Notice today of over 20% increase in rent?!

D12resident

Hi everybody,

On coming come from work today I noticed envelopes sticking out from a number of the post boxes for the apartments in my block, including mine. It was notice of a rent increase of over 20%! This is after rent had already been increased the previous year by 4%. Has anyone else been hit with an increase like this? The apartments are nice but such a sudden increase to me is crazy.

I've been a tenant here for 3 years with no complaints

These apartments interestingly enough were recently sold by NAMA to foreign investors. I'm seriously considering writing to my TD, as this is a smack in the face as I feel as if they sold us out.

Any feedback you have is appreciated guys!

Penny Tration

They are allowed increase the rent once in each 12 month period, once it is in line with market rent. If it's in line with market rent, and it's been 12 months since the last increase, you can accept, move out or lodge a dispute with the prtb.

If you lodge a dispute, you continue to live there at the current rate until the dispute is sorted. If the landlord wins, you have to back-pay the increase.

Arbiter of Good Taste

D12resident wrote: »

Hi everybody,

On coming come from work today I noticed envelopes sticking out from a number of the post boxes for the apartments in my block, including mine. It was notice of a rent increase of over 20%! This is after rent had already been increased the previous year by 4%. Has anyone else been hit with an increase like this? The apartments are nice but such a sudden increase to me is crazy.

I've been a tenant here for 3 years with no complaints

These apartments interestingly enough were recently sold by NAMA to foreign investors. I'm seriously considering writing to my TD, as this is a smack in the face as I feel as if they sold us out.

Any feedback you have is appreciated guys!

Similar happened to a friend of mine. Block sold to developers who gave notice of massive increase. The tenants took a case en masse to PRTB. managed to reach a compromise

D12resident

Correct. But determining that market rent has increased by 23% is what's mad. If you go to the PRTB index as they advise to find the market rent, it comes out less than what we're paying.

And if you go to daft, the rents for other apartments around have not increased anywhere near that amount.

D12resident

Arbiter of Good Taste wrote: »

Similar happened to a friend of mine. Block sold to developers who gave notice of massive increase. The tenants took a case en masse to PRTB. managed to reach a compromise

Since a lot of the residents here were hit with the same rise that is very likely soething that could happen here! Thanks for the response.

Icepick

Tell em how much you are willing to pay and lodge a complaint with prtb if they don't accept.
You can also talk to neighbours.

worded

It's a shame there is no rent control in ireland.

It's particularly difficult for families with kids

Good luck with the rent review

D12resident

worded wrote: »

It's a shame there is no rent control in ireland.

It's particularly difficult for families with kids

Good luck with the rent review

Thanks. That's exactly what I was thinking. It's easy for us in this apartment, we're all young and no particular ties. But most of the residents here are families.

murphaph

I broadly favour rent control for sitting tenants BUT if it's introduced in Ireland it will be a blunt force instrument that takes no account of the fit and finish or even size differences of properties, so there will be absolutely no incentive for a LL to do ANYTHING beyond the bare legal minimum and properties will soon begin reflecting that in any areas with more demand than supply.

Before you consider rent controls you need to be able to accurately compare units. Most people in Ireland son#t even know how many square metres they own/rent!

hfallada

worded wrote: »

It's a shame there is no rent control in ireland.

It's particularly difficult for families with kids

Good luck with the rent review

If there was rent control in Ireland, supply be far smaller. Not a single economist believes rent control is beneficial in the long term. It only further reduces supply, as its not as profitable to be a LL. LLs also have no incentive to make repairs/renovations as it will not result in higher rents. The higher rents will result in more building(as its happening in Dublin at the moment). In the long run rents may fall, as supply increases

OP we live in a capitalist country. If you think you can find cheaper elsewhere, move out.

Rents have gone up a lot in the last six months in Dublin. Its all to do with supply and demand. Landlord have to be careful not to get ahead of the market. If tenants leave because of the rent increase, a single months vacancy plus the additional clean up needed when putting up for rent, would easily outweigh the additional rent demanded.

hfallada

Deleted User wrote: »

Rents have gone up a lot in the last six months in Dublin. Its all to do with supply and demand. Landlord have to be careful not to get ahead of the market. If tenants leave because of the rent increase, a single months vacancy plus the additional clean up needed when putting up for rent, would easily outweigh the additional rent demanded.

