Problems with Landlord

Metacortex

I was going to call Threshold about this but as they're closed today i decided to come here. I just have one questions.

Myself and my 2 housemates have been renting at our house since last Febuary when we signed the lease.
Now at the time when we signed the lease, it was my first time renting, and both my housemates first time renting in Ireland.
On the lease agreement the landlords stated they would be raising the rent in March this year and again in July.

After some other problems with the renting ageny in the last few months, my housemate took the lease agreement to a lawyer to review and he made us aware the second rent increase might not be legal but didn't give us much more info.

My question is, is it illegal to raise the rent twice in the space of 4 months even though we signed the lease in Febuary agreeing to it.

I tried Threshold's website but the only thing i found was that they could raise the rent twice if work was done on the house, which isn't the case here.

A Random Walk

In contract law there is essentially a difference between contracts signed by a consumer (you) and a contract signed between businesses. Businesses can contract out of certain rights, but consumers will retain those rights irrespective of the contract (it's there to protect consumers against unfair contract clauses).

The most recent legislation on rents says that rents can only be increased every 12 months. Not sure of the exact clause, there may be exceptions.

I'm not a lawyer, so you should get in touch with the PRTB Monday who can set you straight.

BostonB

Rent increases rules look simple enough. http://www.threshold.ie/menu.asp?menu=83 The legality of the contract is a legal matter that you'd need to get professional advice on. How you enforce either I have no idea. I would doubt the landlord is registered with Threshold, or they would know about the 12 month rental.

What outcome are you looking for. I assume to continue to rent but not pay the increases, as otherwise you'd just leave. Obviously you were happy at the start, knowing there were rental increases due. I'm wondering what has changed that you no longer want to pay the increases, but not leave. I assume the landlord could put all the increases into one increase, rather than spliting it over two. In fact it seems odd to split the increases, why did they do that? Why not just charge the full whack at the start of the tenancy.

TCollins

i've never had my rent increased more than once a year, if even that.
Twicw in one year in unfair
I would mention this to the landlord. Make sure you are claiming tax relief too, whether he wants you to or not. It will offset a bit of the increase.

Metacortex

BostonB wrote:

Rent increases rules look simple enough. http://www.threshold.ie/menu.asp?menu=83 The legality of the contract is a legal matter that you'd need to get professional advice on. How you enforce either I have no idea. I would doubt the landlord is registered with Threshold, or they would know about the 12 month rental.

What outcome are you looking for. I assume to continue to rent but not pay the increases, as otherwise you'd just leave. Obviously you were happy at the start, knowing there were rental increases due. I'm wondering what has changed that you no longer want to pay the increases, but not leave. I assume the landlord could put all the increases into one increase, rather than spliting it over two. In fact it seems odd to split the increases, why did they do that? Why not just charge the full whack at the start of the tenancy.

Well, we were happy to pay the first increase in March, which we have been doing since but then putting it up again starting this month seemed a little dodgy.

We've been having alot of other problems with the landlord which i won't go into here, which is what prompted us to seek advise on the lease we signed. I've recently lost my job as well so im reluctant to pay extra money if it might not be a legal practice.
As for your other question, i have no idea why they split it in two, it doesn't make much sense to me either

The_Conductor

To be honest, it sounds like the landlord is trying to claw a rent increase to reflect his/her increased outgoings. Note- there were two interest rate increases corresponding to the timescale in which there were two requests for a rent increase........

Query it with Threshold- I think you will find that they are on your side here.

odds_on

A rent review may not occur more than once in any twelve months nor can it be reviewed during the first twelve months of the commencement of a tenancy unless there has been a substantial improvement in the property.

This is written into the RTA2004 (Part 3, section 20) and states that even if an increase is included in a clause in any tenancy agreement, that clause is invalid.

IMHO, the first increase was illegal as would be the second envisaged increase.

20.—(1) Subject to subsection (3), a review of the rent under the tenancy of a dwelling may not occur—
(a) more frequently than once in each period of 12 months, nor
(b) in the period of 12 months beginning on the commencement of the tenancy.
(2) Subsection (1) has effect notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the lease or tenancy agreement concerned.

You should confirm this with the PRTB as you may have a claim against the landlord and have the rent reduced and maybe claim damages for stress, inconvenience etc.

christmas2012

My question is, is it illegal to raise the rent twice in the space of 4 months even though we signed the lease in Febuary agreeing to it.

I tried Threshold's website but the only thing i found was that they could raise the rent twice if work was done on the house, which isn't the case here.

I would say if there is no work done take some pictures of the house and show them to a no win no fee fee solicitor,get back on to threshold again and ask them what steps you can take legally to sort this out..


Landlord sounds moneygrabbing,uncaring and unprofessional,in the mean time i would look up the newspapers and renting websites and take a look around the town or get talking to people who might know the best place to go looking for renting..Better to get out of that situation,if you are first met with unreasonable financial demands,its only going to get worse..

djmcr

Original post was 5 years ago