land and to acquire, hold and dispose of any other property.
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(3)The Board shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be independent in the performance of its functions.
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(4)The Board shall have all such powers as are necessary or expedient for or incidental to the performance of its functions under this Act.
\n
Functions of Board.
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151.—(1) The principal functions of the Board shall be— (a) the resolution of disputes between tenants and landlords in accordance with the provisions of Part 6, (b) the registration of particulars in respect of tenancies in accordance with the provisions of Part 7, (c) the provision to the Minister of advice concerning policy in relation to the private rented sector, (d) the development and publication of guidelines for good practice by those involved in the private rented sector, (e) the collection and provision of information relating to the private rented sector, including information concerning prevailing rent levels, (f) where the Board considers it appropriate, the conducting of research into the private rented sector and monitoring the operation of various aspects of the private rented sector or arranging for such research and monitoring to be done, (g) the review of the operation of this Act (and, in particular, Part 3) and any related enactments and the making of recommendations to the Minister for the amendment of this Act or those enactments, (h) the performance of any additional functions conferred on the Board under subsection (3).
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(2)The Board shall provide information to the Minister on such matters related to its functions and the private rented sector as may be requested by the Minister from time to time.
\n
(3)The Minister may, if he or she so thinks fit or if so requested by another Minister of the Government, after consultation with— (a) the Board, (b) that other Minister of the Government, and (c) the Minister for Finance, by order— (i) confer on the Board such additional functions connected with the functions for the time being of the Board or activities that the Board is authorised for the time being to undertake as he or she considers appropriate, (ii) make such provision as he or she considers necessary or expedient in relation to matters ancillary to or arising out of the conferral on the Board of functions under this subsection or the performance by the Board of functions so conferred.
\n
(4)In this section “private rented sector” means the sector of commercial activity in the State consisting of the letting of dwellings.
\n
Model lease.
\n
152.—(1) Guidelines published under section 151
\n
(1)(d) may include a precedent for a model lease of a dwelling.
\n
(2)Such a precedent shall— (a) contain all of the provisions necessary to make the lease of the dwelling concerned an instrument which is consistent with this Act and any other relevant enactments, (b) be worded, so far as is practicable, in plain language, and (c) to the extent necessary having regard to the requirements of paragraph (a), contain provisions best calculated to ensure harmonious relations between the parties to the lease as regards their conduct towards one and another in their capacity as such parties.
\n
Chapter 2
\n
Composition of Board Membership of Board.
\n
Section 153
\n
153.—(1) The members of the Board shall be such number, not less than 9 and not more than 15, as the Minister considers appropriate from time to time.
\n
(2)The members of the Board shall be appointed by the Minister as soon as may be after the establishment day and shall be persons who, in the Minister's opinion, have experience in a field of expertise relevant to the Board's functions.
\n
(3)Except as provided for by subsection (2), the members of the Board shall be appointed from time to time as occasion requires by the Minister.
\n
(4)The Minister shall, in so far as is practicable, ensure an equitable balance between the numbers of members of the Board who are women and the number of them who are men.
\n
(5)The Minister when appointing a member shall fix such member's period of membership which shall not exceed 5 years and, subject to this section, membership shall be on such terms as the Minister may determine.
\n
(6)The members of the Board (including the chairperson) may be paid such remuneration as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may determine.
\n
Supplemental provisions as to membership of Board.
\n
Section 154
\n
154.—(1) A member of the Board may at any time resign his or her membership by letter addressed to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect from the date specified in the letter or upon receipt of the letter by the Minister, whichever is the later.
\n
(2)A member of the Board may, at any time, be removed from membership of the Board by the Minister if, in the Minister's opinion, the member has become incapable through ill-health of performing his or her functions, or has committed stated misbehaviour, or his or her removal appears to the Minister to be necessary for the effective performance by the Board of its functions.
\n
(3)A person shall cease to be, and shall be disqualified from being, a member of the Board where he or she— (a) is adjudicated bankrupt, (b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors, (c) is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to a term of imprisonment, or (d) is disqualified or restricted from being a director of any company.
