Landlord has sold apartment

phantom_lord

He included the owner on the emails, I made it clear that I'm happy to help but his demands are unreasonable. The fact that he followed me up with that email is spectacular tbh.


At this stage I genuinely wouldn't be comfortable leaving my place in the care of someone with this level of professionalism.

usernamegoes

Perhaps tell the landlord you'll allow reasonable viewings if he gets rid of the agent or you get a full written apology from him otherwise no viewings.

freelancerTax

if it was me id tell the owner i would not facilitate viewings with that agent/agencey but i would be willing to work with anyone that shows even a scrap of professionalism


remember you do not have to accomadate viewings at all let alone when this idiot "commands" it
dont let him away with this kind of crap

good luck
ft

FishOnABike

Don't waste money consulting a solicitor. I notice the agent hasn't shown you the reply to his email (if he even sent it) - he's chancing his arm.

A quick call to Threshold, FLAC or a citizens information centre should reassure you that you are fully within your rights to only allow viewings if you are agreeable to it.

www(dot)citizensinformation(dot)ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/types_of_tenancy(dot)html
and some of the other links on the page should give you some idea of your rights and obligations. They do not include allowing anybody come into your home whenever they like.

You said in your original post you were there nearly three years. If it is over three years the required notice from your landlord may now be 12 weeks. www(dot)citizensinformation(dot)ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/if_your_landlord_wants_you_to_leave(dot)html


If you are between three and one month from the end of a fixed term lease you might want to consider if you should give your landlord/agent written notice of intent to remain under a part 4 tenancy. That is if you are otherwise happy where you are and want to stay there for the immediate future.

usernamegoes

Any word back from the agent?

The_Conductor

usernamegoes wrote: »

Any word back from the agent?

Its not a soap opera.

Cygil

I'm jumping in on this thread because my situation is the opposite.

My brother and I inherited our parent's house this year (he only turned 18 in February and we got nothing until then) and there are tenants still living there. Their fixed term lease was up in January and the estate agent who's handling the house was meant to give them 6 months notice to move out (since the brother wasn't 18 yet and we wanted to give them a bit longer to find a new place because you know yourself what the rental market in Dublin is like). They didn't and renewed a 6 month lease instead. Now that new lease is just about up and the estate agent is saying we still need to give them 84 days notice, even though the lease is up and they were meant to get their notice back in January. We don't want to put off selling the house because we're liable for inheritance tax now.

Do they get to stay an extra 3 months now?

The_Conductor

Cygil wrote: »

Do they get to stay an extra 3 months now?

If proper notice was not served- then, yes, they get another 3 months.
I'd be seriously pissed at the agent to be honest- he (or she) obviously did not do what they instructed to do.

Cygil

We have emails sent to the agent at the time specifically saying that we wanted them to give notice. We didn't realise she hadn't until recently when we contacted her to check the exact date the tenants would be moving out and she started talking about renewing the lease again. She's been told to give notice immediately now.

Guess we'll just have to work something out with the tenants regarding viewings, etc. And get a different agent for selling the house.

phantom_lord

usernamegoes wrote: »

Any word back from the agent?

The_Conductor wrote: »

Its not a soap opera.

I hadn't heard from him in over a week, just sent this.

I'll be honest, I'm not sure I fully understand what he means about a general agreement.

Sorry for not reverting before now but we wanted to ensure that our proposal regarding viewing times would meet with general agreement – which it does.

1. Viewings of a tenanted property will be restricted to Wednesday evening (17:00-17:30) or Saturday only.

2. In most cases a minimum 24 hours access notice will be provided to you.

3. The apartments will be neat & tidy for the inspections.

4. All viewing parties will be accompanied by a member of staff from our office.

5. Keys will not be issued to anyone (including professionals valuers, surveyors etc.) where an apartment is occupied.

6. Viewings for inspection & valuation surveys will have to be accommodated outside Wednesday evening & Saturday.


I trust that you find the above proposal regarding access acceptable – please reply by return.
Sincerely,

runawaybishop

phantom_lord wrote: »

I hadn't heard from him in over a week, just sent this.

I'll be honest, I'm not sure I fully understand what he means about a general agreement.

You all agree - do you? You don't have to facilitate anything you don't want to, but that looks fairly reasonable.

I would suggest that a minimum of 24 hours notice is for every single case, not most

Lemming

Points 1 & 6 contradict each other. So which is it? Viewings on a wednesday evening between 17-17.30 and Saturday's? or whenever they feel like it? Because that's what they're asking for; there's little difference between one viewing and another viewing, regardless of who is doing the viewing. But they expect to be able to access the property at any time with 24 hours notice. And according to point three, even less of a difference between viewing distinctions as far as the tentant is concerned.

