Legal issues around raising rent

Ostrom

Five of us are renting in Maynooth, and the situation is as follows:


We were broken into January of this year, lost about 1500 worth of personal belongings, our landlord said the objects werent covered under insurance. We have repeatedly asked for receipts but were not given them on the argument that he rents the house 'as a unit' therefore will not issue individual receipts. We know this is complete BS but the property is ideally suited to us, and the rent isnt terrible (keep the 'as a unit argument in mind')

We have just taken on another tenant (there were four of us, now five this month) and she has said she will redraft the lease for the end of August, as she does every year. We expect she will attempt to raise the rent, and we are prepared the use the 'rented as a unit' argument against her, along with the fact that she was completely unhelpful following the robbery, we took it upon ourselves to install window locks and bedroom locks and the like...

From a legal standpoint, can anyone tell me the conditions and legal requirements for raising rent? I would like to have a reasonable counterargument for her.

Despite the fact that we are well within our rights to complain her to revenue for not declaring the property, I dont want to go this route as otherwise, the property is fine and suits us all perfectly.

Appreciate you reading this, even a link would be great, I have no idea of the names of regulatory bodies or divisions of law that cover this

minxie

heres two:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/housing/renting-a-home/rent_increases

http://d1099933.u37.eurhost.com/page.asp?menu=70&page=160

markpb

efla wrote: »

We were broken into January of this year, lost about 1500 worth of personal belongings, our landlord said the objects werent covered under insurance.

As far as a I know, a landlord cannot insure the house contents if they're owned by the tenants, i.e. they could insure the furniture, kitchen appliances, tv but not something you bring into the house. It's up to tenants to get contents insurance for their own stuff.

We have repeatedly asked for receipts but were not given them on the argument that he rents the house 'as a unit' therefore will not issue individual receipts. We know this is complete BS but the property is ideally suited to us, and the rent isnt terrible (keep the 'as a unit argument in mind')

That's a strange argument from them. If you want to claim rent relief (which is the only practical reason for looking for receipts), just go ahead and claim and if the Revenue ask (which they almost never do), say you weren't provided with any receipts.

We expect she will attempt to raise the rent, and we are prepared the use the 'rented as a unit' argument against her, along with the fact that she was completely unhelpful following the robbery, we took it upon ourselves to install window locks and bedroom locks and the like...

As far as I know, the only law pertaining to rent reviews is that it can only be changed once per year and only in line with (the rather vague) market conditions. Threshold or PRTB (Private Residential Tenancies Board) might be able to clarify that. I'd suggest only agreeing to a rent rise if the landlord installs window and door locks in the house before the end of the current lease. Threaten to walk out if the price goes up without that.

antoinolachtnai

Did you get a receipt for the rent 'as a unit'?

how do you pay the rent?

how long have you been renting for? It makes a difference to your rights.

antoin.

Ostrom

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

Did you get a receipt for the rent 'as a unit'?

how do you pay the rent?

how long have you been renting for? It makes a difference to your rights.

antoin.

No receipt for the rent 'as a unit' - still not sure exactly what she means by that

We pay in cash, every month

1 tenant renting for 2 years, 2 tenants renting 1 year (me), 2 tenants renting 6 months

The_Conductor

I suggest you contact the PRTB and check to see whether the tenancy is registered with them........

antoinolachtnai

Whether they are or aren't registered with prtb doesn't make a whole lot of odds to the op.

OP, why are you having her draft a new lease? You don't need a lease to carry on living there and paying rent. If you are presented with a new lease, I wouldn't sign it if I were you.

I think that it is unreasonable of you to have expected the landlord to get involved when you were robbed, other than to secure her property and fix the damage. It's really not her problem.

You have no evidence really to say that she isn't paying tax. It's really very difficult to avoid paying tax on rent these days.

Antoin.

Ostrom

We didnt expect her to intervene in that sense, nor did we ask her to. We did ask her to secure the property (fit individual locks on our bedroom doors and repair the window which was forced open) which she didnt.

We arent having her draft a new lease, she said she was going to issue us with a new one in August and based on her previous behavior we are expecting her to ask for more money on account of our taking on another tenant (we pay a fixed amount divided amongst us)

The property is not registered with the PRTB


Can you tell me what exactly should be provided to make our tenancy legal? Rent book? She has refused to issue one, wont accept cheques or transers through the bank and wont issue receipts.

On the expectation that she will try to get more money from us, where do we stand legally? Also, is there a set format for contracts - we have one at the moment but it doesnt look terribly formal.....

astrofool

Well, if you have more people in the place, there will be more wear and tear, so she would be entitled to a higher rent (within reason).

Are you already claiming rent relief? She also needs to register the property with the prtb regardless, and you can contact them about this.

Do you pay her cash in hand every month? Do you pre pay the month? If so, a receipt is all you would have to prove she can't throw you out, also, make sure you keep a copy of the signed lease yourself.

You could also get your own rent book, that she signs every time she takes the rent.