But no LL has a place empty for a month. If you plan it right, you can have a new tenant move in same day as the previous one moved out. Its a LLs market. Even if a LL got a 10% increase in rent, its still more than even if the place was vacant for a month. Although it wont be

worded

Ain't nothing going on but the rent ....

Spent many years scraping by

What's difficult to stomach is a massive rent home year on year.

This is partly to do with lack of evictions for non paying mortgage holders which in turn leads to lack of supply

Don't pay your rent - your out on your ear in a few weeks

Don't pay your mortgage - you have approx 4 years if you play it right

Either way a sad situation to be in

Dum_Dum

Have you considered a rent strike? En masse this can be a very effective way of focusing the minds of rentiers into a compromise.

p___

D12resident wrote: »

Hi everybody,

On coming come from work today I noticed envelopes sticking out from a number of the post boxes for the apartments in my block, including mine. It was notice of a rent increase of over 20%! This is after rent had already been increased the previous year by 4%. Has anyone else been hit with an increase like this? The apartments are nice but such a sudden increase to me is crazy.

I've been a tenant here for 3 years with no complaints

These apartments interestingly enough were recently sold by NAMA to foreign investors. I'm seriously considering writing to my TD, as this is a smack in the face as I feel as if they sold us out.

Any feedback you have is appreciated guys!

Definitely contact your TD- Also contact the other tennants. Start getting organised as this is going to happen across the city. Really makes the blood boil that nama sold these off below market value to foreign investors when so many people who lived here through the recession can't afford houses

kandoola

worded wrote: »

Ain't nothing going on but the rent ....

Spent many years scraping by

What's difficult to stomach is a massive rent home year on year.

This is partly to do with lack of evictions for non paying mortgage holders which in turn leads to lack of supply

Don't pay your rent - your out on your ear in a few weeks

Don't pay your mortgage - you have approx 4 years if you play it right

Either way a sad situation to be in

If there are any people left in negative equity and not paying their mortgages id think things will be changing for them.
Not that the bank can make back the money thats owed by selling the house they will be moving to do so.
For many years they could not make the money back by repossessing and selling, now they can.

borderlinemeath

worded wrote: »

Ain't nothing going on but the rent ....

Spent many years scraping by

What's difficult to stomach is a massive rent home year on year.

This is partly to do with lack of evictions for non paying mortgage holders which in turn leads to lack of supply

Don't pay your rent - your out on your ear in a few weeks

Don't pay your mortgage - you have approx 4 years if you play it right

Either way a sad situation to be in

What logic is this based on?

If somebody is evicted from their home for non payment of mortgage, they still have to rent somewhere else no matter how long they've not been paying their mortgage.

And if you don't pay your rent, you're in fantasy land if you think you're booted out in a few weeks, the landlord has to go through the PRTB which takes almost a year. The odd landlord will take matters into his own hands but leave himself open prosecution by the PRTB for not following proper legislation and carrying out an illegal eviction.

worded

borderlinemeath wrote: »

What logic is this based on?

If somebody is evicted from their home for non payment of mortgage, they still have to rent somewhere else no matter how long they've not been paying their mortgage.

And if you don't pay your rent, you're in fantasy land if you think you're booted out in a few weeks, the landlord has to go through the PRTB which takes almost a year. The odd landlord will take matters into his own hands but leave himself open prosecution by the PRTB for not following proper legislation and carrying out an illegal eviction.

If 10000 properties were reprocessed and put on the market for sale some renters could buy at a reduced price, due to extra supply on properties for sale

That's one piece of logic

p___

borderlinemeath wrote: »

What logic is this based on?

If somebody is evicted from their home for non payment of mortgage, they still have to rent somewhere else no matter how long they've not been paying their mortgage.

And if you don't pay your rent, you're in fantasy land if you think you're booted out in a few weeks, the landlord has to go through the PRTB which takes almost a year. The odd landlord will take matters into his own hands but leave himself open prosecution by the PRTB for not following proper legislation and carrying out an illegal eviction.

