Landlord House Raid

emily930

Hi all,

Just seeking some advice on a recent matter that has come up. As a bit of background, myself and my 5 friends (all female) have been paying outrageous money (3000 per month) to rent a house with extremely poor living standards in South Dublin since September. We have been very quiet tenants and had never received any complaints in the past. Our landlord, to cut a long story short, is an absolute cowboy, has broken almost every promise ever made and is not PTRB registered. This aside, due to the location of the house and how desperate we were to find somewhere to live we have put up with the appalling conditions.

This Monday, the 25th, we had a predrinks party before a night out. About 50 guests were here from between 8-11 and to be honest it was a loud party. The guards were called and they were very nice, told us to get everyone out and turn down the music which we did. We went out and there was nothing more thought of it.

We do accept full responsibility for the party and we have called over to our neighbours, of which we are friendly with, to apologize for the noise.

We came home from the night out as normal and went to bed. Five non-resident friends stayed over (one of which being my boyfriend), but this was nothing out of the ordinary.

This is where the issue arises- the next morning I was awoken to our landlord bulling through the house, in a hurricane like rage shouting at the top of his lungs. One of our guests opened the door and he charged in unannounced shouting for any non-residents to get out of 'his house'. He was cursing and causing a massive scene on the second floor when I woke.

Mere minutes later he charged upstairs, came into my bedroom, pulled the duvet off myself and my boyfriend ordering him out of the house. To be honest I was mortified and didn't know what to do. The landlord proceeded to take photos of the house, the mess from the party and ensured all non-residents had left. He then sent an absolute stinker email to all our parents making our college home sound as if it had been destroyed, which is absolutely not the case. He also informed them of the 'non-resident males on the premises' and made our house sound like a brothel.

He was extremely aggressive and left us all quite scared. I'm just posting to ask legally where we stand in this situation and how to proceed? We have been in contact with other students who have rented from him previously and unfortunately it is all similar stories we have heard.

Sorry for the length, any help is appreciated thank you.

listermint

emily930 wrote: »

Hi all,

Just seeking some advice on a recent matter that has come up. As a bit of background, myself and my 5 friends (all female) have been paying outrageous money (3000 per month) to rent a house with extremely poor living standards in South Dublin since September. We have been very quiet tenants and had never received any complaints in the past. Our landlord, to cut a long story short, is an absolute cowboy, has broken almost every promise ever made and is not PTRB registered. This aside, due to the location of the house and how desperate we were to find somewhere to live we have put up with the appalling conditions.

This Monday, the 25th, we had a predrinks party before a night out. About 50 guests were here from between 8-11 and to be honest it was a loud party. The guards were called and they were very nice, told us to get everyone out and turn down the music which we did. We went out and there was nothing more thought of it.

We do accept full responsibility for the party and we have called over to our neighbours, of which we are friendly with, to apologize for the noise.

We came home from the night out as normal and went to bed. Five non-resident friends stayed over (one of which being my boyfriend), but this was nothing out of the ordinary.

This is where the issue arises- the next morning I was awoken to our landlord bulling through the house, in a hurricane like rage shouting at the top of his lungs. One of our guests opened the door and he charged in unannounced shouting for any non-residents to get out of 'his house'. He was cursing and causing a massive scene on the second floor when I woke.

Mere minutes later he charged upstairs, came into my bedroom, pulled the duvet off myself and my boyfriend ordering him out of the house. To be honest I was mortified and didn't know what to do. The landlord proceeded to take photos of the house, the mess from the party and ensured all non-residents had left. He then sent an absolute stinker email to all our parents making our college home sound as if it had been destroyed, which is absolutely not the case. He also informed them of the 'non-resident males on the premises' and made our house sound like a brothel.

He was extremely aggressive and left us all quite scared. I'm just posting to ask legally where we stand in this situation and how to proceed? We have been in contact with other students who have rented from him previously and unfortunately it is all similar stories we have heard.

Sorry for the length, any help is appreciated thank you.

You should have called the guards on him.

Why didnt you do that ?

byronbay2

Your boyfriend just sheepishly got dressed and fu*cked off out the door to leave you deal with that lunatic?? Dump him immediately!!

emily930

Our landlord claimed the guards had called him and we stupidly were unaware of our rights, is he allowed enter the property because the guards have been called? Sorry, it sounds ridiculous but we really don't know our entitlements as tenants

amtw

A landlord is not allowed to enter your home without your prior permission. If he regularly rents to students he knows that there is be the occassional raucous night and should be prepared for that.

I'm no expert but €3,000 sounds like ridiculously high rent, even people renting corporate style properties are only getting on average €2,500 for them. You only have a few weeks left of term and I wouldn't be surprised if the landlord is trying to build up a case for not repaying your deposit.

