Der writes:
So our landlord, IRES, has just put up a notice in the lift telling us how much notice they need to give to evict us. The rent “security” for 2 years brought in by the last government looks like it can be avoided by evicting the tenants and renting to someone with deeper pockets. Is there any option for us as tenants if this happens?
Anyone?
Update:
Legal Coffee Drinker writes:
The information provided on the notice in the tenant’s lift fails to mention that when a tenant has been in occupation for more than 6 months they are automatically deemed to be a ‘Part 4 tenancy.
The landlord can only evict them for the next three and a half years if he can show one or more of the grounds listed in the table to Section 34 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004.
These grounds are:-
– a breach by the tenant of their obligations under the tenancy
– if the accommodation is unsuitable having regards to the rental needs of the tenant (e.g. where there are too many people in the premises for safety)
– if the landlord or a family member wishes to reside in the premises
– if the landlord is selling the premises
– if the landlord is carrying out works to the premises or the building containing the premises
– if the landlord is changing the use of the premises from residential to non-residentialIn some of these cases (e.g. works, change of use) the landlord is obliged to offer the tenant a new tenancy if the premises becomes available for re-letting within a certain period.
After the three and a half years of a Part 4 tenancy expires a new Part 4 tenancy arises if a landlord does not serve a notice of termination within six months and this continues into the future.
Termination is not just as simple as observing the notice periods – where a Part 4 tenancy is in existence – which it will be most of the time – the grounds in Section 34 must also be satisfied. The notice is misleading because although it refers briefly to a Part 4 tenancy but does not explain its implications.
It might be worthwhile drawing this misleading notice to the attention of the Private Residential Tenancies Board which is responsible for residential tenancies.
If you’ve been there longer than 6 months (and met all obligations – paid rent and not wrecked the place etc), you have a Part 4 Tenancy (irrespective of what the term on the lease says). The landlord can’t evict you on a whim (or to get someone else in who’ll pay more). There are six reasons – want to sell, need the property for a family member, want to live in the property themselves, property needs major renovation, property not suitable (overcrowding etc) and another than I don’t remember. Point is: landlord can’t just give you notice to leave.
You can’t be just evicted for anything other than the reasons given.
http://www.threshold.ie/advice/ending-a-tenancy/how-your-landlord-may-end-your-tenancy
At present that notice period is in contention as landlords want the notice period to be inside the current tenancy but the new rule reads that it is at the end of a tenancy the notice period applies.
So if you have a 2 year lease they must give you 56 days notice that your tenancy will not be renewed. But as far as I’m aware that notice period cannot be applied inside your current tenancy (advice from Theshold). Therefore you would have 56 days from the end of your tenancy to vacate.
You CANNOT evict someone to get more money unless your tenancy is over, the 2 year period has elapsed and you don not agree to the new rent price.
Plus the notice must be in writing. ie a letter, not email or any other format.
just to add to that, Disasta, the new rent had to be a market rent (ie landlord can’t just increase it to something silly in order to get the tenant out). If it’s excessive, tenant can lodge a complaint with the PRTB, which will then (eventually) assess whether it’s a fair rent or not. All the tenant has to do is produce proof that a nearby or neighbouring and similar property is available for less rent. The PRTB process takes ages…a savvy tenant can easily drag this out for almost two years. (And if it was me, I wouldn’t pay a penny in the meantime).
Not paying is really not an option. Iv said here before i had problem like that, some one refusing to leave or I should say attempting to try it, and believe me they left quicker than the time it took me to have pee. You can always get them out : )
This sounds very sinister.
They look pretty normal letting rules to me.
Standard they are.
You miss the point. It’s not really normal for them to be stuck up in the lift you use every time you go in or out of your apartment.
it’s normal for the vulture fund shills
iRes isnt a vulture fund. Its a bog standard REIT that anyone on here can invest in. Its posting the notice up there so people know what rules are in place as regards terminating a tenancy.