Nama is the biggest landlord in the state at the moment, if these homes were put on the market along with those that are not being paid for by people who can't afford them we would soon see the real value of the houses. The only reason the prices are going up is because supply is being constricted.
To your point that the people moving out would still need to live somewhere I would suggest that they find somewhere they can afford, so not necessarily in the area that they are selling in.

worded

p___ wrote: »

Nama is the biggest landlord in the state at the moment, if these homes were put on the market along with those that are not being paid for by people who can't afford them we would soon see the real value of the houses. The only reason the prices are going up is because supply is being constricted.
To your point that the people moving out would still need to live somewhere I would suggest that they find somewhere they can afford, so not necessarily in the area that they are selling in.

Agreed

If you are not servicing a mortgage in Dublin then someone else can.

I know this is an emotive issue.

Live and let live - but in a gaff you can afford

gaius c

p___ wrote: »

Definitely contact your TD- Also contact the other tennants. Start getting organised as this is going to happen across the city. Really makes the blood boil that nama sold these off below market value to foreign investors when so many people who lived here through the recession can't afford houses

Waste of time. Elected officials won't be interested in "transient" constituents like renters.

gaius c

worded wrote: »

Agreed

If you are not servicing a mortgage in Dublin then someone else can.

I know this is an emotive issue.

Live and let live - but in a gaff you can afford

It's an emotive topic but renters are being bled dry while non-payers of mortgages get six month stays from the courts when they don't want the bloody house!

The_Morrigan

Folks, you're getting off topic - can you please get back to discussing the OP and their issue.

jhegarty

worded wrote: »

If 10000 properties were reprocessed and put on the market for sale some renters could buy at a reduced price, due to extra supply on properties for sale

That's one piece of logic

And the people who live in those 10000 proprieties would now be looking to rent.

ted1

worded wrote: »

It's a shame there is no rent control in ireland.

It's particularly difficult for families with kids

Good luck with the rent review

For rent control ( market manipulation in an open market?) they would need to bring in fair fixed rate long term mortgages.

p___

ted1 wrote: »

For rent control ( market manipulation in an open market?) they would need to bring in fair fixed rate long term mortgages.

it's a manipulated market, houses that should be available for rent or for sale are being kept off the market by Nama and not enforcing the rules

The_Morrigan

ted1 wrote: »

For rent control ( market manipulation in an open market?) they would need to bring in fair fixed rate long term mortgages.

p___ wrote: »

it's a manipulated market, houses that should be available for rent or for sale are being kept off the market by Nama and not enforcing the rules

There is already a mod warning on thread - get back on topic.

JoeCole26

I've been hearing a lot of similar stories the past few weeks also, and have a feeling we are going to be in the same boat when our lease is up end of Jan. went up from €1,200 to €1,300 last year for 2 bedroom apartment in D18 and fearing the worse think they are going to look for €1,500 now. If this happens going to have to look elsewhere unfortunately, I love the apartment but that is just too much.

It's ridiculous really, understand its supply-demand and all that, but for young couples in Dublin it's tough now. Too expensive to buy and getting beyond a joke for renting.

Sala

JoeCole26 wrote: »

I've been hearing a lot of similar stories the past few weeks also, and have a feeling we are going to be in the same boat when our lease is up end of Jan. went up from €1,200 to €1,300 last year for 2 bedroom apartment in D18 and fearing the worse think they are going to look for €1,500 now. If this happens going to have to look elsewhere unfortunately, I love the apartment but that is just too much.

It's ridiculous really, understand its supply-demand and all that, but for young couples in Dublin it's tough now. Too expensive to buy and getting beyond a joke for renting.

I can't add to the advice on the thread but was just about to post that these threads are becoming increasingly common. Our went up 6% last year which was fine but I just heard from our departing neighbours their landlord is going to advertise their apartment at over 50% more than what we are paying for our :eek:

The Spider

Seriously, people are talking about rents being high? They've been higher the problem is that rents were so low for so long, I rented a 2 bed basement flat in Rathmines in 2002 for 1270 a month and I remember at the time thinking that was cheap as 2 bed apartments were going for 1400 a month.

Now I've used this inflation calculator to find out the price from 2002 versus 2014 and 1270 in 2002 is the equivalent of 1631 in 2014, so today's rents are still cheaper than they were in 2002.

http://fxtop.com/en/inflation-calculator.php?A=1270&C1=EUR&INDICE=EUCPI2005&DD1=31&MM1=01&YYYY1=2002&DD2=01&MM2=12&YYYY2=2014&btnOK=Compute+actual+value


When complaining about rents look at the historical price versus today.