Also, she cannot take out insurance on your property, you have to do that, it is also up to her whether she fits extra security or not.

Ostrom

astrofool wrote: »

Well, if you have more people in the place, there will be more wear and tear, so she would be entitled to a higher rent (within reason).

Are you already claiming rent relief? She also needs to register the property with the prtb regardless, and you can contact them about this.

Do you pay her cash in hand every month? Do you pre pay the month? If so, a receipt is all you would have to prove she can't throw you out, also, make sure you keep a copy of the signed lease yourself.

You could also get your own rent book, that she signs every time she takes the rent.

Also, she cannot take out insurance on your property, you have to do that, it is also up to her whether she fits extra security or not.

We pay cash in hand, yes. I know the situation with the insurance, and as for the extra person, I dont think the wear and tear argument holds up for an increase considering she has invested nothing in the upkeep of the property (despite immediate security and living needs - window locks and repairs, faulty electrical sockets, washing maching, fittings and such)

antoinolachtnai

If you are bringing in an extra person, she can really raise the rent as much as she likes, assuming there's a limit on the number of people in the original lease.

At the end of the day, if you don't like the place or the landlord you're going to have to move out.

It does sound like this lady is trying to have it every way. Is the rent lower than the market rent?

Ostrom

1300 for a 4 bed semi? - All I know is the sale value of the house has fallen (obviously)

There is no specified limit on the lease/contract whatever it is she is calling it.

Is she is entitled to review and increase the rent based on the info I have given? As I understood rent prices are falling consistently?

Thanks for your replies, really appreciate the advice!

antoinolachtnai

She is certainly entitled to review the rent. She can do this every 12 months.

You could have a good case to stop her increasing the rent, if rents are actually falling and you can show that in some way. But you will need to go to some trouble about it, and in the meantime, you will have to pay the new rent (I think, you need to read the rules to be sure).

Wouldn't go signing any new leases if I were you, unless it is to your advantage.

Calina

OP, I will try to keep this short.

1) Do you have a copy of your lease as it stands now?

2) Is it a fixed term lease?

3) Does it specify the name of all four current tenants?

4) Does it have any provision relating to sublets - this would impact on your decision to take on a fifth person in the house?

5) Your landlord may adjust rent in line with prevailing market conditions. If you have a 4bed house in a specific area, do you know what the going rate for similar in the area is? Antoin is not correct to say she can do what she likes. There are provisions in legislation - vague, but not that vague - catering for rental increases.

6) My landlord has provided me with a standard lease document. I am not sure where she got it but I also think there are samples on the PRTB's site and Threshold can advise anyway.

Registration with the PRTB will be required to make your tenancy legal. You are also entitled to a tax credit for some rent paid which is worth looking into.

antoinolachtnai

Registration is a requirement, but a lease relating to an unregistered tenancy is still legally sound. This is a subtle point.

If they are adding an extra person to the house and this is somehow restricted by the lease, either by there being a fixed number, or a list of names, then that is a whole new ball game, and she can basically do what she likes as regards the amount of rent. If there were such a restriction, then the OP would now in breach of his lease and not in a great position to negotiate.

But the OP says there isn't any restriction, so it's moot. (This also suggests the landlord doesn't know an awful lot about what she's doing; not having a restriction is a beginner's mistake in my opinion.)

Ostrom

Calina wrote: »

OP, I will try to keep this short.

1) Do you have a copy of your lease as it stands now?

2) Is it a fixed term lease?

3) Does it specify the name of all four current tenants?

4) Does it have any provision relating to sublets - this would impact on your decision to take on a fifth person in the house?

5) Your landlord may adjust rent in line with prevailing market conditions. If you have a 4bed house in a specific area, do you know what the going rate for similar in the area is? Antoin is not correct to say she can do what she likes. There are provisions in legislation - vague, but not that vague - catering for rental increases.

6) My landlord has provided me with a standard lease document. I am not sure where she got it but I also think there are samples on the PRTB's site and Threshold can advise anyway.

Registration with the PRTB will be required to make your tenancy legal. You are also entitled to a tax credit for some rent paid which is worth looking into.

I'll have to check about subletting specifications, but the lease does list our names (not printed and signed, old tenants are crossed off and others written in). It is fixed term but it seems to predate the 2004 act

Everything is done very informally with her, payments, bills, all that sort of thing. Bills are sent to her which she pays and then charges us for (we are given copies of the bill)

Victor

I don't think it matters that it predates the 2004 act.

If she is evading tax, its seems silly for her to have a lease in place.

Ostrom

Victor wrote: »

I don't think it matters that it predates the 2004 act.

If she is evading tax, its seems silly for her to have a lease in place.

