Accidental Landlord!

mdebets

mdebets wrote: »

And how will you enforce this?
Refuse to let the landlord in for inspection is not a reason for eviction, neither is it a reason to refuse part 4 tenancy at the end of the fixed lease, so you are stuck with the tenant for at least 4 years, if they continue to pay the rent.
If they are clever, they'll probably agree to the 3 months inspections, but 'sorry, I can't at your proposed time, I'm working, please provide a new time, sorry working then as well' and so on.

Three monthly inspection will also be of no good for you, because you can't evict a tenant for being untidy or even having a dirty apartment, unless it's permanent damage or a health hazard and then the damage is already done and it's too late for you to do anything against it.

A tenant must allow inspections, what makes you think they should be allowed to refuse them. Id have it in the lease and point it out to the person when signing.

I have no idea why anyone would have a problem with it anyway. It wouldn't bother me in the least, in fact I'd rather if the LL called regularly rather then once a year to weed the garden when I've never been able to meet him and just tell him to let himself into the house.

Mrs OBumble

pwurple wrote: »

Inspections every 3 months? Talk about getting people's backs up. I'd only consider that with students...

Rubbish.

My professional property managers insist on it, and are clear with potential tenants at the outset that this is how they operate. In seven years, I've only had good tenants.

The other side is that the tenant gets a responsive property manager who fixes stuff, and who also looks at the overall state of the property and makes medium/long term maintenance recommendations as well as break-fix work. Eg recently mine suggest that I consider installing a heat pump, and that I get this done over summer, when the install is cheaper.

Tarzana2

Charli Helpless Trek wrote: »

A tenant must allow inspections, what makes you think they should be allowed to refuse them. Id have it in the lease and point it out to the person when signing.

I have no idea why anyone would have a problem with it anyway. It wouldn't bother me in the least, in fact I'd rather if the LL called regularly rather then once a year to weed the garden when I've never been able to meet him and just tell him to let himself into the house.

You said here that you like the absentee LL set-up:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=96808501&postcount=57

Lux23

My landlord is in my flat every bloody week! Three months would be a dream.

Tarzana2

Tarzana2 wrote: »

You said here that you like the absentee LL set-up:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=96808501&postcount=57

Well I do in general but it wouldn't really bother me too much if he called a bit either mostly for pointing out stuff that needs fixing rather than trying to explain it over the phone to him.

Tarzana2

Lux23 wrote: »

My landlord is in my flat every bloody week! Three months would be a dream.

That's excessive. Unfortunately, if notice is given, they're within their rights.

mdebets

Charli Helpless Trek wrote: »

A tenant must allow inspections, what makes you think they should be allowed to refuse them. Id have it in the lease and point it out to the person when signing.

Yes, but the time has to be agreed between the tenant and the landlord and there is plenty of ways to delay the inspection (from having long unpredictable working hours to an unexpected emergency at the time the meeting was scheduled). What are you going to do, if the tenant delays the meeting again and again?
On the other hand, what is this inspection going to achieve? If you have a good tenant, it will only annoy him and he might look for somewhere else to live.
If you have a bad tenant, you will only see the damage once it's done and then it's too late to do anything against it, he might even do more damage, just for being annoyed of being found out early? The inspections also only show you the past and not the future and a model tenant can change suddenly from one day to the other (see OP's 2nd tenant who stopped paying rent after 3 years without problems).

Charli Helpless Trek wrote: »

I have no idea why anyone would have a problem with it anyway. It wouldn't bother me in the least, in fact I'd rather if the LL called regularly rather then once a year to weed the garden when I've never been able to meet him and just tell him to let himself into the house.

I would have a major problem with it, as I value my privacy and it would show me that the landlord wouldn't trust me (if you don't trust your tenant, don't rent to him).
I lived in an apartment in Dublin for 16 years and I only saw the rental agent in my apartment 3 times in these 16 years (once on the day I moved in, once when I had a larger problem that needed fixing, and once when I moved out).

testaccount123

Tarzana2 wrote: »

That's excessive. Unfortunately, if notice is given, they're within their rights.

No chance, the tenant is entitled to peaceful enjoyment of the property, having some clown calling every week is way out of order.

If my landlord wanted to inspect my home once every three months he'd be obliged and sent on his way with an itemised list of minor repairs and upkeep for his trouble to keep him nice and busy.

Fortunately he is not an idiot so leaves me alone to enjoy the property I pay him 13 grand a year for.

testaccount123

testaccount123 wrote: »

No chance, the tenant is entitled to peaceful enjoyment of the property, having some clown calling every week is way out of order.

He is collecting the rent if I remember correctly from a previous thread.

mdebets wrote: »

Yes, but the time has to be agreed between the tenant and the landlord and there is plenty of ways to delay the inspection (from having long unpredictable working hours to an unexpected emergency at the time the meeting was scheduled). What are you going to do, if the tenant delays the meeting again and again?

I wouldn't stand for it and begin motions to have the tenant evicted.

mdebets wrote: »

On the other hand, what is this inspection going to achieve? If you have a good tenant, it will only annoy him and he might look for somewhere else to live.
If you have a bad tenant, you will only see the damage once it's done and then it's too late to do anything against it, he might even do more damage, just for being annoyed of being found out early? The inspections also only show you the past and not the future and a model tenant can change suddenly from one day to the other (see OP's 2nd tenant who stopped paying rent after 3 years without problems).

It will tell the LL how the property is being treated and allow him to nip problems in the bud rather than finding out after a year or more that the place is wrecked.

As I said if I were a LL, I'd inspect after the first month to see how the tenant is treating the place and if they show signs of being a disaster immediately begin to take action. If the place was ok I'd inspect again after 2 months and then settle into a 3 month inspection cycle, possibly moving to less often if the tenant shows themselves to be trustworthy.

mdebets wrote: »

I would have a major problem with it, as I value my privacy and it would show me that the landlord wouldn't trust me (if you don't trust your tenant, don't rent to him).
I lived in an apartment in Dublin for 16 years and I only saw the rental agent in my apartment 3 times in these 16 years (once on the day I moved in, once when I had a larger problem that needed fixing, and once when I moved out).

Value your privacy? Come on, how on earth is a LL having a quick look around the property every once in a while having any impact on your privacy? Its just being awkward for the sake of it. I don't think any sensible person would have any issue with it at all.

_Kaiser_

Charli Helpless Trek wrote: »

Value your privacy? Come on, how on earth is a LL having a quick look around the property every once in a while having any impact on your privacy? Its just being awkward for the sake of it. I don't think any sensible person would have any issue with it at all.

Disagree. Renting involves trust and goodwill on both sides - if you're not prepared to do that, don't rent or become a landlord!

I moved into a place earlier this year via an EA (have never met or spoken to the LL). About 3 months in I get a note in the letterbox saying they'll be doing an inspection <48 hours later and if I was not available they could let themselves in instead.

Nothing to hide, never had a problem renting and have always treated a place like it's my own.. but I'm also a professional, with references, and work full-time as middle/upper management so this did irk me somewhat to be honest.

In any event I worked from home on the day and there was no issues (nor any need to do a massive clean-up! ) but if they try it again this quarter I may take a different attitude - again not because there's anything to hide but I resent the implication or indeed disruption.

pooch90

We have point blank turned down houses based on the quarterly inspections. Fair enough have an initial one but once the rent is paid on time, leave the tenant in peace. We can be messy buggers at times but never have we damaged anything. We are private people and are perfectly entitled to be so.

athtrasna

pooch90 wrote: »

We have point blank turned down houses based on the quarterly inspections. Fair enough have an initial one but once the rent is paid on time, leave the tenant in peace. We can be messy buggers at times but never have we damaged anything. We are private people and are perfectly entitled to be so.

That's well and good when it's a tenant's market. In the major cities and commuter towns these days it's not. If a landlord wants quarterly inspections and agreeing to that will get you decent accommodation then most would be tenants would jump at it these days.

Mrs OBumble

testaccount123 wrote: »

If my landlord wanted to inspect my home once every three months he'd be obliged and sent on his way with an itemised list of minor repairs and upkeep for his trouble to keep him nice and busy.

If you'd managed to amass a list of minor repairs in three months, and hadn't notified me when they need for them arose, then that would be a major red-flag to me: you are expected to report maintenance issues as they arise.

mmarley

Hiya Randomswinger
Would you be interested in letting your apartment to me longterm. I'm looking for somewhere a while now and have found nothing.. thinking of relocating and all please pm me if your interested for more details.
thanks hon.

testaccount123

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

If you'd managed to amass a list of minor repairs in three months, and hadn't notified me when they need for them arose, then that would be a major red-flag to me: you are expected to report maintenance issues as they arise.

Im not sure what the colour of flags have to do with anything. I look after minor maintenance issues myself, as do most people I imagine. If my landlord decided to start inspecting my home every three months Id stop and let him do it, seeing as he was coming for a nose around anyway.

Paulj

I'm not a landlord but seeing how it's done in other countries i wonder why more rental properties in Ireland don't come un-furnished. If the property was provided unfurnished then it limits the amount of damage that the tenant can do to the property.
It also requires the tenant to provide more "investment" into the property. They would have to go to a lot of effort just to move in. It would mean they would think twice before moving out in a rush.

I think it would make sense for a property to come unfurnished IF the landlord couldn't kick the tenant out unless they were a bad tenant. As i understand it, in Ireland a tenant can be kicked out for any old reason. So therefore a tenant would be very much against making any sort of investment into their rental property (in terms of time or money). In other words it's very hard for a tenant to see the property as a home worth investing any time or effort in because it is always seen as temporary due to the risk of being kicked out for no reason.

The laws really fail everyone here. It really baffles me how the government can't take what works well in other countries and apply it here.

athtrasna

Paulj wrote: »

I'm not a landlord but seeing how it's done in other countries i wonder why more rental properties in Ireland don't come un-furnished. If the property was provided unfurnished then it limits the amount of damage that the tenant can do to the property.
It also requires the tenant to provide more "investment" into the property. They would have to go to a lot of effort just to move in. It would mean they would think twice before moving out in a rush.

I think it would make sense for a property to come unfurnished IF the landlord couldn't kick the tenant out unless they were a bad tenant. As i understand it, in Ireland a tenant can be kicked out for any old reason. So therefore a tenant would be very much against making any sort of investment into their rental property (in terms of time or money). In other words it's very hard for a tenant to see the property as a home worth investing any time or effort in because it is always seen as temporary due to the risk of being kicked out for no reason.

The laws really fail everyone here. It really baffles me how the government can't take what works well in other countries and apply it here.

The first bolded quote shows you don't really know the laws you slag off in the second. The circumstances under which a landlord can terminate a lease are few and landlords have next to no power to actually evict a tenant.

Paulj

athtrasna wrote: »

The first bolded quote shows you don't really know the laws you slag off in the second. The circumstances under which a landlord can terminate a lease are few and landlords have next to no power to actually evict a tenant.

Ok, i admit i haven't read the laws. So educate me, say my landlord wants to sell the house i'm renting. Can he kick me out?

Say his son is moving to the city and he'd like him to move into the house i'm renting, can he then kick me out?

Under what circumstances can he kick me out?

athtrasna

The relevant act is here http://www.prtb.ie/docs/default-source/acts/residential-tenancies-act-2004.pdf?sfvrsn=4

Start a new thread if you have specific queries, to discuss that here would drag this thread off topic.