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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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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