Also "in most cases" (point 2) you'll get 24 hours notice? ORLY? GEEEETTTTTTTTT FVCKED!!!

The more I read over the "terms", the more it reads like the agent is trying to give you the run-around whilst paying lip-service to you and get everything they want, on their terms and on demand.

phantom_lord

runawaybishop wrote: »

You all agree - do you?

No I've told him I can't facilitate at that time (I've offered other times). He's essentially decided that's what we've agreed to!




And now he's threatening to enter our place without our consent. Nice guy.

I am trying to facilitate viewings where apartments are occupied with minimum disruption to the occupants.
With reasonable notice i.e. a few days, we are legally entitled to inspect your apartment at any time of the day with prospective purchasers. I am trying not to take a heavy hand hence a general agreement on one time, mid-week, where we will agree access thus facilitating you as best we can. This suggestion has been generally agreed with other tenants. If there is a better time/day for you let me know and we will try to facilitate you.

Potential purchasers come in many guises, some are not around weekends, can only view during the day time etc. We are being more than reasonable in suggesting that we agree a single mid-week viewing time to facilitate this.
The suggested viewing time is 17:00 on Wednesdays. If you insist on never providing access during the week it will get to a point when we will have to access by ourselves – though you will, of course, be advised in advance.
You previously stated “I have —at your request— confirmed with a solicitor that the right of a landlord to inspect on reasonable notice does not equate to freedom to enter for the purposes of sale”. Your solicitor is simply wrong on this point and I provided a copy of email correspondence from our solicitor confirming this. If you provide me with the contact details of your solicitor I am happy to phone him/her and discuss the matter. I am also happy for you, or your solicitor, to contact X to verify what I am stating is correct.

The_Conductor

If he is going to play those games- just say no viewings.
You are not obliged to facilitate him.

usernamegoes

Wow, I would say no viewings under any circumstances. Also if he enters the property file a compliant with PRTB hopefully you'd get a little payout.

phantom_lord

I lodged a complaint with the PSRA, and replied to him that I'm happy to help with any viewing that I can facilitate, but otherwise to stop contacting me as it feels like he's trying to bully me and I find the correspondence deeply unpleasant.

Lemming

phantom_lord wrote: »

I lodged a complaint with the PSRA, and replied to him that I'm happy to help with any viewing that I can facilitate, but otherwise to stop contacting me as it feels like he's trying to bully me and I find the correspondence deeply unpleasant.

If you have contact details for the landlord I would also be letting them know why you are refusing to work with this particular agent/agency and not simply being stubborn, etc. From the agents last correspondence with you, I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if he's been feeding the landlord a line or ten to paint you in a bad light and himself as some sort of hard-pressed victim.

the_syco

If you have the contact details of the new landlord, maybe ask what rent is he looking for, if you would prefer to stay? It's not like the new landlord is moving in himself, if the EA is trying to put a new tenant in?

phantom_lord

phantom_lord wrote: »

I lodged a complaint with the PSRA, and replied to him that I'm happy to help with any viewing that I can facilitate, but otherwise to stop contacting me as it feels like he's trying to bully me and I find the correspondence deeply unpleasant.

He follows this by contacting me at 1am asking for my solicitors details!

Lemming wrote: »

If you have contact details for the landlord I would also be letting them know why you are refusing to work with this particular agent/agency and not simply being stubborn, etc. From the agents last correspondence with you, I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if he's been feeding the landlord a line or ten to paint you in a bad light and himself as some sort of hard-pressed victim.

Yeah I'm going to reply and cc the landlord and show how unprofessional he's been. At this stage I'm asking someone else to take over. We've basically been model tenants for years, and are happy to help but this guy is insane.

the_syco wrote: »

If you have the contact details of the new landlord, maybe ask what rent is he looking for, if you would prefer to stay? It's not like the new landlord is moving in himself, if the EA is trying to put a new tenant in?

New landlord is selling the place, agent is selling it for them.

The_Conductor

Whatever about the PSRA- you *need* to lodge a case against him with the PRTB. The PSRA govern those involved in the property industry- including agents etc- however, while its a way of making your displeasure felt- legally it doesn't give you any standing if you are in a dispute with him or the landlord.

The PRTB enforce the 2004 Residential Tenancies Act- and its your rights under this Act that are being trampled on. If you wish to enforce your rights under the Act (which includes the right to privacy and peaceful occupation of your dwelling)- you need to lodge a case with the PRTB.

phantom_lord

Does PRTB look after tenant versus agent disputes too? I don't really have an issue with the landlord, it's just purely the agent.

freelancerTax

phantom_lord wrote: »

Does PRTB look after tenant versus agent disputes too? I don't really have an issue with the landlord, it's just purely the agent.

the agent is employed by your landlord, any problem with thw agent should also be of concern for the landlord - if hes ignoring it make it his problem through prtb

FishOnABike

Being honest I would have just lost the plot completely with this agent by now!

