Landlord issues

Ave Sodalis

I'm posting on behalf of my partner so you'll have to forgive me if I leave anything out.

My partner began renting a room in Dublin on a three month contract, but has had a number of issues since. Himself and his two housemates are now looking for a new place to live.

From the beginning, he wasn't exactly acting properly. He would walk into the house at any stage (he had a key) and even if he gave a time, it wouldn't keep to it. The house is full of his things, and all the house rules are made by the landlord (e.g. no shoes, no leaving dishes on the draining board). It says in the lease that he will give reasonable notice of a visit, but since my partner needed a place to live and would rarely be in the house anyway, he just over looked it.

However, the hot water and heating have broke three times since he's moved in less than two months ago. The last time was two weeks ago. The landlord came with his brother last week to look at it, said he needed parts and never came back until Monday with a plumber (an hour or two earlier than he said he would be there, and without a text to tell them in advance of the change in time). I was visiting on Monday until today. The plumber also needed parts and said he would be back the next day.

The housemates decided to ask the landlord for a reduction on the next months rent as the rent included bills and they had not used heating or hot water in two weeks. The landlord kept repeating how he couldn't afford to do that as he had to pay the morgage, before trying to say that he wasn't a landlord because he didn't have multiple properties and it wasn't his main job. He then went on to complain how much it costs to take out a plumber and that's going to have to be paid for.

My partner asked about getting electric heaters or an alternative source of heating as he had text the landlord about them but didn't get a reply, but the landlord refused that also, stating he couldn't afford to do that. He then told them about the immersion which he had "forgotten" about. When asked about why he took so long to fix it, he said he lived too far away to just come out and as is, he's already having to take time off work to do so.

Tuesday the plumber arrived back out. As he was leaving, the landlord told my partner it was fixed. However, one of the housemates went to take a shower but there was still no hot water. Thinking that maybe it was just a timer problem, I took a shower before bedtime and it was still ice cold.

As the landlord kept insisting he wasn't a landlord, I checked the published register on the PRTB website and couldn't find the property listed, although I'm not entirely sure of the ins and outs of it.

Now the lease states that the tenants can leave with a 28 day notice. However, given the on going heating/hot water issue, and the fact the landlord already breaks the terms of the lease by letting himself into the house whenever he wants to make himself lunch for work without informing the tenants, and it doesn't seem the landlord is even registered, is that notice period needed?

pilly

Short answer is no, the notice period is not needed. LL not playing by the rules then tenant doesn't have to either but if your partner paid a deposit then they stand to lose that.

athtrasna

pilly wrote: »

Short answer is no, the notice period is not needed. LL not playing by the rules then tenant doesn't have to either but if your partner paid a deposit then they stand to lose that.

Short LEGAL answer is yes. There are mechanisms to raise disputes with landlords through the RTB but both parties have obligations to abide by the Residential Tenancies Act. The landlord not complying does not absolve the tenants of their obligations to give notice.

Ms Doubtfire1

actually there is no short answer - is the LL living there as well?

Graham

Ms Doubtfire1 wrote: »

is the LL living there as well?

Probably not if he is undertaking to give reasonable notice of a visit and he 'lives too far away'.

Ave Sodalis

athtrasna wrote:

Short LEGAL answer is yes. There are mechanisms to raise disputes with landlords through the RTB but both parties have obligations to abide by the Residential Tenancies Act. The landlord not complying does not absolve the tenants of their obligations to give notice.

The rent is due on the second of each month and is paid is monthly installments. How would that work with a 28 day notice if my partner and his housemates don't want to stay there longer than necessary? They really don't want to stay in the house over winter or pay another months rent when they're not getting what they're paying for.

Ms Doubtfire1 wrote:

actually there is no short answer - is the LL living there as well?

No he doesn't, but he acts like he does.

Ms Doubtfire1

Thanks - hadn't read it correctly. Well, being one who has issues with heating and washing machines as well, it's simple: Those issues fall under urgent repairs, and Threshold gives 3-5 days to address/fix them.
If they don't do that the house can be declared inhabitable and you can leave immedeatly. In regards to them not being registered with the tenancy board - well, that means they have no leg to stand on if there is a dispute. It would allow you to walk away without notice if you so wished.Personally, i would simply turn around and tell him - fix the heater and get it working within an ( set x amount of days) or we will terminate with immediate effect. no notice given. but do tell him

Graham

Ms Doubtfire1 wrote: »

If they don't do that the house can be declared inhabitable and you can leave immedeatly.

Assuming you mean uninhabitable, who is going to make that declaration allowing the tenants to leave immediately without penalty?

Ms Doubtfire1

that would be the county council

Graham

Ms Doubtfire1 wrote: »

that would be the county council

It's probably important to clarify that point. How 'immediate' are the country councils responses to such complaints.

pilly

Graham wrote: »

It's probably important to clarify that point. How 'immediate' are the country councils responses to such complaints.