D12resident

The Spider wrote: »

Seriously, people are talking about rents being high? They've been higher the problem is that rents were so low for so long, I rented a 2 bed basement flat in Rathmines in 2002 for 1270 a month and I remember at the time thinking that was cheap as 2 bed apartments were going for 1400 a month.

Now I've used this inflation calculator to find out the price from 2002 versus 2014 and 1270 in 2002 is the equivalent of 1631 in 2014, so today's rents are still cheaper than they were in 2002.

When complaining about rents look at the historical price versus today.

Valid point but hasn't really added anything to your argument. I don't mean to nitpick, but before you edited your post you showed a search on daft.ie to back up your point of current rents in Ranelagh, but the rents for the properties matched closely enough to the rise in inflation, with apartments shown now for up to €2,800 a month for a 2-bed. I believe that the official figure is that rents are about 10% lower currently than they were at their 2007 peak. So that is the current situation for comparison I use. But correct me if I'm wrong.

Rathmines/Ranelagh have always been like that as they are a sought after area, but I am in Drimnagh because I can't afford those crazy prices. I can't recall what rents were like here over ten years ago, all I know is that the landlord (who isn't a person, it's a foreign investor who recently bought most of the complex a month ago) is trying to push an increase of 3 times the rate of inflation. Even the PRTB rent index shows the increase we're being asked for as completely out of line with local increases. I agree it's a Capitalist society and all that, but there is a difference between asking for a fair increase to a loyal tenant, and pure greed that will force us out of our home.

I don't mean to make it sound like a sob story. I am not raising a family and if needs be would move if required. But in general terms of fairness, to all of a sudden push a rise of hundreds of euros a month, which is not relative to an actual cost incurred by the landord, seems a little unfair. I am all for a landlord charging whatever he can on the open market, but there should be something in place to protect incumbent tenants. Something as simple as a maximum year-on-year increase. I'm not asking for another quango to be set up to manage rents or anything! How is someone meant to budget when a landlord can pick a number out of the air every year.

Or maybe I'll just start looking at apartments in communist China if I want a truly fair system .

D12resident

Sala wrote: »

I can't add to the advice on the thread but was just about to post that these threads are becoming increasingly common. Our went up 6% last year which was fine but I just heard from our departing neighbours their landlord is going to advertise their apartment at over 50% more than what we are paying for our :eek:

I'd think that is fair. As mentioned in my previous post, open market prices should be whatever the landlord wants. But for year-on-year rent reviews there should be a rule added that a maximum increase of over 10-15% is not allowed (unless in the case of exceptional circumstances) to the current 'shouldn't exceed market value' situation.

I know this leaves it open to a huge amount of interpretation, but that would be for the more intelligent people to close any loopholes.

The Spider

D12resident wrote: »

Valid point but hasn't really added anything to your argument. I don't mean to nitpick, but before you edited your post you showed a search on daft.ie to back up your point of current rents in Ranelagh, but the rents for the properties matched closely enough to the rise in inflation, with apartments shown now for up to €2,800 a month for a 2-bed. I believe that the official figure is that rents are about 10% lower currently than they were at their 2007 peak. So that is the current situation for comparison I use. But correct me if I'm wrong.

Rathmines/Ranelagh have always been like that as they are a sought after area, but I am in Drimnagh because I can't afford those crazy prices. I can't recall what rents were like here over ten years ago, all I know is that the landlord (who isn't a person, it's a foreign investor who recently bought most of the complex a month ago) is trying to push an increase of 3 times the rate of inflation. Even the PRTB rent index shows the increase we're being asked for as completely out of line with local increases. I agree it's a Capitalist society and all that, but there is a difference between asking for a fair increase to a loyal tenant, and pure greed that will force us out of our home.

I don't mean to make it sound like a sob story. I am not raising a family and if needs be would move if required. But in general terms of fairness, to all of a sudden push a rise of hundreds of euros a month, which is not relative to an actual cost incurred by the landord, seems a little unfair. I am all for a landlord charging whatever he can on the open market, but there should be something in place to protect incumbent tenants. Something as simple as a maximum year-on-year increase. I'm not asking for another quango to be set up to manage rents or anything! How is someone meant to budget when a landlord can pick a number out of the air every year.

Or maybe I'll just start looking at apartments in communist China if I want a truly fair system .