\n
(4)If a member of the Board dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed from membership, the Minister may appoint a person to be a member of the Board and fill the casual vacancy so caused.
\n
(5)A member of the Board whose term of membership of the Board expires shall be eligible for re-appointment as a member of the Board.
\n
Chairperson of Board.
\n
Section 155
\n
155.—(1) The Minister shall appoint a person, from among the members of the Board, as chairperson of the Board.
\n
(2)Where the chairperson of the Board ceases to be a member of the Board he or she shall also thereupon cease to be chairperson of the Board.
\n
(3)The chairperson of the Board may at any time resign his or her office as chairperson of the Board while continuing to serve as a member of the Board and the resignation, unless previously withdrawn, shall take effect at the commencement of the meeting of the Board held after the Board has been informed by the Minister of the resignation.
\n
(4)The chairperson of the Board shall, unless he or she sooner dies or otherwise ceases to be chairperson by virtue of subsection (2), hold office until the expiry of his or her period of membership of the Board and, if re-appointed as a member of the Board, shall be eligible for re-appointment as chairperson of the Board.
\n
Chapter 3
\n
Meetings and committees Meetings of Board.
\n
Section 156
\n
156.—(1) The Board shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for the performance of its functions.
\n
(2)The Minister shall fix the date, time and place of the first meeting of the Board and the Board shall fix the date, time and place of subsequent meetings.
\n
(3)The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall be 5.
\n
(4)At a meeting of the Board the chairperson of the Board shall, if present, chair the meeting and if not present, or if the office of chairperson is vacant, the members of the Board present at the meeting shall choose one of their number to chair the meeting.
\n
(5)At a meeting of the Board each person present, including the chairperson, shall have a vote and any question on which a vote is required so as to establish the Board's position on a matter shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting on the question and, in the case of an equal division of the votes, the chairperson of the meeting shall have a second and casting vote.
\n
(6)The Board may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies among its members (but this subsection is without prejudice to subsection (3)).
\n
(7)Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board may regulate its own procedures and business.
\n
Committees of Board.
\n
Section 157
\n
157.—(1) The Board may establish committees consisting in whole or in part of persons who are members of the Board— (a) to assist and advise the Board on matters relating to any of its functions or on such matters as the Board may from time to time determine, or (b) to perform such functions of the Board as may be delegated by it from time to time.
\n
(2)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Board shall establish a committee which shall be known and is in this Act referred to as the “Dispute Resolution Committee”.
\n
(3)The Board, when appointing a member of a committee, shall— (a) have regard to the range of qualifications and experience necessary for the proper and effective discharge of the functions of the committee, (b) have regard to the desirability of such balance between the numbers of each sex on the committee as is appropriate and determined from time to time, (c) fix the member's period of membership (which, in the case of a member of the Dispute Resolution Committee, shall not be less than a period of 3 years), (d) fix the terms of his or her membership.
\n
(4)The members of a committee may be paid by the Board such fees as the Board may determine, subject to the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance.
\n
Supplemental provisions as to committees of Board.
\n
Section 158
\n
158.—(1) In this section “committee” means a committee established under section 157 .
\n
(2)A member of a committee may be removed by the Board at any time for stated reasons.
\n
(3)The acts of a committee and the performance by a committee of functions delegated to it under section 157 shall be subject to confirmation by the Board, unless the Board otherwise determines.
\n
(4)The Board may, subject to this Act, determine the terms of reference and regulate, by standing orders or otherwise, the procedures and business of a committee including the filling of casual vacancies but, subject to any such regulation, a committee may regulate its own procedures.
\n
(5)A committee shall appoint, from time to time, a chairperson from among its members.
\n
(6)The Board may at any time dissolve a committee.
\n
(7)A committee shall provide the Board with such information as the Board may from time to time require, in respect of its activities and operation, for the purposes of the performance of the functions of the Board.
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(8)Subsections (4) to (6) do not apply to the Dispute Resolution Committee.
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Dispute Resolution Committee.
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Section 159
\n
159.—(1) There shall be delegated to the Dispute Resolution Committee by the Board such of the functions of the Board under Part 6 (except those under sections 109 , 121 and 124 ) as the Board determines; functions under that Part may not be delegated to any other committee established under section 157 .
