Monthly V Weekly

Frank Spencer

This one is probably pretty obvious but I would like clarification due to an issue I am having with my landlord.

When you see properties advertised as €1200 per month does this mean 12 monthly payments a year of €1200 or does it mean 52 payments of €100? If you get my drift.

Also the same question in relation to mortgages. If a person has a mortgage of €1200, it means they pay €1200 a month i.e €14,400 per annum?

Finally does a 10% increase rent seem reasonable and is a 10% increase in a mortgage realistic under current conditions?

Paulw

If it's quoted per month, then it's 12 payments.

Otherwise, it would be quoted as "per week".

Mortgages are almost always monthly payments.

Shadowless

A 10% increase in the mortgage is very realistic given what's happened to interest rates over the past 6 months.

A 10% increase in rent however is very unreasonable. Rent's in general have been falling due to huge oversupply recently. Unless your rent is very cheap compared to other properties in the area I'd be telling the LL to sod off with his rent increase.

You have to be prepared to move out if he digs his heels in though.

Frank Spencer

Shadowless wrote: »

A 10% increase in the mortgage is very realistic given what's happened to interest rates over the past 6 months.

A 10% increase in rent however is very unreasonable. Rent's in general have been falling due to huge oversupply recently. Unless your rent is very cheap compared to other properties in the area I'd be telling the LL to sod off with his rent increase.

You have to be prepared to move out if he digs his heels in though.

I was thinking that rents had fallen alright but wasn't too sure. Have you got any evidence to back this up??

Basically the landlord is trying to pass his mortgage increase on to us while our rent is already in line with the average for the same type of accomodation in the area.

bangersandmash

Buck_Naked wrote: »

I was thinking that rents had fallen alright but wasn't too sure. Have you got any evidence to back this up??

Have a look at the rental reports here

http://irishpropertywatch.com/

From the 23rd to the 30th of July 2008 there were 1,006 rent reductions. The average reduction was €100 per month.
There were 121 rent increases over the same period, the average increase was €110.

A 10% increase sounds very unreasonable in the current climate, but obviously it depends on what the going rates are for similar properties in your area. Do some research on Daft and then talk to your landlord.

DonJose

Buck_Naked wrote: »

Finally does a 10% increase rent seem reasonable and is a 10% increase in a mortgage realistic under current conditions?

I own properties abroad and I increase the rent inline with annual inflation at the start of each year. I think this is a fair to increase the rent by 4% a year, if mortgage costs rise 10% then the landlord should absorb the excess. I'm sure the landlord would not reduce the rent if mortgage costs decrease.

Like others stated if you are paying monthly rent then you should pay rent 12 times a year.

It sounds like the landlord is trying pull a fast one on you by asking for weekly rent, he'll say there are 4 weeks in a month then ask for €300/week,

52 weeks X €300 = €15,600
12 months X €1,200 = €14,400

The_Conductor

With all due respect to Don Jose- the prevailing rate of inflation has very little to do with % increases (or indeed decreases) in what people are being charged for rent. Under normal circumstances it would be considered opportunistic of a landlord to try to get their tenants to meet either their increased mortgage payments, or the rate of inflation with an annual rental increase. This is addressed in the 2004 Residential Tenancies Act- where it lays out that a review of the rent may be requested by either the tenant or the landlord on an annual basis (only once a year) and must reflect prevailing rental requests (which is defined as what someone else would be willing to pay for that particular property- or similar properties in the area). At present monthly rent is trending downwards- in the opposite direction to mortgage repayments. Tough luck for the landlord- but tenants shouldn't be expected to meet the deficit either (unless its the prevailing market conditions- which it most certainly is not).

bangersandmash

DonJose wrote: »

I own properties abroad and I increase the rent inline with annual inflation at the start of each year. I think this is a fair to increase the rent by 4% a year, if mortgage costs rise 10% then the landlord should absorb the excess. I'm sure the landlord would not reduce the rent if mortgage costs decrease.

In addition to Smccarrick's points, automatically increasing rent each year regardless of the state of the market seems like an unusual strategy. Landlords in Ireland are increasingly finding that they have to be more competitive in terms of rent levels, due to the number of empty properties - particularly as some developers have flooded the market with new rental properties, rather than sell them below their original expectation. It is also worth remembering that rents increased significantly in 2007, above the rate of inflation. Now we are seeing a reversal of those increases.

Frank Spencer

This is great stuff guys. I have more than enoough ammo I reckon. If I outline the points below to the Landlord does anybody think he can justify an increase?

1.The average price of a similar property in the the area only yesterday is €1225. We are currently paying €1300 and he now wants to increase it to €1430. Therefore this is about 16-17% above average market rates.

2. The landlord is not registered therefore we cannot claim back tax relief on rent paid. This makes what we pay in relation to other legit situations even higher.

3. He maintains that this increase is due to an increase in his mortgage which he says is €1200 a month. We have been paying €1300 a month. Which means we have been paying his mortgage along with some excess for the last year.

4. According to this website http://irishpropertywatch.com/ rental fees in the area are dropping.

So given those points can he make any arguement to raise the rent?

TBH I reckon we should get a reduction!!

Ste.phen

Buck_Naked wrote: »

2. The landlord is not registered therefore we cannot claim back tax relief on rent paid. This makes what we pay in relation to other legit situations even higher.

You can claim tax back regardless of whether or not they're registered, and I strongly recommend that you do, it can be backdated a few years too.

Buck_Naked wrote: »

3. He maintains that this increase is due to an increase in his mortgage which he says is €1200 a month. We have been paying €1300 a month. Which means we have been paying his mortgage along with some excess for the last year.

Not your problem, as others have stated

Buck_Naked wrote: »

So given those points can he make any arguement to raise the rent?
TBH I reckon we should get a reduction!!

Good luck with that

The best fun (if you like confrontations) will be if he tries to illegally evict you out after you refuse the increase, there'd be some mighty kick to his bank account if he did that and you brought it to the PRTB.
Not sure how you go about referring the rent increase to the PRTB though, i'm not sure it's come up here that often

Frank Spencer

Igy wrote: »

You can claim tax back regardless of whether or not they're registered, and I strongly recommend that you do, it can be backdated a few years too.

Will this get the landlord into trouble with the tax man if I do?

The_Conductor

Buck_Naked wrote: »

Will this get the landlord into trouble with the tax man if I do?

Possibly- but he will get caught out regardless, its only a matter of time. Revenue have a new unit looking at those involved in the Buy-to-let market- irrespective of what you or anyone else does, he will get a call from Revenue eventually.......

Frank Spencer

Thanks to everyone for their help so far and if anybody has anything else to add please do.

Del2005

If you've being paying 12 months rent for the property the LL is ripping you off. AFAIK the (unwritten)rule with not declaring to revenue is to let off 1 months rent to match the amount you'd get back as rent relief.

So I'd use that as point 5. And then go and claim rent relief anyway as the LL sounds like a bit of a bollox.

Why not move to one of the places for €1225? Unless you're very attached to your current place.