That's all about right, I took the link out because I saw the weekly ask, which is crazy, and I can't see anybody paying that.

However my point stands that rents now are still cheaper than 12 years ago, sounds like bad luck that your apartments have been bought by a foreign investor who wants to maximise returns.

I think most smaller landlord will live and let live as long as the rent is paid. But again it depends on their mortgage they could have accepted lower rent that wouldn't cover the mortgage years ago because of over supply.

Now it's the opposite and they can get the amount needed to cover their costs.

jmayo

hfallada wrote: »

If there was rent control in Ireland, supply be far smaller. Not a single economist believes rent control is beneficial in the long term. It only further reduces supply, as its not as profitable to be a LL. LLs also have no incentive to make repairs/renovations as it will not result in higher rents. The higher rents will result in more building(as its happening in Dublin at the moment). In the long run rents may fall, as supply increases

OP we live in a capitalist country. If you think you can find cheaper elsewhere, move out.

Why does this post remind me of the argument bankers gave about too much regulations or the argument(s) that high ranking public servants/private sector ceos have to be paid massive amounts (more than comaprable in other countries) otherwise we get eejits doing the jobs. :rolleyes:

In an ideal scenario there wouldn't be a need for rent control, there wouldn't be a need for any controls in anything.
But the world isn't ideal and we now have a situation where rents can be jumped by massive amounts just because the market is currently setup that way.
There is report which now claims people are spending 40% of net income on accommodation. I actually don't know how valid the report is since there are questions on it's methodology-sample base.

The "market" and the capitalism argument has been shown up to be self serving and is not always in society's benefit in the long term.

To harp back to the often trotted out, but very correct mantra.
If we lived in a truly capitalist country then we (the citizens/taxpayers) would not have bailed out ineptly, nay fraudently, run banks or betting greedly developers.

It's marvellous how many capitalists turn socialists when it suits.

As for OP's problem, I think the best thing is for the residents to stick together and try and fight for a compromise solution.
There is power in numbers.

MrDerp

@D12 resident, is this Lansdowne Gate we're talking about?

Great complex, lived there in 2007-2008.

What's the rent like now? We paid 1425 for a 2 bed at the time, on the second floor. The rental market was similar then to now in Dublin, I think.

mountsky

I empathise,its a fair shock to get,but,with all due respect, there's very little regulation in place ,people can do what they like when there's no one to stop them!

D12resident

MrDerp wrote: »

@D12 resident, is this Lansdowne Gate we're talking about?

Great complex, lived there in 2007-2008.

What's the rent like now? We paid 1425 for a 2 bed at the time, on the second floor. The rental market was similar then to now in Dublin, I think.

It is, and it sounds indeed like you were paying closer to peak prices as we are getting to now. They are now asking for rents of €1350 for 2-beds, and €1600 for 3-beds. However I found this very interesting; I think it's their marketing material for the new investor, on a site called orangecollection(dot)ie (Can't post links sorry).

"Rental levels currently average €900 pm, €1,075 pm & €1,305 pm for one, two & three-bedroom apartments respectively.

However, rental levels of the most recently agreed units average approximately €1,100 pm, €1,200 pm & €1,550 pm for one, two & three-bedroom apartments respectively."

borderlinemeath

mountsky wrote: »

I empathise,its a fair shock to get,but,with all due respect, there's very little regulation in place ,people can do what they like when there's no one to stop them!

Just as tenants demanded rent reductions when there was an abundance of properties to let. Or when rent allowances were reduced by local authorities and recipients were told to demand their landlord take the hit. Little regulation works both ways, it just depends on the market forces at play.

I do feel bad for renters who are at the mercy of the current market, but it was the same for some landlords who couldn't pay their mortgages when they couldn't get anywhere near enough rent for their properties. My friend is in a similar situation, his apartment is let but not even covering the mortgage, let alone the tax obligations. He was burned before with a bad tenant so is so wary of putting up the rent after 3 years of a good tenant on the same rent.

Michael D Not Higgins

D12resident wrote: »

It is, and it sounds indeed like you were paying closer to peak prices as we are getting to now. They are now asking for rents of €1350 for 2-beds, and €1600 for 3-beds. However I found this very interesting; I think it's their marketing material for the new investor, on a site called orangecollection(dot)ie (Can't post links sorry).

