Invalid Rent Notice

RobbingBandit

A few weeks ago my landlord issued me a 28 day notice for rent increase. I have been informed by threshold over the phone that the notice is invalid, they haven't told me what to do about it, do I need to still dispute this in writing. Or do I just ignore it as I have been doing so far. The notice expires on Saturday this week.

athtrasna

RobbingBandit wrote: »

A few weeks ago my landlord issued me a 28 day notice for rent increase. I have been informed by threshold over the phone that the notice is invalid, they haven't told me what to do about it, do I need to still dispute this in writing. Or do I just ignore it as I have been doing so far. The notice expires on Saturday this week.

What is invalid about it?

4ensic15

RobbingBandit wrote: »

A few weeks ago my landlord issued me a 28 day notice for rent increase. I have been informed by threshold over the phone that the notice is invalid, they haven't told me what to do about it, do I need to still dispute this in writing. Or do I just ignore it as I have been doing so far. The notice expires on Saturday this week.

Challenge it in the PRTB.

RobbingBandit

athtrasna wrote: »

What is invalid about it?

90 days minimum notice is required now and the review date is 2 years from the date the tenancy started, at least that is the info the lady on thresholds line told me yesterday.

RobbingBandit

4ensic15 wrote: »

Challenge it in the PRTB.

I don't have a landline number to call them from.

Grolschevik

RobbingBandit wrote:

I don't have a landline number to call them from.

Yet you called Threshold?

RobbingBandit

Prtb are an 0818 premium number.

Threshold are a 1800 free phone number.

I am on meteor who do not include 0818 numbers as part of their €20 a month prepay deals.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

AnonoBoy

Send this link to your landlord and let them know that in addition to the longer notification period the length of time between rent reviews has been increased from to 24 months as of December 2015:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/rent_increases.html

They are either trying to pull a fast one or they are unaware of the new laws. Obviously phrase your correspondence with them in a helpful - "you may be unaware of the new laws (here they are - LINK) but unfortunately rent reviews are now only allowed every 24 months." Let them back down gracefully as opposed to being antagonistic.

Graham

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Send this link to your landlord and let them know that in addition to the longer notification period the length of time between rent reviews has been increased

+1

You really need to have a chat with your landlord before anything else.

A quick friendly phone call:


Hi Landlord, it's RobbingBandit. I'm not sure if you're aware or not but with the recent changes to the residential tenancies act, our rent isn't due for review for another XXX.

I have a phone number here for the PRTB if you want to check this out for yourself......

Arbiter of Good Taste

4ensic15 wrote: »

Challenge it in the PRTB.

Come on, there's no need to go nuclear. All the OP has to do is ring the landlord and politely explain that it was his understanding that the rent increase could not apply until blah, blah, blah. People can act like reasonable civilised adults without clogging up the PRTB.

Speedwell

No. He needs to follow up the phone call with a letter saying "on such and such a date I let you know that... and we agreed that..." and so forth, and KEEP A COPY. Paper trails are good things to have when there's a dispute. People dealing in good faith will be glad to have the confirmation for their records, and people not dealing in good faith will be on notice that you're not a pushover.

Graham

Speedwell wrote: »

No. He needs to follow up the phone call with a letter saying "on such and such a date I let you know that... and we agreed that..." and so forth, and KEEP A COPY. Paper trails are good things to have when there's a dispute. People dealing in good faith will be glad to have the confirmation for their records, and people not dealing in good faith will be on notice that you're not a pushover.

If the landlord accepts the OPs position, there will be no dispute.

The End.

Speedwell

Graham wrote: »

If the landlord accepts the OPs position, there will be no dispute.

The End.

Wouldn't that be lovely.

Graham

Speedwell wrote: »

Wouldn't that be lovely.

I'm sure it would for the OP, one less thing to worry about.

garhjw

OP, i think there are 2 things at play here:

1. it appears the landlord didn't give you correct notice of a rent increase. IT should be 90 days?

2. When was your last rent increase?

You need to discuss this with your landlord, not go straight to the PRTB. Send hi man email or a letter outlining your position.

RobbingBandit

RobbingBandit wrote: »

90 days minimum notice is required now and the review date is 2 years from the date the tenancy started, at least that is the info the lady on thresholds line told me yesterday.

The review date doesn't have to be two years from the date the tenancy started for tenancies started before the new rules came in. If your rent wasn't reviewed in the last year then it can be reviewed but 90 days notice must be given.

Graham

Boston Zealous Barnacle wrote: »

The review date doesn't have to be two years from the date the tenancy started for tenancies started before the new rules came in. If your rent wasn't reviewed in the last year then it can be reviewed but 90 days notice must be given.

That contradicts the PRTB interpretation:

A landlord can only increase the rent once in any 24 month period, and cannot increase within 24 months of the commencement of the tenancy except in limited circumstances such as a complete refurbishment of the property which affects the market rent of the dwelling.
Source: http://www.prtb.ie/dispute-resolution/disputes/the-three-stages-of-a-tenancy/rent-reviews

Black_Knight

Taken from saynoto1980.com

PRTB number (http://www.saynoto1890.com/2013/02/p/)
Alternatively try 016353651 (provided 19/01/2016)

The_Conductor

RobbingBandit wrote: »

Prtb are an 0818 premium number.

Threshold are a 1800 free phone number.

I am on meteor who do not include 0818 numbers as part of their €20 a month prepay deals.

Here is the number for their Dublin office 01 6350601 / 2

The 0818 phone number terminates in the Clonakilty call centre (SWS)- which is an outsourced contract providor.

RandomAccess

I had a similar problem a few weeks ago with Savills.

They wanted me to sign a new contract saying mine was due to expire and pay a rent increase starting in may. But none of that made any sense.