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(2)The Dispute Resolution Committee shall consist of not more than 40 members, of which at least 4 must be members of the Board (including the member of the Board appointed as chairperson of the Dispute Resolution Committee).
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(3)A member of the Board shall not be eligible for appointment as a member of the Dispute Resolution Committee unless the unexpired period of his or her term of office as a member of the Board is 3 or more years at the date of his or her appointment as a member of the Committee.
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(4)The members of the Dispute Resolution Committee shall be appointed by the Board after consultation with the Minister.
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(5)The Board, after consultation with the Minister, shall appoint a member of the Dispute Resolution Committee as chairperson of the Committee; that member must be a person who is also a member of the Board.
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(6)The Dispute Resolution Committee shall adopt, subject to the approval of the Board and the Minister, rules and procedures for the conduct of its meetings and the performance of its functions generally.
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(7)A member of staff of the Board shall act as secretary to the Dispute Resolution Committee.
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Chapter 4
\n
Management of Board Director of Board.
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Section 160
\n
160.—(1) There shall be a chief officer of the Board who shall be known and is referred to in this Act as the “Director”.
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(2)The Director shall be appointed by the Board in accordance with procedures that have been determined by the Board with the consent of the Minister.
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(3)The first appointment by the Board of a person to be the Director shall be made within 3 years from the establishment day.
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(4)The Director may, at any time, for stated reasons be removed from office by the Board with the consent of the Minister.
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(5)The Director shall carry on, manage and control generally the administration and business of the Board and perform such other functions as may be determined by the Board.
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(6)The Director shall hold office for such period and upon and subject to such terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration) as may be determined from time to time by the Minister, after consultation with the Board and with the consent of the Minister for Finance.
\n
Supplemental provisions in relation to Director.
\n
Section 161
\n
161.—(1) The Director shall perform his or her functions subject to such policies as may be determined from time to time by the Board and shall be answerable to the Board for the efficient and effective management of the Board and for the due performance of his or her functions.
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(2)The Director may delegate any of his or her functions to a member of staff of the Board (other than functions that have been delegated to the Director subject to a condition that they are not to be sub-delegated), and the member of staff shall be accountable to the Director for the performance of the functions so delegated.
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(3)Notwithstanding subsection (2), the Director shall at all times remain accountable to the Board for the performance of functions delegated by him or her.
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(4)The Director may make proposals to the Board on any matter relating to the activities of the Board.
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(5)The Director shall not be a member of the Board or of any committee of the Board, but he or she may, in accordance with procedures established by the Board or a committee, as the case may be, attend meetings of the Board or the committee or both and shall be entitled to speak at and advise such meetings.
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Chapter 5
\n
Staff of Board and superannuation matters Staff of Board.
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Section 162
\n
162.—(1) In addition to the Director, the Board may, from time to time, appoint such and such number of persons to be members of the staff of the Board as it may determine with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance.
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(2)The grades of the staff of the Board, the numbers of staff in each grade and the appropriate level of remuneration for each grade shall be determined by the Board with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance.
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(3)Subject to such conditions as it thinks fit, the Board may delegate to the Director any of the functions of the Board in relation to the employment of staff and the determination of selection procedures.
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(4)The staff of the Board shall— (a) be paid out of moneys available to the Board, (b) perform such functions as determined from time to time by the Director, and (c) hold office or employment for such period and upon and subject to such terms and conditions as may be determined from time to time by the Director, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance.
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(5)Every member of the staff of the Minister designated by order made by the Minister for the purposes of this section shall, on being so designated, be transferred to and become a member of the staff of the Board.
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(6)The Minister may make an order for the purposes of subsection (5) at any time but shall not do so without first having— (a) notified in writing any recognised trade union or staff association concerned of the Minister's intention to do so, and (b) considered, within such time as may be specified in the notification, any representations made by such trade unions or staff associations in relation to the matter.