You could contact the PRTB yourself even if he isn't registered which he is legal obliged to be they will take a complaint for a tennant.

I suggest you give the place a good tidy up and take some more photos. You could then ask the land lord to come around to check that there is no sturctural damage or furniture destroyed. It might not be a bad idea to have one of your parents there also, he might try bullying a young student but I don't think he would try it on so easily with a parent present.

Good luck.

ABajaninCork

That is outrageous!

When did this happen? The landlord is absolutely NOT allowed to charge into the house without permission!! I take it you're paying tenants with a lease?

Have a read of this, which will give you some information. Check out the PRTB site too.

If there are problems with the house, then he should be told in writing, and given a reasonable time to fix them (say 14 days).

I would also call into the Gards. Tell them what happened. That way, if this d*ck tries to pull crap like this again, you have a record. I'm not sure they'll be able to do anything so long after the event, but still...

As for your bloke? I agree with byronbay2. Dump his ass. He behaved in a less than gentlemanly way!!

Is your home registered with the PRTB? I'd check that too. That might be something to hold over the LL is he decides to play the fool again.

The rent does sound very steep. What research did you do before deciding to rent the house?

listermint

get in touch with threshold.ie

he needs to be reported to PRTB as id imagine he is evading tax also.

emily930

This all happened yesterday morning, the 26th of March. Thanks for the quick responses everyone! The boyfriend is irrelevant to the situation, but appreciate the kindness guys!

ABajaninCork: Thank you for the links, we will research our rights now! Due to being separated over the summer we left organizing accommodation quite late and like many others, were left stressed at the prospect of being left homeless for the academic year. We had viewed the property and met the landlord. Although not ideal, the house was acceptable and so close to our university.

Big Davey

He has broken the law in my opinion. He MUST give you notice of coming to inspect the property. Get an opointment with a solicitor and right him a letter, ask the solicitor about the law ? If you or any of your friends were not fully clothed when he burst in you might be able to claim off him. I have several houses have had to ask tenants to leave and had many other problems but would never dream of doing what he did. He has left himself open to soooo many headaches its unreal, if there was jewlery or money gone astray he could be under suspicion etc if he has this little respect for your privacy you have to wonder what type of landlord is he ? Maybe get the house swept for hidden cams etc it may seem extreme but I just don't like the sound of the guy.
One last thing, move. He should have no problem returning your deposit you have plenty of witnesses he is wrong. Party or no party he is in the wrong.

Merkin

emily930 wrote: »

Mere minutes later he charged upstairs, came into my bedroom, pulled the duvet off myself and my boyfriend

That's got to be assault surely?

RATM

OP first you need to read your lease with a fine tooth comb and see if it mentions anything about parties or having non-residents staying for a single night. If it doesn't then you are totally in the right here and you should pin this guy legally and financially.

Your first port of call is Threshold. After that the next is the PRTB. After them the next is Revenue who would love to know about this cowboy.

He has broken the law by entering into your home without giving notice, there can be no doubt about that. It sounds to me like he scared you and your flatmates stiff and you no longer feel safe in your own home. There is a separate legal case to be had here if you so choose. A threatening man coming into the home of 5 girls is not going to go down well in front of any judge, especially given that he broke the law to enter in the first place.

Finally for your own peace of mind you need to get to the bottom of how he found out about the party. Someone mentioned him having cameras in the place and while that sounds far fetched it is not beyond the realms of possibility. But what is more likely is that one of your neighbours rang him. Or that the Gardai rang him, this is a distinct possibility if your landlord is a former member of the Gardai, which is not uncommon in Dublin rental properties of a certain standard.

Regardless you may have been a bit over the top in having a party for 50 people. However having 50 people in your house is not what matters here, what matters is weather or not you broke the lease in doing so. If you didn't then you need to sort this cowboy out so he thinks twice about doing it again.

whatnext

I'd love to know what his wife if he has one thinks of it too!!

Pulling the duvet of a couple in bed!!

I'd put his wife on the list of people to be contacted too.

quietsailor

emily930 wrote: »

Hi all,

Just seeking some advice on a recent matter that has come up. As a bit of background, myself and my 5 friends (all female) have been paying outrageous money (3000 per month) to rent a house with extremely poor living standards in South Dublin since September.
We have been very quiet tenants and had never received any complaints in the past. Don't get your hackles up but is this absolutely true - there are no complaints from any of the neighbours from before this night - talk to them and see how they feel about ye? if not your in a strong position but if you say this in front of the PRTB and he can show a Garda complaint agaist you it really damages your case in the PRTB eyes

Our landlord, to cut a long story short, is an absolute cowboy, has broken almost every promise ever made and is not PTRB registered. This aside, due to the location of the house and how desperate we were to find somewhere to live we have put up with the appalling conditions.
Are any of these promises made via text or email so you have proof of them? did ye take photos before you started renting the house so you can prove how good/bad the condition of items were in the house before you moved in.