Contacting you at 1am is waaaaay over the top. I would be considering making a complaint to the gardaí for harassment.

I'd make it clear to the agent he had absolutely no right to enter the property without my explicit prior consent. I would inform any entry without my consent would be considered trespass and breaking and entering and would result in a complaint being made to the gardaí.

If I could be bothered at all at this stage to facilitate any viewings I would let him know they would only be when it was convenient for me, under my terms e.g. no multiple viewings and would require my advance permission and I would insist on being present during the viewing.

If he isn't happy with that I'd tell him to get stuffed and let the landlord know he needs to get someone more professional to manage his property and you would be willing to cooperate with another agent.

phantom_lord

That was the general gist of what I replied, with the landlord cc'd.

I asked you to refrain from contacting me unless it was to arrange a viewing, and your response is to contact me at 1am on a Friday evening? You're the most unprofessional person I've ever dealt with, and you're expecting access to my home?

We've been tenants here for three years without a single issue, we've helped out with inspections and keys for the new landlord, they made positive comments on the upkeep, we've been willing to help with viewings, the landlord has met me, we're more than reasonable people, and yet you've managed to create a situation where solicitors are involved in the simple task of arranging a viewing. You either don't understand tenant law or are deliberately misinterpreting it, I'm not sure which is more insidious.

I have to request that someone else take over the sale of the property because I point blank refuse to have to suffer your correspondence any longer and I've already lodged a complaint with the PSRA. I rent here for peaceful occupation of the dwelling, not to have to deal with this.

The_Conductor

Forget about lodging a complaint with the PSRA- they are the licensing authority for the property sector (including Marts etc). A complaint to them means damn all. For the umpteenth time- you need to lodge a complaint with the PRTB. The fact that you have gotten on fine with the landlord- is wholly irrelevant- the agent is an employee acting on behalf of the landlord. If you have a problem with the agent (as you patently do)- you have a problem with the landlord. Your previous good relationship with the landlord- doesn't matter one iota- their agent is causing this problem- by default they are. Making a complaint with the PSRA- is akin to ringing the Milk Policy Division in the Department of Agriculture (I think there is such a Division)- because your milk you buy in Aldi doesn't last until its Best Before Date...........Its a very parallel way of trying to resolve the issue..........

phantom_lord

Sorry I wasn't ignoring you! I've contacted the PRTB and I was waiting on their response and to see if there was any reply from the agent before making the full complaint.

I'll likely be out of the apartment before I hear anything from the PSRA:

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/estate-agents-watchdog-receives-over-500-complaints-in-two-years-30604951.html



One other thing is that it was the agents solicitor that advised him he was free to enter once he had given notice, and also advised him to continue with a viewing at a time that we hadn't given permission for (he forwarded me on the email). It was that advice that helped give the agent the self-belief that he was free to harass me.

runawaybishop

phantom_lord wrote: »

Sorry I wasn't ignoring you! I've contacted the PRTB and I was waiting on their response and to see if there was any reply from the agent before making the full complaint.

I'll likely be out of the apartment before I hear anything from the PSRA:

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/estate-agents-watchdog-receives-over-500-complaints-in-two-years-30604951.html



One other thing is that it was the agents solicitor that advised him he was free to enter once he had given notice, and also advised him to continue with a viewing at a time that we hadn't given permission for (he forwarded me on the email). It was that advice that helped give the agent the self-belief that he was free to harass me.

Just tell him he can explain all that to the gardai when he breaks into your house and you call them.

Michael D Not Higgins

phantom_lord wrote: »

Sorry I wasn't ignoring you! I've contacted the PRTB and I was waiting on their response and to see if there was any reply from the agent before making the full complaint.

I'll likely be out of the apartment before I hear anything from the PSRA:

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/estate-agents-watchdog-receives-over-500-complaints-in-two-years-30604951.html



One other thing is that it was the agents solicitor that advised him he was free to enter once he had given notice, and also advised him to continue with a viewing at a time that we hadn't given permission for (he forwarded me on the email). It was that advice that helped give the agent the self-belief that he was free to harass me.

If you have the solicitor's details from the email, it could be worth a complaint to the law society also.

phantom_lord

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

If you have the solicitor's details from the email, it could be worth a complaint to the law society also.

It's a bit of a process to lodge a complaint regarding someone else's solicitor, but it's certainly something I'm considering.

Michael D Not Higgins

phantom_lord wrote: »

It's a bit of a process to lodge a complaint regarding someone else's solicitor, but it's certainly something I'm considering.

Ultimately, the agent will say he was acting in good faith to the legal advice he received. The buck stops with the solicitor. Had there been an email saying you were right, I'm sure this would have all died down.