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(7)Except in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trade unions or staff associations concerned, a person referred to in subsection (5) shall not, while in the service of the Board, receive a lesser scale of pay or be made subject to less beneficial terms and conditions of service than the scale of pay to which he or she was entitled and the terms and conditions of service to which he or she was subject immediately before his or her transfer into such service.
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Superannuation.
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Section 163
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163.—(1) As soon as practicable after the establishment day, the Board shall prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme or schemes for the granting of superannuation benefits to or in respect of such members of the staff of the Board as it may think fit.
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(2)Every such scheme shall fix the time and conditions of retirement for all persons to or in respect of whom superannuation benefits are payable under the scheme, and different times and conditions may be fixed in respect of different classes of persons.
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(3)Every such scheme may be amended or revoked by a subsequent scheme prepared, submitted and approved under this section.
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(4)A scheme submitted by the Board under this section shall, if approved by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, be carried out by the Board in accordance with its terms.
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(5)Superannuation benefits granted under schemes under this section to persons, who immediately before their being designated by an order under section 162 , were members of the staff of the Minister, and the terms and conditions relating to those benefits, shall not be less favourable to those persons than those to which they were entitled immediately before such designation.
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(6)No superannuation benefit shall be granted by the Board nor shall any other arrangements be entered into by the Board for the provision of such a benefit to or in respect of a member of the staff of the Board otherwise than in accordance with a scheme under this section or, if the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, sanctions the granting of such a benefit, in accordance with that sanction.
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(7)If any dispute arises as to the claim of any person to, or the amount of, any superannuation benefit payable in pursuance of a scheme or schemes under this section, such dispute shall be submitted to the Minister who shall refer it to the Minister for Finance, whose decision shall be final.
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(8)A scheme under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the scheme is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the scheme is laid before it, the scheme shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.
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Chapter 6
\n
Appointment or engagement of certain persons Mediators and adjudicators.
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Section 164
\n
164.—(1) The Board may from time to time appoint such and so many persons who shall be known and are in this Act referred to as “mediators” to carry out the functions assigned to them by the Board in accordance with Part 6.
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(2)The Board may from time to time appoint such and so many persons who shall be known and are in this Act referred to as “adjudicators” to carry out the functions assigned to them by the Board in accordance with Part 6.
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(3)The Board may appoint a person as both a mediator and an adjudicator.
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(4)The Board shall form 2 panels, one comprising the names of the persons who stand appointed as mediators and the other comprising the names of the persons who stand appointed as adjudicators.
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(5)Mediators and adjudicators shall each be appointed for such period (not being less than 3 years) as the Board may determine and shall be paid such fees and expenses as the Board, with the consent of the Minister and of the Minister for Finance, may determine from time to time; the other terms and conditions on which each of them shall stand appointed shall be such as the Board may determine from time to time.
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(6)Those other terms and conditions shall, in relation to adjudicators, include such terms and conditions as are likely, in the opinion of the Board, to secure the independence and impartiality of the adjudicators.
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(7)A mediator or adjudicator may at any time resign from his or her appointment as mediator or adjudicator.
\n
(8)Neither the Civil Service Commissioners Act 1956 (or any enactment that replaces in whole or in part that Act) nor the Civil Service Regulation Acts 1956 to 1996 shall apply to a mediator or an adjudicator.
\n
Removal of an adjudicator from the panel.
\n
Section 165
\n
165.—(1) The Board may, in accordance with this section, remove an adjudicator from the panel formed under section 164
\n
(4)(“the panel”).
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(2)If it appears to the Board that an adjudicator has been guilty of misconduct in his or her capacity as an adjudicator, it may apply to the District Court for an order under subsection (3) authorising the removal of the adjudicator from the panel.
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(3)On the hearing of an application under this section and having considered the evidence adduced by the Board in the matter and any evidence adduced by or on behalf of the adjudicator, the District Court shall, if it finds that the adjudicator has been guilty of misconduct in his or her capacity as an adjudicator, make an order authorising the Board to remove the adjudicator from the panel.
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(4)On the making of such an order (or, if the order is appealed to the Circuit Court and the Circuit Court confirms the order, on the order being so confirmed), the Board shall remove the adjudicator from the panel.
