Renting
/ Letting in Ireland On
this page: (scroll
down to the relevant section)
- Private
Residential Tenancies Board of Ireland
- Holiday
rental income
- Deposits
in rental properties in Ireland
- Tenants
liable to pay tax for non-resident landlords
- The
Private Residential Tenancies Board of Ireland (PRTB) has had to set aside 100
decisions over error in board
The
Private Residential Tenancies Board of Ireland (PRTB) has had to set aside 100
decisions over error in board -- a worrying situation for Landlords in Ireland
- October 2008 The
Private Residential Tenancies Board of Ireland (PRTB), the state body that referees
landlord - tenant disputes has been forced to set aside more than 100 decisions
after it emerged that two county councillors on its board were illegally appointed. According
to a report in The Irish Times on the 9th October 08, the Minister for the environment
John Gormley appointed Fianna Fáil Councilor Dessie Larkin and Green party councillor
Vincent Martin in June 2008. The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 under which the
PRTB was established precludes members of local authorities and the Oireachtas
(Government) as members. It
was not until September that the mistake was noticed and a department spokesperson
said, "The Board in the interest of legal certainty reconsidered all decisions
to which the two gentlemen had been a party. All the cases at the board meetings
of July 4th, July 16th, August 8th, August 20th and September 9th were reviewed
at a board meeting on the 19th September. Fresh determination orders and decisions
were made and communicated thereafter". The
PRTB was established in September 2004 to resolve disputes between landlords and
tenants; operate a national tenancy registration system and provide information
and policy advice on the private rented sector. The PRTB dispute resolution service
replaces the courts in relation to the majority of landlord and tenant disputes.
The
present situation is not helping dissatisfied landlords with the working of the
PRTB . Philip Suter of jml Property Services knows one landlord involved personally
who is not at all happy with the PRTB. He appeared on TV news and his case was
referred to in the Irish Times report. The landlord is a shopkeeper in north Dublin
who was living above the shop and because of his growing family needed a larger
home and moved into rental accommodation locally paying €1,500 a month. The tenant
has not paid any rent for over 14 months. He
let the flat and the tenant paid the first two months rent and now she owes €17,000.
The Landlord had won an adjunction against tenant in April 2008 and the decision
was confirmed by the board in July. In September2008 the determination order was
issued giving 21 days to leave and she has ignored this. At
the beginning of October the landlord contacted the board asking it to take a
prosecution, but was told the original order was invalid because of the error
in having the wrong members on the Board. The landlord was also informed that
"due to the increasing volume of cases coming before the PRTB, the board may not
be in a position to or may in certain circumstances deem it not cost effective
to prosecute the non compliant party". This
is naturally a very worrying situation for Landlords in Ireland particularly when
there is so much rental property and many landlords naturally have mortgages that
have to be serviced. December
2008: The
tenant moved out following a court order, however this Landlord will not be letting
again following this very bad experience. __________________________________
Tenants
liable to pay tax for non-resident landlords
Tenants
of non-resident landlords are obliged to pay the landlords' tax liabilities of
20 per cent of rental income or face penalties and they could be completely unaware
of the rule. The provision of the tax rules was confirmed in early February 2008
by Minister for Finance Brian Cowen in a written reply to a parliamentary question
submitted by TD Ciarán Lynch who is the TD for Cork South Central. Brian Cowen
said "However, non-compliance by individual tenants can be innocent in some
cases because they genuinely may not know the tax residence status of the landlord".
Ciarán Lynch said that "there was no possible justification for continuing
the scheme whereby tenants who are paying rent to a landlord who lives outside
the jurisdiction are required to withold 20 per cent of the ir rent and to forward
it to the Revenue Commissioners on the landlord's behalf. The system places far
too onerous a responsibility on the tenant to record and pay tax owed by somebody
else". __________________________________ Private
Residential Tenancies Board of Ireland On
the 1st December 2004 the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 came into full effect.
The act includes a requirement for Landlords to register their tenancies and introduced
new procedures for resolving disputes. The
Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) is an organisation that has
been set up by the Government. Its main role is to provide a dispute resolution
service for landlords and tenants. The mediator helps landlords and tenants to
come to an agreement that works for both of them. The PRTB is als0 responsible
for tenancy registration and from September 2004 all landlords have had to register
new tenancies with the board. Disputes will be arbitrated by this body rather
than the courts. Registration:
There
are currently over 140,000 Landlords in Ireland and they have to register their
tenancies. All
existing tenancies should have been registered with the PRTB by the 1st
December 2004. All
new tenancies must be registered within one month. Landlords must also inform
the board if they replace one tenant with another or if they change the rent within
one month of the changes being made. What
does it cost to register? A
single tenancy will cost €70. If a Landlord registers a number of different tenancies
in a single building at the same time the fee is €300. If there is a change in
the tenancy there is no fee, however the fee for late registration is €140.
The
requirement to register only arises where a new tenancy is created and a revised
rental must be updated in the register within a month and no further fee will
be payable. The
PTRB is going to rigorously pursue compliance by Landlords with the registration
requirement. If they do not register, on conviction could receive a, fine of up
to €3,000 or 6 months imprisonment. Once the tenancy has been registered a Tenant
and landlord will be issued with a registration number by the PTRB.
