Unresponsive landlord and management company

eth0_

Myself and 2 friends moved into a lovely house nearly 2 months ago.
The house is great apart from some small issues....problem with the water heater, one bedroom door doesn't close and the shower in the ensuite had to be replaced, and the toilet in the ensuite wouldn't flush.

After much to-ing and fro-ing the landlord shows up with ZERO notice one monday morning, about 5 mins after I got back from travelling overnight back from Scotland. He had a handyman with him to do the work and wouldn't agree to come back another day when I pointed out that I had been up for 24 hours and wanted to shower and go to bed (the en suite is attached to my room), and that he had entered our house without permission and without giving notice in advance. I was pretty p*ssed off about this as they were there til 6pm but they got the work done, albeit in a less than pleasing manner - the handyman had to replace some tiles when he replaced the shower and despite the original ones being bog standard white ones, he used some horrible brown tiles he had in his van :rolleyes:

He was supposed to come back in a few days to grout the tiles and fix the bedroom door, but we haven't heard a thing from them, the toilet cistern he "fixed" now leaks when it is flushed so it is unusable again and on top of that...

Our bins have stopped being collected because they haven't been paid for in SIX YEARS.

I've tried to contact the management company who tell me that the lady who deals with us is 'out of the office' every time I call, and she has ignored most of my mails except to tell me the landlord was on holiday (this was a few weeks ago).

Is there any legal protection for tenants in this situation? Aside from the other problems, It's absolutely disgusting and unsanitary that we can't dispose of rubbish, none of us have a car so we can't bring our rubbish to the dump - not that i'd even consider that as a viable option.

Afuera

eth0_ wrote:

Is there any legal protection for tenants in this situation?

Yes. The landlord is not keeping their obligations here. You can go to the PRTB with this and they will "force" the landlord to comply, although it can be a long drawn out process. Often just mentioning to the landlord or management company that you will have to take it to the PTRB unless something is done by such and such a date is enough to get things resolved.

eth0_

And in the meantime what do we do?
I was thinking of saying we will start hiring a van (I doubt a taxi would allow you to put bags of household rubbish in the boot) to bring our rubbish to the dump, and will be charging for our time as the dump in our area only opens mon-fri and I would have to take time off work. And we would be taking this cost out of the rent until the issue is resolved.

I was thinking they might change their tune quickly when they are going to lose some money..

Afuera

eth0_ wrote:

And in the meantime what do we do?
I was thinking of saying we will start hiring a van (I doubt a taxi would allow you to put bags of household rubbish in the boot) to bring our rubbish to the dump, and will be charging for our time as the dump in our area only opens mon-fri and I would have to take time off work. And we would be taking this cost out of the rent until the issue is resolved.

I was thinking they might change their tune quickly when they are going to lose some money..

You could make this proposal to the landlord/agency but if they don't agree with it then you would be withholding rent from them if you took the cost out of the rent. That would not work in your favour if you actually need to take it to the PRTB to get it sorted later.

It might be worth your while to contact Threshold and explain the issues to them. On their website they advice this, although I'm not too sure how it would play out if unpaid bills are the source of the problem.

If there are serious problems, which pose health or safety risks, such as vermin, problems with water, sewage or electrical or structural problems, contact your local council or corporation.

http://www.threshold.ie/page.asp?menu=70&page=240

EDIT: I just noticed another section in the same page that says this:

Local authority service charges for water, bin collection etc. may be payable by the tenant as the "occupier" of the premises rather than the landlord. Check with the local council. Make sure you are not billed for arrears for previous tenants or for charges due from other people living in the house. It is possible for the local authority to waive charges in cases of hardship.

Does your lease mention any details of who is liable to pay for bin collections? You might have to notify the local authority that you have a new lease in place (i.e. are new occupiers to the property) so they will chase the landlord up for the outstanding balance instead of you. It's possible you will have to pay for bin collections from then on.

eth0_

Afuera wrote:

Does your lease mention any details of who is liable to pay for bin collections? You might have to notify the local authority that you have a new lease in place (i.e. are new occupiers to the property) so they will chase the landlord up for the outstanding balance instead of you. It's possible you will have to pay for bin collections from then on.

Yeah we have no problems paying for our own bin charges, we didn't expect to get it for free, but dublin city council said to me that they cannot wipe the slate clean even if I show them a lease, because the charges are outstanding for six years they will not resume the bin collection until the balance is paid.