My lease had no end date stated on it so I am eligible for a part four tenancy which I informed them about.
Then the rent increase was also way too premature as based on my date of last review they cannot do so until November.

What appears to have happened is that they mislaid or never received the records of the last rent reviews from the previous mgmt company.
So they just chanced their arm..

Bloody chancers, very annoying.

4ensic15

RobbingBandit wrote: »

I don't have a landline number to call them from.

Get on their website and initiate the dispute. It will cost you €25.
You can't initiate a dispute with a phone call.

April 73

4ensic15 wrote: »

Get on their website and initiate the dispute. It will cost you €25.
You can't initiate a dispute with a phone call.

Why spend €25 that you don't need to? The OP needs to discuss the issue with the landlord first. They may not be aware of the new legislation or they may be chancing their arm. Either way it would be better to speak to them rather than ignore the notice the way the OP said he has doing been since he got it.

4ensic15

April 73 wrote: »

Why spend €25 that you don't need to? The OP needs to discuss the issue with the landlord first. They may not be aware of the new legislation or they may be chancing their arm. Either way it would be better to speak to them rather than ignore the notice the way the OP said he has doing been since he got it.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse. The o/p seems to be a fairly helpless sort of person who wouldn't be able to deal with the landlord and persuade the landlord against the rent increase.

Graham

4ensic15 wrote: »

Ignorance of the law is no excuse. The o/p seems to be a fairly helpless sort of person who wouldn't be able to deal with the landlord and persuade the landlord against the rent increase.

I've read nothing in this thread that suggests the OP isn't capable of picking up a phone, dialing a number and having a reasonable conversation.

Even if you were right about the OP's telephone abilities, completely unnecessary overreaction is hardly the most sensible alternative. Unless of course P'ing off the landlord is a secondary goal.

4ensic15

Graham wrote: »

I've read nothing in this thread that suggests the OP isn't capable of picking up a phone, dialing a number and having a reasonable conversation.

Even if you were right about the OP's telephone abilities, completely unnecessary overreaction is hardly the most sensible alternative. Unless of course P'ing off the landlord is a secondary goal.

The o/ps whinge about a landline number is a sign of helplessness He does not appear to understand the law. He will not be much wiser after reading this thread. Ringing the landlord making an incoherent point about the RTA is going to P off the landlord as much as a letter from the PRTB. Only difference is that the landlord will be more likely to negotiate reasonably after getting a letter from the PRTB.

Graham

4ensic15 wrote: »

The o/ps whinge about a landline number is a sign of helplessness He does not appear to understand the law. He will not be much wiser after reading this thread. Ringing the landlord making an incoherent point about the RTA is going to P off the landlord as much as a letter from the PRTB. Only difference is that the landlord will be more likely to negotiate reasonably after getting a letter from the PRTB.

So many assumptions in that post I'm not even going to try and address them.

Suffice to say going the legal route is rarely a wise first move.

RandomAccess

Indeed, arm yourself with the facts first then contact the landlord directly by phone or preferably email.

Only if this does not work out should you consider escalating matters to a third party.
However if you need assistance you can mail threshold for advice before you contact the landlord. This is not the same as escalating it to someone such as the PRTB, who appear mainly to deal with disputes rather than advice.


The document you need is here,
http://www.prtb.ie/media-research/news-centre/latest-news/2015/12/04/new-amendments-to-the-legislation-on-rent-increases-and-notices-of-termination-effective-from-4th-december-2015


Here were the relevant parts for my situation,

“The duration between rent reviews has been extended from 12 months to 24 months.”

“This measure has been introduced upon commencement of the new legislation on the 4th December 2015”

“The amendments also have a form of retrospective effect. Therefore, if a rent review occurred during 2015, the next review may not occur until 2017.”

“The period of notice of a new rent has been extended from 28 days to 90 days.”

“If a landlord is seeking to review the rent, they must serve notice on the tenant, in writing, providing 90 days notice before the increase is due to take effect.”

“A landlord reviews the rent of a dwelling on 1 January 2016 by serving a 90 day notice of rent review indicating that the change will take effect from the 1 April 2016.”

You can go into the phone call gently by saying that there has been a misunderstanding and explain as above.

If and only if this goes downhill and you are sure you are correct should you push the button and escalate.

RobbingBandit

Thanks for the info here guys for the record I am not helpless I wanted to seek advice on the Accommodation & Property thread. I am not out to **** stir for my landlord, I just want to make sure I am getting a fair deal and not being taking advantage of.

Again thanks for the info the PRTB landline numbers are very difficult to find online. Might be a good idea to post them in a sticky.

4ensic15

RobbingBandit wrote: »

Thanks for the info here guys for the record I am not helpless I wanted to seek advice on the Accommodation & Property thread. I am not out to **** stir for my landlord, I just want to make sure I am getting a fair deal and not being taking advantage of.

Again thanks for the info the PRTB landline numbers are very difficult to find online. Might be a good idea to post them in a sticky.

The PRTB do not give advice. it is not the role of the PRTB to do so. A dispute cannot be initiated by phone.

stateofflux

Boston Zealous Barnacle wrote: »

The review date doesn't have to be two years from the date the tenancy started for tenancies started before the new rules came in. If your rent wasn't reviewed in the last year then it can be reviewed but 90 days notice must be given.

From the revised act:

(2) In the case of a tenancy which commenced before the coming into operation of
subsection (1), for the purposes of the amendments effected by that subsection,
where—
(a) a period of 12 months, beginning on the commencement of the tenancy, has not
elapsed before the day on which subsection (1) comes into operation, a review of
rent under that tenancy may not occur until a period of 24 months, beginning on
the commencement of the tenancy, has elapsed,