I've seen them respond in days.

Ave Sodalis

Hi all,
Just a quick update. The landlord has moved himself into the house without informing anyone.
He's already picking holes in the state of the place, despite the fact my partner has not been in the house for 2 weeks due to a medical issue he needed to go home for and therefore could not have made a mess. Even though my partner is bedridden, as the landlord knows, he is telling him to return to Dublin to clean the house.
As a result of everything, my partner has decided to withhold the last months rent and just leave. Silly, I know and not the correct action and now the landlord claims to be getting legal advice.

It's a mess of a situation.

Ms Doubtfire1

The only way the LL can take action is through the Tenancy board - and since he's not registered there he can't really do much. secondly, he has moved into a house which is not his - which immediately makes it a legal issue in your favor as he is not allowed to enter a house which isn't his. He won't be getting anywhere with his threats.if you're happy to walk away, than do so.

Ms Doubtfire1

Ms Doubtfire1 wrote: »

The only way the LL can take action is through the Tenancy board - and since he's not registered there he can't really do much. secondly, he has moved into a house which is not his - which immediately makes it a legal issue in your favor as he is not allowed to enter a house which isn't his. He won't be getting anywhere with his threats.if you're happy to walk away, than do so.

If the rooms are being let seperately and there is currently a spare room available which he moved into im not sure he has done anything wrong.

fact is he could move any random person into a spare room so why not himself?

Ms Doubtfire1

Thats a fair point - honest answer i don't know. However, since he has rented the rooms/house out as a not live in LL there is a tenancy agreement which he did not register - that means he hasn't a leg to stand on. I wouldn't think twice about it.

Ave Sodalis

India Ashy Self-determination wrote:

fact is he could move any random person into a spare room so why not himself?

Would it not change the nature of the tenancy in the middle of a contract?

sup_dude

sup_dude wrote: »

Would it not change the nature of the tenancy in the middle of a contract?

Its a grey area but technically once he moves in the other housemates would be considered licensees. Its difficult to give an answer without knowing the very fine details of everything. The honest answer is I don't know what happens if there are still in their contracts but on the other hand if there is a spare room that could be let to anyone in the world I don't see why a LL can't let it to himself.

Is there a spare room in the house and was he using this previously when he was coming and going from the house. did he ever stay in the house previously?

Ave Sodalis

India Ashy Self-determination wrote:

Is there a spare room in the house and was he using this previously when he was coming and going from the house. did he ever stay in the house previously?

There is a spare room. He hasn't used this room whilst my partner has been living there, but has in the past whilst the other housemate was there. The other housemate was a licensee for a year.

sup_dude

sup_dude wrote: »

There is a spare room. He hasn't used this room whilst my partner has been living there, but has in the past whilst the other housemate was there. The other housemate was a licensee for a year.

There is a strong possibility that they are still licensees if he has a room in the house and has maintained access to the house and this room. The fact he has given them contracts does not help his argument if he is going down that road but on the other hand if they were to be considered licensees by the RTB etc then the contracts would not be binding.

As I said its a difficult one to give an answer to as there is a number of different possibilities and outcomes.

pilly

I would say advice your friend to stay well out of it, don't go back and don't pay the final month's rent. LL won't have a leg to stand on. Only issue is he won't get a reference but if the LL is carrying on like this he probably won't get one anyway.

Ave Sodalis

Lennox Colossal Industry wrote: »

There is a strong possibility that they are still licensees if he has a room in the house and has maintained access to the house and this room. The fact he has given them contracts does not help his argument if he is going down that road but on the other hand if they were to be considered licensees by the RTB etc then the contracts would not be binding.

As I said its a difficult one to give an answer to as there is a number of different possibilities and outcomes.

There's a spare room now as another housemate has moved out, but the room was unavailable until then.

I know, and me not being the tenant in question is probably not helping either

the_syco

First off, does your partner have anything left in the house?

sup_dude wrote: »

Just a quick update. The landlord has moved himself into the house without informing anyone.
He's already picking holes in the state of the place, despite the fact my partner has not been in the house for 2 weeks due to a medical issue he needed to go home for and therefore could not have made a mess.

Also, from reading this;

Licensees are not bound by the tenancy obligations that apply to tenants

I wonder if the OP's partner must give any notice if they're now a licensee?

Ave Sodalis

the_syco wrote:

First off, does your partner have anything left in the house?

No, he took everything out before he left. He was never given a key for the bedroom door so he didn't want to leave anything behind when he had to go home.

the_syco wrote:

I wonder if the OP's partner must give any notice if they're now a licensee?

Are they licensees when the orginal agreement was they were tenants?

the_syco

sup_dude wrote: »

Are they licensees when the orginal agreement was they were tenants?

It's very grey, as the landlord is now living there.