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(5)Save where the period of his or her appointment has expired or a failure (not amounting to misconduct) by him or her to comply with the terms and conditions upon which he or she was appointed occurs, an adjudicator shall not be removed from the panel otherwise than in accordance with this section or with his or her consent.
\n
(6)In this section “misconduct” means any conduct likely to bring the procedures for determinations by adjudicators under Part 6 into disrepute and includes— (a) any demonstration by an adjudicator of bias towards the interests of a party before him or her, (b) gross discourtesy by an adjudicator to one or more of the parties before him or her, and (c) wilful failure by an adjudicator to attend to his or her duties as an adjudicator.
\n
Consultants and advisers.
\n
Section 166
\n
166.—(1) Subject to such conditions (if any) as may for the time being stand specified by the Minister for the purposes of this section, the Board may from time to time engage such consultants or advisers as it may consider necessary for the performance of its functions and any fees due to a consultant or adviser engaged pursuant to this section shall be paid by the Board out of moneys at its disposal.
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(2)Any person who wishes to be engaged by the Board as a consultant or adviser pursuant to this section may notify the Board in writing of this fact and any notification for that purpose shall include particulars of the person's qualifications and experience.
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(3)The Board shall maintain a list of the persons who notify the Board pursuant to subsection (2).
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(4)The Board shall, in engaging a consultant or adviser under this section, have regard to the list maintained under subsection (3), but nothing in this subsection shall be construed as precluding the Board from engaging as a consultant or adviser a person whose name is not on that list.
\n
(5)The Board shall include in its annual report under section 180 a statement of the names of the persons (if any) engaged pursuant to this section during the year to which the report relates.
\n
Provision of services to Board.
\n
Section 167
\n
167.—(1) For the purposes of enabling the Board to perform its functions as and from the establishment day, the Minister may, for such period as he or she thinks appropriate, supply to the Board any services, including services of staff, required by the Board and the Board may avail itself of such services for which arrangements are made under this section.
\n
(2)The supply of services of staff under subsection (1) may include the supply of services of a person to perform the functions of the Director under this Part and Part 6.
\n
(3)For so long as the services of a person are provided for the purpose mentioned in subsection (2)— (a) the functions mentioned in that subsection shall be performable by that person, and (b) sections 160
\n
(6)and 161 shall apply to that person.
\n
Chapter 7
\n
Supplemental provisions with regard to Board's administration and management Indemnification of certain persons.
\n
Section 168
\n
168.—(1) Where the Board is satisfied that a person to whom this section applies has discharged the functions appropriate to that person in relation to the functions of the Board in good faith, it shall indemnify that person against all actions or claims however they arise in respect of the discharge by that person of those functions.
\n
(2)This section applies to— (a) a member of the Board, (b) a member of a committee of the Board, (c) a member of staff of the Board, (d) a mediator or adjudicator, (e) an adviser or consultant to the Board engaged under section 166 , and (f) a person whose services are provided to the Board under section 167 .
\n
Membership of either House of the Oireachtas, etc.
\n
Section 169
\n
169.—(1) Where a member of the Board or the Dispute Resolution Committee or a member of the staff of the Board— (a) accepts nomination as a member of Seanad Éireann, (b) is elected to either House of the Oireachtas or to the European Parliament, (c) is regarded, pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 , as having been elected to that Parliament, or (d) becomes a member of a local authority, he or she shall thereupon— (i) in the case of a member of the Board or the Dispute Resolution Committee, cease to be a member of the Board or that Committee, (ii) in the case of a member of the staff of the Board, stand seconded from employment by the Board for the period specified in subsection (2).
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(2)A person who stands seconded under subsection (1)(ii) shall not be paid by, or be entitled to receive from, the Board any remuneration in respect of the period commencing on such nomination or election or his or her membership of the local authority or the date on which he or she is so regarded as having been elected, as the case may be, and ending on the date on which he or she ceases to be a member of either such House or such Parliament or such local authority.
\n
(3)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), that subsection shall be construed as prohibiting, among other things, the reckoning of a period mentioned in that subsection as service with the Board for the purposes of any superannuation benefits.