Scrapping of fees for PRTB mediation services helpful – Kenny

Dublin Labour TD and member of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, Sean Kenny, has said that the new mediation service for tenants and landlords announced today is to be welcomed.

Deputy Kenny stated: “The new service has been commenced as part of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015 and will be operational shortly. The mediation services provided will be free of charge and operated by the Private Residential Tenancies Board.

“At present a fee of €25 is charged to applicants when applying to have their dispute resolved by the PRTB. The new provisions introduced in the new legislation state that the PRTB may not charge a fee where a party chooses opts for mediation as a way of resolving a dispute they are involved with. The PRTB may continue to charge a fee for resolving disputes by adjudication.

“I warmly welcome this development as mediation saves time and money for both tenants and landlords and is a respectful, non-adversarial process. It is a highly successful method of achieving mutually agreeable resolutions to disputes. I hope to see this service taken up on a widespread basis.”