And I sure as hell am not paying for someone else's bin collections for the past 6 years :-)

Afuera

eth0_ wrote:

Yeah we have no problems paying for our own bin charges, we didn't expect to get it for free, but dublin city council said to me that they cannot wipe the slate clean even if I show them a lease, because the charges are outstanding for six years they will not resume the bin collection until the balance is paid.

I wonder what would happen if you rang them back saying there were loads of rats turning up due to them denying you service? Basically, it sounds like they want you to fight their battle for them with the landlord to get the arrears sorted out. The landlord would definately be forced to resolve this if you went the PRTB route, though as I mentioned it could take awhile.

Threshold would probably know what the speediest way of solving it would be, but not being able to contact either the person responsible in the management agency or the landlord is not going to make things easy I'm sure. Is there any chance you can call into the management agency in person and demand a quick solution to the problem? It's a lot harder for them to fob you off if you stand around in their office asking to speak to the manager if nobody is willing to listen to you.

eth0_ wrote:

And I sure as hell am not paying for someone else's bin collections for the past 6 years :-)

Definately not.

starky

eth0_ wrote:

Yeah we have no problems paying for our own bin charges, we didn't expect to get it for free, but dublin city council said to me that they cannot wipe the slate clean even if I show them a lease, because the charges are outstanding for six years they will not resume the bin collection until the balance is paid.

And I sure as hell am not paying for someone else's bin collections for the past 6 years :-)

As you are in the Dublin city council area, you should be able to buy bin tags, it’s a sort of pay-as-you-go bin collection. We had it in our last house. Rather then paying the massive bin charges for the weekly collection we just stuck tags on the bins and left them out, and they were collected alongside the other black bins. This may help you in the short term to get rid of your rubbish. You can get them in most shops. Dublin city council may have a list of shops that sell them I can tell you the shop that I got mine in if you are really stuck!

How Strange

eth0, I would suggest writing to your landlord to tell him that a) the repairs remain outstanding and need to be finished immediately and b) there are outstanding bin charges dating back six years so you cannot get the bins collected.

He owns the property and it is his responsibility to resolve both issues. State in the letter that he is in breach of the lease by not doing so. I would also go to the expense of renting a van on a saturday and loading it up with your waste and bring it to one of the bring centres (check Dublin CC website as alot are open on Saturdays) and tell your landlord in the letter than these expenses will be deducted from the rent and receipts will be provided.

I would then go to Threshold and tell them the situation. I have absolutely no confidence in the PRTB. I used to deal with them on a professional basis and the idea behind the organisation is great but they are so underfunded that you mightn't hear back from them for months. Also, they have yet to be given enough powers to truly tackle these situations unless that has changed in the last six months.

Also, would you consider moving? I know its a hassle but sometimes its just the best thing to do if your landlord is such an assh*le. Remember if you tackle him on this issue he will probably get very sh*tty with you so your relationship will be tense.

sharpsuit

OP mentioned a management company. Is the place an apartment or a house? Management companies are usually associated with apartments.

There is no way OP should be held liable for the outstanding bin charges, where those bin charges have been built up by the owner or previous tenants. I put my complaint in writing, saying that I want to avail of the waste collection service and pay the charges and cannot do so for no fault of my own. Send the letter also to the local Councillors and raise hell.

What Dublin City Council is doing is illegal and way beyond their power to stop collecting waste.

How Strange

eth0_ re your comment on the management company. They don't have to take calls from tenants if the landlord pays the service charge. This may seem unfair but they might have a policy of only dealing with the person who owns that property.

Does your landlord pay the charges direct to the local authority or through the management company?

Re the local authority (DCC or whoever) ring the litter warden or a health official and see if you can get them to come out to the house and make an assessment. Tell them you have rats. Your landlord could be liable for a fine for not sorting the bin charges on the grounds of safety to public health.

I don't think the local authority are doing something wrong because they won't lift your bin unless the charges are paid up to date. It would be rare that anyone would let the situation go on for 6yrs.

sharpsuit

A management company must respond to a complaint from a tenant - this is in the Residential Tenancies Act and one of the few legal obligations imposed on management companies.

However, when OP mentions management company, I think he or she means letting agent.

Generally it is tenants who are responsible for their own bin charges. This does not mean that tenants are responsible for the charges of previous tenants or the owners - only their own.

