RAS scheme, longer "Lease Agreement"

Mrs McSweeney

Anybody any experience of this?

It seems slightly different to the standard RAS scheme (which is shorter & leaves the landlords with more responsibilities).

We're considering this at the moment for our 3-bed house in Tallaght, Dublin.

I don't want to be left high & dry if anything goes wrong, so I'm trying to find out as much as possible first!

fussyonion

As far as I know, you can enter into a 10-year lease with the council (still RAS) and you will get the full asking price for your rent.

But you are handing over all responsibility of your property to the council; the council basically acts as the Landlord for your property and if the tenant decides to move, the COUNCIL will source your next tenant.

If you sign a 5-year lease, then YOU are responsible for all repairs/maintenance etc and you will get less money.

Say you wanted €900 for the rent; the council would probably pay you €780 or thereabouts but the appeal is meant to be that you're getting a tenant for 5 years.
When the 5 years is up, you can sign another lease or you can opt out.

hawkelady

fussyonion wrote: »

As far as I know, you can enter into a 10-year lease with the council (still RAS) and you will get the full asking price for your rent.

But you are handing over all responsibility of your property to the council; the council basically acts as the Landlord for your property and if the tenant decides to move, the COUNCIL will source your next tenant.

If you sign a 5-year lease, then YOU are responsible for all repairs/maintenance etc and you will get less money.

Say you wanted €900 for the rent; the council would probably pay you €780 or thereabouts but the appeal is meant to be that you're getting a tenant for 5 years.
When the 5 years is up, you can sign another lease or you can opt out.

Even if you have a 10 yr contract you ,ie the landlord are still responsible for repairs / maintainance ..
IMO go for the 10 yr as you are guaranteed rent for the next ten years!! It's a no brainer. Pm me if you want more info on it.

fussyonion

hawkelady wrote: »

Even if you have a 10 yr contract you ,ie the landlord are still responsible for repairs / maintainance ..
IMO go for the 10 yr as you are guaranteed rent for the next ten years!! It's a no brainer. Pm me if you want more info on it.

Obviously you know something I don't but that's what I was told when I was about to enter into a RAS lease with a Landlord.

D3PO

hawkelady wrote: »

Even if you have a 10 yr contract you ,ie the landlord are still responsible for repairs / maintainance ..
IMO go for the 10 yr as you are guaranteed rent for the next ten years!! It's a no brainer. Pm me if you want more info on it.

is the rent index linked to inflation can it be increased ? Not really a no brainer if you get the same rent in year 10 as you do in year 1

rockygsd123

If you go for a 10 year lease, the landlord doesn't have the right to 'change his mind' and come back to his home right?

rockygsd123

I mean before the time is up

fussyonion

Well essentially the Landlord would be breaking the contract then.

rockygsd123

But is it possible for him legally to do it?
thanks

the world wonders

rockygsd123 wrote: »

But is it possible for him legally to do it?
thanks

How long is a piece of string? It depends on what the contract says.

But in general, if the contract does not specifically include a break clause, the landlord does not have the right to "change their mind". It could also affect the landlord's ability to sell the property during the 10 year lease, so I would consult a solicitor if in any doubt at all.

hawkelady

Sorry , just getting back to you all now.
The rent is reviewed every 2 or 4 years so it will go up or down depending on current market rates.
I suppose you can break the contract at any time ie if you want to sell etc. the council won't be happy but there is nothing in law or the contracts to say you have to be bound to the agreement for the given period or you will be taken to court etc for breaking it and fined ..

Ie , in the contract there is a section saying that either party , council or ll , can break the agreement given both parties are given 2 months ( not quite sure the exact time frame ) so to me it is a no brainer.

Mrs McSweeney

I decided to sell rather than rent, but just to update you on the info that I was told (by South Dublin County Council) the 10 year lease cannot be broken but you can sell...however only if the new buyer will continue with the lease until the 10 years has expired.

My reason for selling rather than renting was that all the fees associated with owning & renting the house (PRTB fees, household charge, property tax, landlord's insurance, life insurance on the mortgage) and annual maintenance costs, plus the shortfall on the monthly mortgage payments that I would still have to pay (the rent would cover less than 2/3rds of the monthly mortgage) meant that it would still be costing me the guts of €600 per month, on a negative-equity property who's value may fall even further. Time to cut my losses!