This Monday, the 25th, we had a predrinks party before a night out. About 50 guests were here from between 8-11 and to be honest it was a loud party. The guards were called and they were very nice, told us to get everyone out and turn down the music which we did. We went out and there was nothing more thought of it.

We do accept full responsibility for the party and we have called over to our neighbours, of which we are friendly with, to apologize for the noise.

We came home from the night out as normal and went to bed. Five non-resident friends stayed over (one of which being my boyfriend), but this was nothing out of the ordinary.
Guests - as long as they are guests and not un-official lodgers - are none of his business

This is where the issue arises- the next morning I was awoken to our landlord bulling through the house, in a hurricane like rage shouting at the top of his lungs. One of our guests opened the door and he charged in unannounced shouting for any non-residents to get out of 'his house'. He was cursing and causing a massive scene on the second floor when I woke.
He has no right to tell you who can be in your house

Mere minutes later he charged upstairs, came into my bedroom, pulled the duvet off myself and my boyfriend ordering him out of the house.
That's just wrong, full stop, if your intent on taking this further I'd speak to a guard/solicitor about a possible sexual assault** charge

To be honest I was mortified and didn't know what to do. The landlord proceeded to take photos of the house, the mess from the party and ensured all non-residents had left. He then sent an absolute stinker email to all our parents making our college home sound as if it had been destroyed, which is absolutely not the case.
As long as it can be cleaned back to near original condition and there is no damage, again none of his business. I'd imagine your embarassed about your parents finding out about this - maybe they din't know about your boyfriend - but he has no right to do this, if your names are on the lease your the tenants not your parents. Probably some of your parents are paying the rent from their accounts though so that might cause confusion but it still doesn't matter, the names on the lease are the tenants

He also informed them of the 'non-resident males on the premises' and made our house sound like a brothel.
That's aggressive, again talk to the SU and a garda

He was extremely aggressive and left us all quite scared. I'm just posting to ask legally where we stand in this situation and how to proceed? We have been in contact with other students who have rented from him previously and unfortunately it is all similar stories we have heard.
Your going to have to go to the authorities about it, unfortunately as your students and had a massive house party the night before don't expect things to automatically go your way, you'll have to have a clear orderly list of the broken promises, bad state of the house, his behaviour before that night, and then his behaviour on the night. You'll have to talk about it calmly and don't get angry as any one outside the problem could get the idea your trying to deflect blame, stay calm and rational and they will know this is serious and that you were very badly done by - you were by the way.

Sorry for the length, any help is appreciated thank you.

Extra:
Aside from anything else it's illegal for a landlord to enter the house wihout your permission, he might own it but it's your home.

From here on I'd be careful dealing with him, start writing a diary of all dealings with him, start using registered letters to contact him, it does sound like he's trying to make a case to keep your deposits. Start building a case against him, your probably not going to get you deposit back off him so be prepared to lose it until you can get a case through the PRTB. In fact I hope you report him to the PRTB anyway, I'd urge you to do it, if he has done this to previous years he'll keep doing it in the future until someone reports him.

I'd contact the student union and the guards about this - bursting into the house with no notice, acting aggresively, I don't know how to describe pulling the duvet off you, sexual assault** is going too far but it's cetainly not right!

I don't know how far you want to invole your parents, most students I know don't want their parent within a million miles of their college lives but you need backup here, talk to them about this,

** = I hate using this term because it downgrades real sexual assault but I don't know any other term to use, if anyone else is replying to this post, well please don't get bogged down with thise 2 words, the OP is looking for help with a Landlord problem, not an arguement on semantics

Ash.J.Williams

Is pulling a duvet off a couple not some sort of assault? I even think that's sue-able

quietsailor

Another thig to think of is to report him to your collees accomodation office, - where did you see the ad originally - through the accomodation office?

They won't be happy at all to hear about students being intimidated like this, but again beware he's going to pull the "but they had a massssive house party and I had to do something" card and as most universities are under pressure to keep good relations with the local residents the accomodation office will view you with suspicion initially.