"Rental levels currently average €900 pm, €1,075 pm & €1,305 pm for one, two & three-bedroom apartments respectively.

However, rental levels of the most recently agreed units average approximately €1,100 pm, €1,200 pm & €1,550 pm for one, two & three-bedroom apartments respectively."

I'd look at an appeal to the PRTB. 1350 seems high for a two bed, 1200 is more the norm in Dublin. I think part of the problem is that there's not much comparable places to rent in the area and if they can control the asking price for vacant places in the same development, they control the market rate for all the currently occupied places too.

It seems unfair in this case but the law defines the market rate as what someone else is willing to pay and if they can demonstrate that with their current vacancies, that's the market rate unfortunately.

This is part of the reason the government are looking to set rental increases in line with the inflation rate. That does two things. It keeps the rent at a level the renter can afford and it discourages some international investers as they will be less enticed into the market.

MrDerp

D12resident wrote: »

It is, and it sounds indeed like you were paying closer to peak prices as we are getting to now. They are now asking for rents of €1350 for 2-beds, and €1600 for 3-beds. However I found this very interesting; I think it's their marketing material for the new investor, on a site called orangecollection(dot)ie (Can't post links sorry).

"Rental levels currently average €900 pm, €1,075 pm & €1,305 pm for one, two & three-bedroom apartments respectively.

However, rental levels of the most recently agreed units average approximately €1,100 pm, €1,200 pm & €1,550 pm for one, two & three-bedroom apartments respectively."

That's worrying. That was the absolute peak in our renting experience too. It was when I first moved to Dublin and I could barely get an appointment in D4/D6 or other areas. In the end we spotted Lansdowne Gate on daft, checked it out, and we moved into one of the first blocks. It was very expensive at the time and next door there were 2 polish couples, one with a small child, in a 2 bed apartment.

By the time we moved out the following year, rents had eased, there were still blocks coming on stream, and we moved into town for not much more rent (the Gasworks). The following year (October 2009) the market was on the floor and we rented a 2bed house in Raheny for 1100 per month, which the landlady very kindly never raised in the 4 years we were there.

It sounds like it's absolutely mad again. In 2009 there was a pressure release valve of all the finished apartments coming on stream in Dublin. If everything is full now I'm not sure where the release valve will come from, and we might hit a new peak.

One things for sure, there'll be a lot more of the couples sharing a 2bed scenario.

As for the increase, it sounds like the new owner is trying to create the market, not follow it, and you really should band together. If even one or two parties accept the new rent, I'd worry that it'll be registered and they'll have it as their reference point, even if that's not in the spirit of the law

lima

The Spider wrote: »

That's all about right, I took the link out because I saw the weekly ask, which is crazy, and I can't see anybody paying that.

However my point stands that rents now are still cheaper than 12 years ago, sounds like bad luck that your apartments have been bought by a foreign investor who wants to maximise returns.

I think most smaller landlord will live and let live as long as the rent is paid. But again it depends on their mortgage they could have accepted lower rent that wouldn't cover the mortgage years ago because of over supply.

Now it's the opposite and they can get the amount needed to cover their costs.

I would agree with Spider that rents are quite cheap now. When I lived in London 1br apts were about gbp1400pcm and I heard they are now going for more like gbp1600pcm

I pay e1100pcm for a 1br and I split this with my other half, which is basically a steal for me as I got a e20k pay rise to come back to Dublin!!

mollser

23%? While this won't make it any easier to digest, it sounds to me like the new landlord has to charge VAT on the rents, probably too ensure they can recover vat incurred on acquiring the building.

It just seems coincidental that is the same rate.

Or maybe they just overpaid and ate now gouging the tenants!

kenmccarthy

20% increase??????? If my LL even had a dream about that kinda hike I'd have to pack bags-simple as that,20%~~~~~off the scale!!

D12resident

MrDerp wrote: »

That's worrying. That was the absolute peak in our renting experience too. It was when I first moved to Dublin and I could barely get an appointment in D4/D6 or other areas. In the end we spotted Lansdowne Gate on daft, checked it out, and we moved into one of the first blocks. It was very expensive at the time and next door there were 2 polish couples, one with a small child, in a 2 bed apartment.

By the time we moved out the following year, rents had eased, there were still blocks coming on stream, and we moved into town for not much more rent (the Gasworks). The following year (October 2009) the market was on the floor and we rented a 2bed house in Raheny for 1100 per month, which the landlady very kindly never raised in the 4 years we were there.

