24.— (1) Subject to such regulations as may be made for the purposes of this section and such terms and conditions as may be prescribed, a housing authority may, by order of the F28[chief executive], enter into an agreement (in this Act referred to as a “rental accommodation availability agreement”) with a rental accommodation provider pursuant to the terms and conditions of which availability agreement the provider agrees to—

(a) make the dwelling available for a specified period for the purposes of this Chapter, and

(b) let the dwelling pursuant to a tenancy agreement—

(i) to such qualified tenant as the housing authority may from time to time allocate to the tenancy in accordance with section 22, or to the housing authority, or

(ii) to the qualified tenant specified in the availability agreement,

in consideration of which availability agreement and subject to the terms and conditions thereof and the tenancy agreement, the housing authority guarantees the payment of the rent specified in the tenancy agreement and agrees to pay any other moneys, payable by the housing authority, specified in the availability agreement or the tenancy agreement, as the case may be.

(2) A housing authority shall not enter into a rental accommodation availability agreement unless the provider—

(a) satisfies the housing authority, in accordance with regulations made for the purposes of this section, that the dwelling complies with any standards for dwellings for the time being prescribed under section 18 of the Act of 1992, and

(b) gives to the housing authority—

(i) his or her tax reference number within the meaning of section 888 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, and

(ii) a current tax clearance certificate issued under section 1095 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

(3) A rental accommodation availability agreement shall be in writing and shall include the following information—

(a) the address of the dwelling,

(b) the name and address for correspondence of the provider and of the housing authority,

(c) the name and address for correspondence of the provider’s authorised agent (if any),

(d) if the provider or his or her authorised agent, as the case may be, is a company, the registered number and registered office of the company,

(e) 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 or a flat and, where it is 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,

and

(f) the term of the availability agreement.

(4) An availability agreement shall include terms and conditions relating to—

(a) the payment of the rent and any other moneys, payable by the housing authority, specified in the tenancy agreement,

(b) the responsibility of the provider in relation to any works to be carried out, as are necessary to ensure that the dwelling complies with the standards for dwellings for the time being prescribed under section 18 of the Act of 1992, before the commencement of the tenancy or where there is more than one tenancy during the term of the availability agreement, before each such tenancy,

(c) the registration by the provider under Part 7 of the Act of 2004 of the tenancy or each tenancy entered into during the term of the availability agreement,

(d) such access as may reasonably be required by officers or agents authorised by the housing authority for the purposes of inspection of the dwelling during the term of the availability agreement,

(e) termination of the availability agreement by the housing authority or the provider, as the case may be, and

(f) such other matters as the housing authority considers necessary and appropriate relating to the standard of the accommodation concerned.

(5) The Minister may make regulations for the purposes of this section providing for, but not necessarily limited to, the following:

(a) the manner in which a provider shall satisfy the housing authority for the purposes of subsection (2) (a), including by the provision of a certificate of compliance;

(b) the class or classes of persons who may provide a certificate of compliance referred to in paragraph (a);

(c) the information to be provided by a provider to the housing authority before entering into an availability agreement including information relating to the provider, his or her authorised agent (if any) and the dwelling concerned;

(d) in relation to the termination of an availability agreement by the housing authority or the provider—

(i) the terms and conditions relating to, and procedures for, termination,

(ii) the grounds on which an availability agreement may be terminated,

(iii) the giving of notice and notice periods, and

(iv) the procedure for resolution of any dispute arising from the proposed termination of the availability agreement including appeal procedures,

and

(e) the period within which a provider shall serve a notice of termination on a qualified tenant pursuant to section 25 (6).