Residential Landlord and Tenant law is a heavily regulated area of Irish law. The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015 introduced some new rules which all tenants and landlords should be aware of.
From December 4th 2015 the duration between rent reviews was increased from 12 months to 24 months. This applies to existing tenancies and to leases entered into since that date. A landlord who wishes to serve notice of a rent review must give 90 days. This is a temporary measure, on 3rd December 2019 the duration between rent reviews will revert back to 12 months.
There are limited circumstances where a landlord may terminate a tenancy. They may do so where he wishes to sell the property, where he wishes to move in or to allow a family member move in. However, if one of these reasons applies, under the new rules he must now supply a Statutory Declaration giving full details. He must swear this Declaration in front of a Solicitor.
Rent arrears will now be dealt with in District Courts, not Circuit Courts, making it cheaper for landlords to bring cases about rent.
The Residential Tenancies Board now offers a free of charge mediation service. This is conducted over the telephone whereby a trained mediator will contact both landlord and tenants involved in a dispute and attempt to bring about a speedy resolution.
There are still further rules under the new Act which are still to be enacted, for example a scheme whereby tenant’s deposits will be lodged with the RTB as opposed to being paid to the landlord.
For any landlords or tenants who require further information, the RTB website (www.prtb.ie) is a very useful information source. Alternatively, you can contact a Solicitor in our Property Group.
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