eviction

christina_x

just received a phone call from my friend very upset. She has been living in the same house for 3 years (I lived there the last two until last month) and the landlord has just come down with some unidentified woman in tow giving out about the state of the house and basically told my friend that they have to gtfo by the next rent due (2nd august), and they need not be expecting their deposits back. The condition of the house is not down to the tenants. It is kept tidy, but it needs to be painted, carpets need to be lifted and new furniture is needed. none of which has been done in YEARS.
This has all been verbally requested in the past, but has not been met.

there is no contract in the house. It is all cash in hand and has always been that way. She is very very upset and doesn't have the money to move house without her deposit from this house to use for the next house she moves to. Does she and the other tenants have any rights?? The landlord outright denied having ever gotten any requests regarding painting etc in the house, which is untrue because i asked him myself.

Pawwed Rig

Call threshold immediately on 1890 334 334
They can advise you if it is an illegal eviction or not. If it is then do the following

• If your landlord threatens or attempts to remove you from your property contact your local Threshold office immediately. A landlord may not take the law into his/her own hands.
• Contact the Gardaí and inform them that you are being illegally evicted from your home
• Contact the Private Residential Tenancies Board and inform them of the fact that you are being illegal evicted. Inform your landlord that you have been in contact with the PRTB.
• Take a sound recording of the illegal eviction
• Prepare for a possible PRTB hearing: keep a log of events, record vehicle number plates, incoming phone numbers, Garda numbers
• Make a list of any items you have been denied access to or that have been damaged or lost during the illegal eviction.
• Take photographs.

gaius c

Firstly she's entitled to 84 days notice because she has been living in the house for 3-4 years, not 16.

Secondly, the landlord can only terminate a part 4 tenancy on the following grounds:

Landlords can only terminate a tenancy which has reached the Part 4 threshold (i.e. which has been in existence for 6 months or more) if certain circumstances arise. The circumstances are set out in Section 34 and each requires very specific and different notices. They are summarised as follows:-

(1) the dwelling is no longer suitable to the tenant’s accommodation needs having regard to the number of bed spaces and size of the property;

(2) the landlord intends to sell the property for full consideration within three months of the termination - The PropertyRock Template Notice of Termination is available for download here;

(3) the landlord requires the property for his own occupation - The PropertyRock Template Notice of Termination is available for download here;

(4) the landlord requires the property for occupation by a family member - The PropertyRock Template Notice of Termination is available for download here;

(5) the landlord intends to refurbish/renovate the property - The PropertyRock Template Notice of Termination is available for download here;

(6) the landlord intends to change the use of the property.

Thirdly, any notice of termination must be in writing.

His behaviour on the face of it sounds entirely unreasonable.
You need to contact Threshold (www.threshold.ie) immediately and they will be able to advise on how to raise this with the PRTB. I'm guessing that he's not registered with the PRTB so there'll be a fine for him there.
If it's cash only, there's an excellent chance that he's not tax compliant so you should speak to revenue and give them details on exactly how much cash he was hiding away from the taxman.

Make no mistake, you are better off moving out of the house if he's going to behave like that but you should receive proper notice, not be at a financial loss if you didn't cause the damage and give him a bit of a kick in the balls for his carry on.

djimi

Tell your friend to calmly inform the landlord (in writing would probably be best) that he is attempting to carry out an illegal eviction and is also attempting to illegally withhold a deposit, and if he persists with this course of action she will take a case against him with the PRTB. Direct him if necessary to the PRTB website where he can go through past adjudications and see how dim a view the PRTB take of such actions, and how it is very likely that he will end up paying her a substantial sum by way of compensation.

christina_x

thanks for the swift replies! I am going to have to do some of the work this evening as she is working until 11 tonight.

So is it still an illegal eviction even though there is no contract??
He is denying everything, including ever receiving a deposit

edit: she is intending to move anyways, but the main issue now is that she has no money for a new deposit - she had intended to use the deposit from this house for the other so she's really in trouble

DoesNotCompute

Your friend needs to get onto Threshold ASAP. FLAC may be able to assist as well. She's left herself open to this kind of abuse by not signing any lease tbh.

CrinkElite

Does she have bills registered at the address? ESB, internet or bank statements showing that she has been living there?

djimi

christina_x wrote: »

He is denying everything, including ever receiving a deposit

Has she a receipt for the deposit or anything at all in writing to say that it was paid?

christina_x wrote: »

So is it still an illegal eviction even though there is no contract??

Just one thing that probably needs to be sorted out; what kind of a tenancy does she have? Is she renting the whole property or a room in the property? Does she live with the landlord or a member of his immediate family?

djimi

DoesNotCompute wrote: »

She's left herself open to this kind of abuse by not signing any lease tbh.

No she didnt. The part 4 tenancy was introduced precisely to legislate against this kind of abuse from happening. Assuming that the OPs friend is a tenant and not a licensee then she has a lot of rights under the terms of the part 4 tenancy and a signed lease was not necessary.

christina_x

no bills under her name i'm afraid, ESB was under landlords name and UPC under another tenants. She is renting a room in the property, not owner occupied. We have been responsible for filling the rooms ourselves, he does not advertise the rooms nor does he meet the tenants.
He has very little input into the house. Once there is no noise complaints and he get's his rent he doesn't care.

Thanks again for all your help!!
oh - checked PRTB list and he is not on it, so i'm assuming that means he doesn't pay tax on rent paid

djimi

Im going to be honest I dont really know the legality of how that sort of arrangement works; technically speaking if a tenant is the one who brings in a new tenant then the existing tenant could be considered to be subletting and the new tenant would therefore be a licensee. You would probably need to clarify this with Threshold and see where she stands.

Pawwed Rig

I would think that where there is no leaseholder as such then all the tenants in the house acquire the same rights. Common message here is ring Threshold!

Have you rang Threshold yet?

Richard Dower

At the very least OP....report him to revenue!....he is making this girls life hell?
Fine, report him for possible tax evasion....the revenue will make HIS life hell!!!!!

the_syco

christina_x wrote: »

there is no contract in the house. It is all cash in hand and has always been that way.

Who has been there the longest? Someone may have forgotten they had a lease.