Exemptions
to new Legislation: The
following are exempt - Business premises, a dwelling occupied under a shared ownership
lease, a holiday let, a dwelling in which the landlord is also resident or where
the spouse, parent or child of the Landlord is resident and there is no written
lease or tenancy agreement. Revenue
Commissioners: The
PRTB board will supply specific details about named individuals if requested
to do so by the Revenue. There is no provision for Revenue to gain blanket access
to the PRTB's database. The
landlord's Ability
to set Rents: Under
the act, it is illegal for a landlord to demand rent that is greater than the
open market rate or to seek a rent review within a year, unless there has been
a substantial change in the nature of the accommodation. Tenants who feel that
either their initial rent or proposed new rent is greater than the market rate
can refer the matter to the PRTB board. Security
of Tenure: Tenants
who have been in continuous occupation of a property for six months have a qualified
right to remain there for a further three and a half years (Under Part 4 Tenancies).
Landlords
can seek vacant possession for the following reasons: They want to use the property
themselves - They want to sell it - Tenants have breached tenancy obligations
- Major refurbishment - Required by a family member. Tenants are entitled to request
that they be given first refusal should the family member only stay for a short
period or following the completion of the refurbishment. If
the rent is at least 28 days in arrears, the Landlord can recover possession of
the property without giving notice (see below). Notice
Periods: This
will vary according to the length of tenancy. The Notice for Tenants. is the same
except for tenancies of 4 years or more when the Landlord has to give 112 days
and the Tenant 56 days. The other notice periods: less than 6 months 28 days -
6 months, but less than 1 year 35 days, 1 year or more, but less than 2 years
42 days - 2 years or more, but less than 3 years 56 days - 3 years or more, but
less than 4 years 84 days. Disputes
between Tenants and landlords: If
there is a dispute, the matter can be referred to the PRTB board's dispute resolution
service by either party. Third parties who may be affected by issues relating
to the tenancy can also register complaints (a neighbour living besides noisy
tenants. The board will examine a range of issues including the refund or retention
of deposits, breaches of tenancy obligations etc. The
dispute resolution service has two stages. Stage one is mediation or adjudication.
Stage two is a hearing by a tenancy tribunal. If both parties agree to mediation
the board will appoint a mediator. If
either party declines to use the mediator service, or if the board considers that
would not be suitable then an adjudicator will be pointed. In most cases you can
no longer take a dispute case to the Circuit Court and the PRTB Board has taken
the court's place. The
Board may award damages of up to €20,OOO
and in arrears of rent up to €20,OOO
or twice the annual rent, whichever is greater (but a maximum of €60,OOO
applies to rent arrears awards)
Cases involving higher amounts, will have
to be taken through the courts. Costs
of dealing with disputes: The
fee for an initial application for mediation or adjudication is €25 while the
fee for referring a dispute to a tenancy tribunal is €40. The €25 fee is applied
to those disputes which the board feels should be referred directly to the tribunal. PRTB
Website _________________________________ See
also: Building
Energy Rating - Certificates in Ireland (BER) Click Here
The
Irish Property Owners' Association - IPOA Click Here 
irish
landlord Website __________________________________
Holiday
rental income is subject to VAT at 21 per cent. For other rentals the
Income tax rates can be as high as 42 per cent with other charges of up to 5 per
cent applicable N.B.
This information should not be relied on for accuracy and is presented here without
the responsibility of jml Property Service and the website it is being displayed
at. © jml property Services 12.04
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for insurance in Ireland? Click Here _______________________________ Deposits
in rental properties in Ireland One
of the major problems with a property rental is on the deposit issue. So far of
the 70 disputes determined by the PRTB - Private Residential Tenancies Board
one third have related to deposit disputes. These
come from the condition of a property at the end of a tenancy. The problem is
often over conflicting views on what is considered to be "fair wear and tear".
What is acceptable wear and tear would be grubby marks on the walls and slightly
worn carpets (but how worn can depend on the length of a tenancy). Under
the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 normal wear and tear should be assessed
as "having regard to the time that has elapsed from the commencement of the tenancy,
the extent of the occupation of the dwelling that the landlord must have reasonably
foreseen would occur". This means normal wear and tear will vary from tenancy
to tenancy. If
the landlord considers that the tenants obligations under Section 16(f) of the
Act are not sufficient, then it is open to them to include additional or more
specific requirements by way of a letting agreement. A
housing representative advises that tenants should ensure the property is cleaned
before they leave to avoid argument. One of the best ways of course (although
can be expensive) is to employ professional cleaners and provide the landlord
or agent with a copy of the receipt. A
common problem is condensation (see
Condensation ) If a property is prone to condensation problems and the
landlord has not made sure it is properly ventilated it is not fair to blame the
tenant, however tenants should take some responsibility themselves and make sure
they open windows in bathrooms and kitchens or report defects that the windows
won't open (when there are windows) or that extractor fans are not working. Threshold
( the voluntary organisation in Ireland that provides information provides advice,
information and support to all citizens on housing rights in Ireland.) dealt with
190 cases of deposit disputes in 2005. The
landlord can specify particular requirements in the letting agreement , but tenants
must agree to these before they sign the lease. They should also agree an inventory
with condition of each item (including the structure - building as well as furniture
and fixtures) and sign this at the start of the letting and at the end. If items
are broken at the commencement and are listed in writing then they cannot be claimed
by the landlord at the end of the tenancy. (See
also Inventories in theUK ) & ( TDS
Tenancy Deposit Scheme ) N.B.
This information should not be relied on for accuracy and is presented here without
the responsibility of jml Property Service and the website it is being displayed
at. ©jml property Services 01-06 _______________________________
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