To be a stickler, it’s not your apartment, you’re just renting it.
But agreed, it’s a cheap jerk thing to do.
Could have been posted in letterboxes or to whoever is inciting them to do it.
Disasta is right and also you can challenge the eviction notice through the PRTB and you cannot be evicted till that notice complaint is resolved, sometimes buys a few months
We are also with IRES, they have increased our rent year-on-year for the last 2 years (which is to be expected), but they have proposed another increase due again this month due to the fact our part 4 tenancy is moving into a further part 4 tenancy (which they claim is a new tenancy, and to be entered into at their perceived current market rate).
Given that it is 12 months since the last rental increase, this shouldn’t be the case in our opinion. We also received 30 days notice of this proposed rental increase, another issue which we believe has been handled incorrectly.
We’ve sought advice from Threshold and tried to resolve it with IRES directly however they have stopped responding to us. After 2 weeks of silence to our continued attempts to have a conversation with them we submitted a formal dispute to the PRTB.
For a publicly floated company I think their behaviour is embarrassingly amateur, I’ll avoid them again.
The system us firmly in the renter’s favour at present. Those rules only apply until 2018 I believe. Who knows what could happen then.
Maybe someone will actually start (be forced) to build some houses/apartments and prices will drop. Not likely given the greed of today’s developer where a lot is still not enough.
They wont as the demand will outstrip supply :(
True
The PRTB website is full of useful information, if you go hunting for it:
http://www.prtb.ie/dispute-resolution/disputes/the-three-stages-of-a-tenancy/notice-periods-for-notice-of-termination
I’ve had experiences with IRES in Sandyford and they are not reasonable. I eventually had to goto PRTB and commence ‘Dispute Resolution’ proceedings, which almost failed. In the end, they stopped being 100% disruptive when I said that I intend to goto the next phase, submit to Tribunal, to settle the dispute. Even the Mediator subtly mentioned that most of the recent disputes brought to PRTB are caused by IRES’s behaviour.
I would recommend boycotting them but… easier said than done since they’ve bought up 1 billion worth of Irish real estate in Dublin, on cheap of course!!
Yeah apparently most Landlords will do what they can to avoid being dragged to the PRTB as the whole thing ends up an unholy nightmare for them either way. I’d imagine attention being drawn to them is something they don’t want either.
Der, has there been any other contact from your landlord that makes you believe that they are trying to evict you? They could just be posting that so that the tenants are aware of their rights & obligations (like notices about satellite dishes, noise after 11pm, or what have you).
I think the point is they’re giving information that, while not incorrect, is definitely misleading and incomplete.
The landlord cannot evict you just to rent to someone new — you in fact get first dibs when it becomes available. I suspect many landlords will state that the property is going to be “owner occupied”, to cover their butts. However, if a landlord serves you with an eviction notice stating that they intend to move in themselves (“owner occupied”), they must also state in writing how long they intend to live there and that you get first refusal the next time they rent it out. Then if you discover that they have rented it out again, you can go straight to the PRTB.
Threshold are very, very useful for advice; don’t be bullied by greedy landlords — they try to be aggressive so you’ll panic instead of realising your rights.
We had an issue with IRES them once where they entered our apartment without permission. When we brought it up they said that it was allowed because they “gave notice”, after directing them to the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 they still maintained they were allowed to even though the law clearly says they don’t. This took several weeks of course, they never respond to emails quickly.
Unreal.
Ah, there’s no place like home.. what a nice notice to remind you you can be put out on your nelly whenever it suits.
I have had a rent increase every year of my tenancy in my current home, incl. last year, and was finally looking for an increase free year this year, but hey, whataya know, my landlord now claims he wants to sell. I think it’s an opening gambit by them to get me to offer to pay an increased rent, or, that its actually the letting agent trying to mug me for an increase.
Anyone know what my position would be if the house is subsequently not sold and offered for rent again after I move out?
(It would be a bit late then I know…)