Dublin City Council (as it is this local authority who is pursuing this policy) is acting beyond their powers in refusing to collect waste from new tenants where they are not responsible for the arrears.

eth0_

The management company is a letting agent, yes, and they are the go-between between us and the landlord. We don't have any contact details for the landlord, as we have not received our lease.

I've still had no reply from the letting agent, am going to ring tomorrow and threaten to make a PRTB complaint against them.

Are you sure the city council HAVE to collect our waste? Surely their contract is with the owner of the house and tenants don't enter into the equation?

How Strange

eth0_ if I were you I'd go to Threshold rather than the PRTB. Unless things have changed in the last six months, the PRTB are hugely underfunded and under resourced. They won't be able to address your problem with the urgency that it requires. I often sent emails and left voicemails for them and got replies a couple of months later. Threshold, on the other hand, will be able to act straight away and will give you all the advice you need.

The mention of Threshold will put the fear of god into any letting agent or landlord because they are there to protect the tenant and lets face it there are not too many associations looking after tenants in the Irish rental market.

eth0_

Here's the latest - I was doing some work at home yesterday, and just as I was sitting down to lunch, the key turns in the front door and the landlord walks in!

I immediately asked him why he was here, and why he had not notified us he was coming over, he said he "thinks" he informed the letting agent. I told him she has been ignoring our attempts to contact her for weeks. I don't think he was too bothered.

I told him about the bins and he said he had been informed about it, so obviously the letting agent is speaking to him but not us!

He said he did NOT owe the 500 euro, because his son lived here for years as a student, and "students get a waiver". He said his son was sending him documents to prove he was a student while he lived here. Although I think that is cr*p also, as we've received a few letters for lots of previous tenants and none had his surname on them!

I rang the council while the landlord went out to get weed killer for the back garden - sure enough, no waiver for students at all.

Landlord never returned.

The bin is literally crawling with flies. Even if he did have a right to a waiver of the bin charges, it will take at least 2 weeks before that would be sorted out and our bin collected.

Are Dublin city council under any obligation to pick up our bin?

How Strange

eth0_ the landlord is an out and out chancer. The letting agent is messing you around. You are going to get zero satisfaction from either.

You're choices are to use some of next month's rent to pay the outstanding bin charges and tell the letting agent beforehand in writing OR go to Threshold.

Otherwise, nothing will be done.

DonJose

Check online and see if the landlord is registered with the PRTB, sounds like he is a chancer and probably isn't paying tax, if thats the case get onto the revenue.

Kipperhell

DonJose wrote:

Check online and see if the landlord is registered with the PRTB, sounds like he is a chancer and probably isn't paying tax, if thats the case get onto the revenue.

Expect this response to any issues with a landlord and of course the with hold rent idea that was mentioned earlier.
Note you have no right to with hold rent for anything! Although it may be effective it opens the door to equal abuse from the landlord.
You are simply in a bad service situation similar to if your cable TV company messes up. You really can't get very far without a load of hassle try all things reasonable and also make it clear what you are unhappy about in writing. Then try the PRTB

ntlbell

eth0_ wrote:

Are Dublin city council under any obligation to pick up our bin?

no

eth0_

ntlbell wrote:

no

You must have pulled that fact from mid-air because you're wrong. I spoke to a manager in the council and he said I had been mis-informed. If I fax our lease to DCC, they will start a new account in my name and the bin will be collected.

ntlbell

eth0_ wrote:

You must have pulled that fact from mid-air because you're wrong. I spoke to a manager in the council and he said I had been mis-informed. If I fax our lease to DCC, they will start a new account in my name and the bin will be collected.

Well you didn't say if you start a new account will they collect it.

As it stood they were not obliged to collect as it was in arrears why have charges if they're obliged to collect if it's payed or not bit pointless no?

the question you asked was answered correctly.

But I'm glad you were capable of picking up the phone and asking the correct person the question congrat's I'm a big girl now badge for you!

eth0_

ntlbell wrote:

Well you didn't say if you start a new account will they collect

It was pretty obvious that was what I was attempting to do with the council, if you'd read the thread before jumping in:

"but dublin city council said to me that they cannot wipe the slate clean even if I show them a lease, because the charges are outstanding for six years they will not resume the bin collection until the balance is paid."

[/QUOTE]But I'm glad you were capable of picking up the phone and asking the correct person the question congrat's I'm a big girl now badge for you![/QUOTE]

See above, I already called them and was mis-informed...:rolleyes: