Renting question.

Sinister Kid

I am currently renting a two bedroom apartment with my mother, we are there four years & the rent has been increased twice. Last increase was in January just gone. She will be moving out when the lease is up in November but I will be staying on & will look for someone to take her place. As it is at the moment, the landlord cant up the rent again for two years from the January increase. Will this still apply if she leaves & I get someone else in or will we be starting from scratch?

Michael D Not Higgins

You would be multiple tenants according the the RTA 2004. Your Part 4 rights would continue while your mother would terminate her tenancy. One of three things may happen then. You can continue paying the rent and live on your own. You can get a licensee who does not enjoy tenancy rights. You can get a replacement tenant who does enjoy tenancy rights.

The tenancy continues, however the Act says after the first 4 years that a new tenancy arises called a further Part 4. This has not been tested thoroughly in the law so I would expect right now that for the purposes of rent reviews, it's still two years from the last one. Furthermore, a tenant you replace your mother with only enjoys Part 4 rights after 6 months occupation, and then is read to be the same Part 4 rights you enjoy, i.e. they do not have a separate Part 4 tenancy.

A licensee would be different in that they would pay rent to you and you would be effectively their landlord. They would not acquire tenancy rights without approval from the landlord. Any of these situations should be clearly explained to the landlord to ensure that everyone understands what is happening and there is agreement on all sides.

Sinister Kid

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

You would be multiple tenants according the the RTA 2004. Your Part 4 rights would continue while your mother would terminate her tenancy. One of three things may happen then. You can continue paying the rent and live on your own. You can get a licensee who does not enjoy tenancy rights. You can get a replacement tenant who does enjoy tenancy rights.

The tenancy continues, however the Act says after the first 4 years that a new tenancy arises called a further Part 4. This has not been tested thoroughly in the law so I would expect right now that for the purposes of rent reviews, it's still two years from the last one. Furthermore, a tenant you replace your mother with only enjoys Part 4 rights after 6 months occupation, and then is read to be the same Part 4 rights you enjoy, i.e. they do not have a separate Part 4 tenancy.

A licensee would be different in that they would pay rent to you and you would be effectively their landlord. They would not acquire tenancy rights without approval from the landlord. Any of these situations should be clearly explained to the landlord to ensure that everyone understands what is happening and there is agreement on all sides.

Thanks for the reply!

Mrs OBumble

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

A licensee would be different in that they would pay rent to you and you would be effectively their landlord. They would not acquire tenancy rights without approval from the landlord. Any of these situations should be clearly explained to the landlord to ensure that everyone understands what is happening and there is agreement on all sides.

However after six months, they have the right to be put on the lease if they want to be, and if this happens they do get tenancy rights.

Many don't ask - they would rather the freedom to move out with reasonable notice, rather than being tied to tenancy requirements.

But it is a risk.

I don't know how the rent increase limits apply to them - and suspect that the law around this hasn't been tested.