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Photocall Ireland
INspections
Windows in rented accommodation are not inspected for safety
The Dublin City Coroner has called for mandatory safety catches, but local authorities don’t inspect windows, it has been revealed.
THERE WERE OVER 19,600 inspections of private rented accommodation last year, as the Private Residential Tenancies Board pushes the Department of Environment for more stringent regulation of safety in the buildings.
The Department of Environment confirmed to TheJournal.ie that both PRTB and Dublin City Coroner Dr Brian Farrell over the standard of windows in rented accommodation.
Six children have died in falls from windows in rented accommodation in the last six years and Dr Farrell wants the Department to make safety catches compulsory.
The Department confirmed that although there were 19,616 inspections carried out on rented accommodation by local authorities last year, none checked the safety of windows.
“Inspections of private rented properties to check compliance with the Standards for Rented Houses Regulations do not include checks on window catches because these are not currently included in the scope of these regulations.”
The Department added that, while landlords who don’t have safe, bright windows will be fined, there are no set regulations for windows.
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