Maybe go to the SU first, get help there and get them to come with you to the accomodation office, the accomodation office won't just ignore you that way

Twoandahalfmen

So what if he's the landlord.
You should held him and called the guards fir trespassing if it was anyone else you wouldn't if hesitated

TonyStark

Twoandahalfmen wrote: »

So what if he's the landlord.
You should held him and called the guards fir trespassing if it was anyone else you wouldn't if hesitated

If you refused to turn down the music when the guards called to the door, there is little they can do and can only enter your property if they think a crime has being committed. Stands to reason the landlord had no business there after the party.

Joe Hart

Open up a PRTB case straight away.

lovelyjubbly

Guards first then PRTB. I'd a landlord who kept coming in and was aggressive about it when I asked him not to do it. I was in final year and didn't need the hassle so I moved out. I really wish I had contacted the Guards now; he only rented to females and apparently had form for just entering the property as he wished. It's been just over a year and I still wonder who else he has done to since.

emily930

Thanks so much everyone for the effort put into these responses, especially quietsailor, we are so grateful. We were unsure how this situation would be viewed by more mature adults, outside our concerned parents, but the responses have encouraged us to definitely take this further. What would people advise doing first? We have since cleaned the entire house and the landlord has said he's coming here on Thursday, but this is unlikely.

Joe Hart

emily930 wrote: »

Thanks so much everyone for the effort put into these responses, especially quietsailor, we are so grateful. We were unsure how this situation would be viewed by more mature adults, outside our concerned parents, but the responses have encouraged us to definitely take this further. What would people advise doing first? We have since cleaned the entire house and the landlord has said he's coming here on Thursday, but this is unlikely.

Tell him it doesn't suit to inspect on Thursday as he was already in the house in the past few days.

flan59

As far as I can see the most important thing you need to do is contact the PRTB, they are very helpful and will deal with any case on your behalf. They will give you advice and information on what the next steps are. It looks like your LL is a conman and will almost definately not return your deposit. List all the issues that have taken place and IN DETAIL explain them when you get a hearing with the PRTB. Once you sign your contract the LL has no rights to enter his premises without your permission. Your students union should also be a good source of information. For the sake of all students who may be in a similar position do not let this pass without contacting the appropriate authorities for guidance. Yes I know you do not want your parents about but remember they are there for you and now might be a good time to get a shoulder to lean on.

Marcusm

In granting the lease, he has passed over exclusive possession of the property to you; he will have known that the person who let him in the door was not a tenant and therefore did not invite him in. Running around the house roaring and pulling duvets from beds with people in them will have created fear. This is not a civil case or a matter for PRTB or Threshold. This is a matter of criminal trespass and possibly assault (raising or causing apprehension or fear of violence). You need to find (preferably) a parent and go to the guards. A parent so that it cannot be dismissed as relating to a tenancy dispute. If you cannot involve a parent, speak with FLAC (free legal advice centre) or ask student welfare officer to provide you with access to a solicitor.

I'm a landlord and wouldn't consider one iota of this as acceptable.

T-K-O

Please report this low life

slavetothegrind

get legal advice asap, after advice make a formal complaint to the gardai in line with the advice you had.

I personally would persue every avenue with this bully to punish his grossly offensive and illegal actions.

But i would get representation as it will greatly aid you in being taken seriously

miller50841

Hi OP you need to go down and report this to your local Garda station immediately.

Report the landlord to revenue and try and dig up as much info on him as possible.

I am renting myself and there is no way I would have even entertained him yet let him take photos and abuse all of you.

As stated already contact PRTB by phone and best email with all the info and as said contact Threshold they are pro's at this.

Seriously go straight to the cops and I would call a locks smith tonight to get the lock on the door changed so you won't have your uninvited guest(crazy landlord) letting himself in.

Big Davey

VERY IMPORTANT, when you contact the PRTB tell them you are looking for "information " and don't use the word "advice" they have to be neutral, you will understand what I mean when you make the call.
Good luck.

Mrs OBumble

Ahh, is it usual for tenants to give the landlord their parent's email address?

OP, were the guards called that morning?

How often do you have ten people sleeping in an apartment that's let to five people?


I agree he's out of line, but wonder if there's another side to the story that we haven't heard.

Joe Hart

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Ahh, is it usual for tenants to give the landlord their parent's email address?

OP, were the guards called that morning?

How often do you have ten people sleeping in an apartment that's let to five people?


I agree he's out of line, but wonder if there's another side to the story that we haven't heard.

The landlord has zero right to enter no more than a bank does if a mortgaged owner has a party.

T-K-O

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Ahh, is it usual for tenants to give the landlord their parent's email address?

OP, were the guards called that morning?

How often do you have ten people sleeping in an apartment that's let to five people?


I agree he's out of line, but wonder if there's another side to the story that we haven't heard.

Irrelevant

jd

Is this section 50 accommodation?