It sounds like it's absolutely mad again. In 2009 there was a pressure release valve of all the finished apartments coming on stream in Dublin. If everything is full now I'm not sure where the release valve will come from, and we might hit a new peak.

One things for sure, there'll be a lot more of the couples sharing a 2bed scenario.

As for the increase, it sounds like the new owner is trying to create the market, not follow it, and you really should band together. If even one or two parties accept the new rent, I'd worry that it'll be registered and they'll have it as their reference point, even if that's not in the spirit of the law

This was a great reply. The fact that they are creating the market is exactly it! I've actually sent an e-mail to a local TD and got a very quick response. Said that this new company were recognised as 'profit maximisinng vultures'. I think that about sums it up nicely for me!
I'm not usually the kind of person to start a mass protest against things like this but setting up a residents association is looking like the way to go. Even got offered the use of this TD's office for meetings, printing etc!

The Spider

kenmccarthy wrote: »

20% increase??????? If my LL even had a dream about that kinda hike I'd have to pack bags-simple as that,20%~~~~~off the scale!!

Where would you go if him raising the rent by 20% and the rent was still lower than market rates?

D12resident

The Spider wrote: »

Where would you go if him raising the rent by 20% and the rent was still lower than market rates?

Good question, can I ask what your attitude to this would be?

Personally I think that no matter who the landlord is, they should recognise that a 20% rise is crazy as rent is already such a huge outgoing every month. But markets do experience bubbles like what seems to be happening now. A 10% increase is even steep for God sake, but that is what the increases are based on the market right now, not 20%. If possibly the 10% figure was quoted in a rent review I could see where they were coming from because it's based on actual facts.

Something else I forgot to mention in my original post is that these are not even fully furnished apartments (i.e. no plates, cutlery, etc came with the apartment), which is unusual and needs to be considered when comparing prices against the market in my particular case.

Tarzana2

D12resident wrote: »

]Even the PRTB rent index shows the increase we're being asked for as completely out of line with local increases.

Then take it to the PTRB. You have a good chance of a ruling going in your favour if this is the case.

The Spider

D12resident wrote: »

Good question, can I ask what your attitude to this would be?

Personally I think that no matter who the landlord is, they should recognise that a 20% rise is crazy as rent is already such a huge outgoing every month. But markets do experience bubbles like what seems to be happening now. A 10% increase is even steep for God sake, but that is what the increases are based on the market right now, not 20%. If possibly the 10% figure was quoted in a rent review I could see where they were coming from because it's based on actual facts.

Something else I forgot to mention in my original post is that these are not even fully furnished apartments (i.e. no plates, cutlery, etc came with the apartment), which is unusual and needs to be considered when comparing prices against the market in my particular case.

Having been on both sides of the fence, we have an apartment rented out, and as far as we're concerned the rent will stay as is until the tenants decide to move out, they're good and don't bother us, they're saving for a house and the mortgage is covered so we're happy, no intention of just being assholes about it.

However I rented for years and had that situation where the rent was just raised for the sake of it a few times, generally took a look around realised that we couldn't do better and paid the increase.

However I also rented one place in 2005 that didn't have an increase when the landlord could have easily asked for one, I could've got a decrease when the market collapsed but didn't ask for one, karma and all that.

Beaner1

The PRTB index is your friend.

Whatever happens make sure to block any viewings of the house till you've left which should guarantee they have a void period of some duration. If landlords want to chase decent tenants out with ridiculous rent increases ever 12 months then they should be ready for a hit voids, agency fees and PRTB registrations.

D12resident

Beaner1 wrote: »

The PRTB index is your friend.

Whatever happens make sure to block any viewings of the house till you've left which should guarantee they have a void period of some duration. If landlords want to chase decent tenants out with ridiculous rent increases ever 12 months then they should be ready for a hit voids, agency fees and PRTB registrations.

The PRTB index is definitely a point I'm going to raise seeing as it shows less than what we're paying at the moment!

Beaner1

D12resident wrote: »

The PRTB index is definitely a point I'm going to raise seeing as it shows less than what we're paying at the moment!

It's best to use the percentage change for your property type, in your area since you started renting. How can they top an index of actual market rents? A few daft ads or an index of hundreds?