I doubt she is wilfully committing outright tax evasion but there are a lot of inconsistencies. Also, from dealing with her, it could well be that she just doesnt understand what she is talking about. I'm concerned about her refusal to improve the security of her own property, but thats another matter, all I'm worried about for now is having a correct legal frame of reference if she does attempt to up the rent

Thanks to everyone for all your advice and links, much appreciated

ZYX

You have a number of seperate issues going on here which are not necessarily related

1. Your house was robbed. Hard luck. Landlord is not responsible for your belongings but she should ensure house is secure.
2. You are not claiming rent relief. Silly you. You should claim immediately and get it back dated to when you moved in. It is your money and there is no reason to let government have it
3. Landlord is not registered with PRTB. This is silly of her but does not effect your rights
4. Landlord may want to increase rent. If you feel rent increase is fair. Pay it. If not, refuse to pay but be aware you may have to move out and find somewhere else.

Ostrom

ZYX wrote: »

You have a number of seperate issues going on here which are not necessarily related

1. Your house was robbed. Hard luck. Landlord is not responsible for your belongings but she should ensure house is secure.
2. You are not claiming rent relief. Silly you. You should claim immediately and get it back dated to when you moved in. It is your money and there is no reason to let government have it
3. Landlord is not registered with PRTB. This is silly of her but does not effect your rights
4. Landlord may want to increase rent. If you feel rent increase is fair. Pay it. If not, refuse to pay but be aware you may have to move out and find somewhere else.

As far as I know I cant claim rent relief

Calina

efla wrote: »

As far as I know I cant claim rent relief

Why?

markpb

efla wrote: »

As far as I know I cant claim rent relief

If you're working and renting and your landlord is Irish, I can't imagine any reason why you couldn't claim rent relief.

Ostrom

I'm on tax free government funding, i'll have to look into it again, but I had trouble before claiming tax credits. There are conditions about me doing external work, related to tax

I'll send off the forms again before she returns with the new lease

The_Conductor

efla wrote: »

I'm on tax free government funding, i'll have to look into it again, but I had trouble before claiming tax credits. There are conditions about me doing external work, related to tax

I'll send off the forms again before she returns with the new lease

Its a tax credit- so obviously if you are not paying tax, you have no tax on which to credit it against There was talk of restructuring the Newman/Walshe Scholarships to allow people in positions such as yours to benefit from rent relief etc, but I don't think anything ever came of it.

Ostrom

smccarrick wrote: »

Its a tax credit- so obviously if you are not paying tax, you have no tax on which to credit it against There was talk of restructuring the Newman/Walshe Scholarships to allow people in positions such as yours to benefit from rent relief etc, but I don't think anything ever came of it.

It would be welcome, the money isnt great and they dont let you work outside to supplement your income.

Anyway, I went through the contract and it is fixed term for one year, the rent is average for the area, slightly above. The rent for the past two years has been 1300, houses around us are going for around 1200, 1250, 1150 (based on daft and college residence office listings). Given that she has made no essential repairs and with falling rents around us, I cant see how she can justify an increase

antoinolachtnai

Nothing to do with accommodation, but I can't see how a blanket no-work clause can possibly be legal, assuming you have a visa which allows you to work.

Maybe she won't increase?

A one-year fixed term lease is automatically renewable for four years.

The_Conductor

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

Nothing to do with accommodation, but I can't see how a blanket no-work clause can possibly be legal, assuming you have a visa which allows you to work.

Maybe she won't increase?

A one-year fixed term lease is automatically renewable for four years.

Its a tax free scholarship from a 3rd level institution. There are 7 approved schemes (the two largest of which are the Newman Fellowship Schemes at UCD and the Walshe Fellowship schemes at Teagasc). Its a common way of getting postgraduate experience on research projects in an affordable manner for the research institution- while affording the person valuable experience.

Re: the increase- it has to be based on market valuations- if unhappy- all you have to do is appeal it to the PRTB and it cannot go ahead until the case is heard (but it can be backdated!).

S.

Ostrom

antoinolachtnai, Its unfortunately legal, the limit is three hours internal teaching work since the money is provided external (government, not from the institution)


That seems like the best thing to do, thanks smccarrick ill keep up on the going rates for housing in the area and print off the relevant stuff for her to review on rent books. If everything is nice and legal with the house from her end, I cant think why she flatly refuses any form of written recognition of our payments. I'm going to send away the forms for rent relief today and see what the response is.

antoinolachtnai

I don't see how there can be a condition that forbids you from doing what you like in your own time or requires you to work exclusively for a particular institution. It just seems like a restriction on trade (which is illegal). The teagasc walsh scholarships don't seem to have this condition.

Ostrom

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

I don't see how there can be a condition that forbids you from doing what you like in your own time or requires you to work exclusively for a particular institution. It just seems like a restriction on trade (which is illegal). The teagasc walsh scholarships don't seem to have this condition.

http://www.irchss.ie/schemes/scheme01/Postgrad_T&C_2008-09.pdf

Articles 23 and 24

The_Conductor

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

The teagasc walsh scholarships don't seem to have this condition.

They most certainly do have identical stipulations attached to them, along with conditions specific to the particular areas of research being undertaken, or the location in which the research is happening. There is a standard contract which is modified to purpose but has to be signed off on centrally.