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Household charge being passed on to renters?

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  • 29-03-2012 12:12pm
    #1
    penpusher
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 46 ✭


    Hi

    My agency recently sent me a letter giving me instructions on how to pay the household charge - but there's no agreement to pay it in my lease or anything.

    I think this is illegal - the homeowner should pay?

    Anyone else having the same problem?


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    #2
    Paulw
    Registered Users Posts: 13,381 ✭✭✭✭Paulw


    Send it back to them stating that it is up to the home owner to pay the household charge.

    You have no obligation at all to pay it.


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    #3
    killers1
    Registered Users Posts: 1,443 ✭✭✭killers1


    penpusher wrote: »
    Hi

    My agency recently sent me a letter giving me instructions on how to pay the household charge - but there's no agreement to pay it in my lease or anything.

    I think this is illegal - the homeowner should pay?

    Anyone else having the same problem?

    Your landlord is clearly chancing their arm...


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    #4
    Paulw
    Registered Users Posts: 13,381 ✭✭✭✭Paulw


    http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/owning_a_home/home_owners/household_charge.html

    Who has to pay

    If you own a dwelling, you are liable for the Household Charge on it, subject to the waivers and exemptions listed below. If your house is rented out, you are liable for the charge – not your tenant. However, if it is let on a lease of more than 20 years, the person to whom it is leased is the owner for the purposes of the charge.

    Simple really.


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    #5
    djimi
    Registered Users Posts: 13,237 ✭✭✭✭djimi


    I wonder how many cowboys are going to try pass this charge on to their tenants? Hopefully most tenants are wiser than that, although I suspect quite a few will get stung by it.


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    #6
    Bullseye1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,731 ✭✭✭Bullseye1


    Expect it to be passed on. Your using local services like the rest of us.


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    #7
    djimi
    Registered Users Posts: 13,237 ✭✭✭✭djimi


    Expect it to be passed on? You do realise that a landlord has no legal right to hand the tenant a bill for €100 just out of the blue right?

    Im sure landlords will try and add it to the rent price at the end of the lease, but thats a different matter entirely.


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    #8
    Bullseye1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,731 ✭✭✭Bullseye1


    djimi wrote: »
    Expect it to be passed on? You do realise that a landlord has no legal right to hand the tenant a bill for €100 just out of the blue right?

    Im sure landlords will try and add it to the rent price at the end of the lease, but thats a different matter entirely.

    That's what I meant.

    But I do believe tenants should be liable for local authority fees also. Just because your renting your still using their footpaths and public lighting like the rest of us. This is also common within the EU and UK.


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    #9
    wandatowell
    Registered Users Posts: 8,435 ✭✭✭wandatowell


    Not surprised by this.


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    #10
    Duckjob
    Registered Users Posts: 2,859 ✭✭✭Duckjob


    File the letter carefully under "BIN".


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    #11
    daltonmd
    Registered Users Posts: 1,246 ✭✭✭daltonmd


    Bullseye1 wrote: »
    That's what I meant.

    But I do believe tenants should be liable for local authority fees also. Just because your renting your still using their footpaths and public lighting like the rest of us. This is also common within the EU and UK.


    You're right - but the government make the law and they say that tenants are not responsible, homeowners are.

    Landlords can't change that law.


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    #12
    Ray Palmer
    Registered Users Posts: 8,394 ✭✭✭Ray Palmer


    The government changed the meaning of household charge. The effectively are charging the owner not the household. They made it a property tax when the eu clearly meant a service charge for residents. The cowboys are the government not LL


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    #13
    xper
    Registered Users Posts: 1,068 ✭✭✭xper


    Paulw wrote: »
    Send it back to them stating that it is up to the home owner to pay the household charge.

    You have no obligation at all to pay it.
    Don't waste a stamp telling them something they know bloody well already. Just ignore it.


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    #14
    dissed doc
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,489 ✭✭✭dissed doc


    the landlord or owner is responsible for paying the charge but there is nothing stopping the same amount being charged by landlords to tenants on new leases. so if it's not on your lease, you don't have to pay it but expect lease costs to simply include these charges and fees (pretty standard in europe incl UK).

    landlord is still the one registered to PAY it, but the money will be coming from standard tenancy fees when you start a new lease. that is completely legal and you are free to refuse leases (and therefore not rent the property) if you don't like the terms.

    as you are not the owner, you definitely are not obliged to register or pay. BUT, many leases for years have included sections on the tenant being liable for any new local authority or service charges. the landlord owner must register and pay, but you may find you have to then pay the same amount for service charges. government just protecting the large amount of social housing voters by saying owner registers/pays. check your lease.


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    #15
    Pawwed Rig
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 22,377 CMod ✭✭✭✭Pawwed Rig


    dissed doc wrote: »
    the landlord or owner is responsible for paying the charge but there is nothing stopping the same amount being charged by landlords to tenants on new leases. so if it's not on your lease, you don't have to pay it but expect lease costs to simply include these charges and fees (pretty standard in europe incl UK).

    landlord is still the one registered to PAY it, but the money will be coming from standard tenancy fees when you start a new lease. that is completely legal and you are free to refuse leases (and therefore not rent the property) if you don't like the terms.

    as you are not the owner, you definitely are not obliged to register or pay. BUT, many leases for years have included sections on the tenant being liable for any new local authority or service charges. the landlord owner must register and pay, but you may find you have to then pay the same amount for service charges. government just protecting the large amount of social housing voters by saying owner registers/pays. check your lease.

    Generally I agree with this. The landlord will charge the market rent regardless on how much household charges, NPPRs, mortgage interest cuts he takes to his income for the year. Therefore the household charge will not affect renters at all.


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    #16
    Villa05
    Registered Users Posts: 4,613 ✭✭✭Villa05


    Ray Palmer wrote: »
    The government changed the meaning of household charge. The effectively are charging the owner not the household. They made it a property tax when the eu clearly meant a service charge for residents. The cowboys are the government not LL
    Ray, I think you will find the opposite is the truth. Our bailout buddies stumping up the cash insisted that we introduce a property tax to disincentivise irish people from paying stupid sums of money on overpriced property (the root cause of why this country is bust). The gov introduced this charge to meet this condition, but they called it a household charge for local services to make it seem more acceptable to the people.


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