Rent review in wrong format

Snoopy1

Hi
I received a letter from house agency before Christmas,saying my rent would go up by 300 a month end of march. Its a lot of money for one person.
But my issue here is it was just a 1 line letter saying it would go up, there were no comparasions on it, nothing to say i could appeal etc. In essence it wasnt written as the RTB states.
So im wondering what to do. Do i ignor it, appeal it or suck it up?

Thanks

Graces7

Snoopy1 wrote: »

Hi
I received a letter from house agency before Christmas,saying my rent would go up by 300 a month end of march. Its a lot of money for one person.
But my issue here is it was just a 1 line letter saying it would go up, there were no comparasions on it, nothing to say i could appeal etc. In essence it wasnt written as the RTB states.
So im wondering what to do. Do i ignor it, appeal it or suck it up?

Thanks

Can you call Threshold/RTB when they open after the holidays? It sounds iffy to me but they will need to know your current rent etc,

But do not ignore it!

April 73

Was the letter sent before or after the new legislation was signed into effect?
Write to the agency saying you don't believe that the notification you received is a valid rent review.

Snoopy1

The letter was sent before the legislation came about. Its also in Kildare, which the legislation doesnt affect

jd83

My understanding is that it is not valid unless it gives you comparable rent in 3 properties in your area and advises you of your right to appeal the rise in rent. There are templates on the rtb website.

They also need to give a certain number of days notice. This notice should not start til you get notice in the correct manner.

davindub

You can certainly appeal it, the rent review process are well established by now, LL must provide comparable properties on the notification and cannot be above market rents, is the rent comparable to other properties in the area?

Snoopy1

It is definitely not valid, I checked the template. Just wondering what to do now really

Mrs OBumble

Valud or not, how does the new rent compare to other properties you could rent? Do you want to move?

Snoopy1

It compares about right to my area. I don't want to move but I can't really afford the increase

davindub

Well you can appeal the notice, but the LL will just follow up with another valid one so eventually you will be paying additional rent.

However if you appeal, you will lose any bargaining power with the LL, try talking to him and say you can't afford and will have to move if it goes through, but you know yourself, he will expect an increase closer to 300 than 0.

GGTrek

davindub wrote: »

Well you can appeal the notice, but the LL will just follow up with another valid one so eventually you will be paying additional rent.

However if you appeal, you will lose any bargaining power with the LL, try talking to him and say you can't afford and will have to move if it goes through, but you know yourself, he will expect an increase closer to 300 than 0.

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Valud or not, how does the new rent compare to other properties you could rent?  Do you want to move?

These are all great questions and suggestions for the tenant who knows that the new rent is the market rent, but tries to find a way to avoid paying it.

I shall tell you my experience with a smart a.. tenant who received a rent increase but which was still 75 EUR below market and went straight to RTB, neither I nor the tenant provided to the RTB adjudicator any of the evidence that the tenant received about the market rent (the guy was in bad faith from the start, so I behaved in bad faith) I actually wrote to the adjudicator that she could declare the notice invalid since there was no evidence attached (even though notice period and notice statements were perfectly valid). To help the smart a.. tenant the RTB adjudicator went to the incredible length of deciding the market rent based just on the oral opinion of my agent (which should have kept quiet) and said that the notice was perfectly valid! I was expecting the adjudicator to declare it invalid and then go back with a new notice and ask for full market rent. In any case since the tenant is problematic (lots of small breaches of contract and small delays in paying rent over the 4 years) and his four years are coming in just 5 months, he is first in line to be evicted. It will take some time, but I do not care, I have lots of other good tenants paying rent and behaving responsibly and it makes business sense to me to spend whatever it takes to get rid of a smart a.. tenant like this.

So my suggestion as a landlord is: first ask your landlord for a phone call at a time that suits him and you (or even better a face to face meeting at the property if possible) and try to negotiate the increase. You might get a decent discount in this way, even though thanks to new government regulation the landlord has got very little leeway to give discounts now, think about the side effect of what appears to be good for tenants on paper and media but for practical effects it is not good at all for the parties concerned.

Snoopy1

Firstly I am not a smart a.. Tennant trying to avoid paying, and I'll thank you not to call me that anymore. I'm just a single ladie who can't cope with the stress this new rent will cause. And this increase has been caused by greedy landlords
Secondly I have never met my landlord, every thing is done through an agency.
Third I am a very good Tennant. OK

Graham

Snoopy1 wrote: »

And this increase has been caused by greedy landlords
Secondly I have never met my landlord, every thing is done through an agency.

As you've never met your landlord it's probably safe to say you don't know his/her financial position and/or reasons for bringing the rent up to the current rent level others in your area are paying.

Before going off all guns blazing to the RTB, have you spoken to the agency and tried to negotiate?

GGTrek

Snoopy1 wrote: »

Firstly I am not a smart a.. Tennant trying to avoid paying, and I'll thank you not to call me that anymore.  I'm just a single ladie who can't cope with the stress this new rent will cause. And this increase has been caused by greedy landlords
Secondly I have never met my landlord, every thing is done through an agency.
Third I am a very good Tennant.  OK

Ok, so my short suggestion is: call the agent and ask to negotiate with landlord and explain your situation. Do not go first thing to Threshold or RTB, this should be the last resort.
I did not imply you were a bad tenant, but your suggestion of trying to use technicalities in the notice when knowing that you have been receiving a big discount in rent for quite a while is not very ethical in my opinion.
I just explained to you that RTB adjudicators explicitly ignore the technicalities whenever it suits them and you are running a big risk by going straight to RTB.
I agree that 300 EUR is a big increase for a single person in one shot, that is why you should negotiate and explain your situation instead of going for a technicality.

I also want to add that this increase has not been generated by greedy landlords, you are starting from a very simplistic view. The increase has been caused by a lack of housing supply whose main culprit is your very own Irish government since at least 2010!

Snoopy1

I've been to the agency and just keep getting fobbed off with replies like "we will see"

davindub

GGTrek wrote: »

I did not imply you were a bad tenant, but your suggestion of trying to use technicalities in the notice when knowing that you have been receiving a big discount in rent for quite a while is not very ethical in my opinion.
I just explained to you that RTB adjudicators explicitly ignore the technicalities whenever it suits them and you are running a big risk by going straight to RTB.

I'd say you were in mediation rather than adjudication. Adjudication cannot decide to ignore the technicalities.

I'll ask you to re-read what I posted as well, I advised to negotiate would be better?

GGTrek

davindub wrote: »

GGTrek wrote: »

I did not imply you were a bad tenant, but your suggestion of trying to use technicalities in the notice when knowing that you have been receiving a big discount in rent for quite a while is not very ethical in my opinion.
I just explained to you that RTB adjudicators explicitly ignore the technicalities whenever it suits them and you are running a big risk by going straight to RTB.

I'd say you were in mediation rather than adjudication. Adjudication cannot decide to ignore the technicalities.

I'll ask you to re-read what I posted as well, I advised to negotiate would be better?

I was not in mediation, it was an adjudication. I could have appealed because the adjudicator clearly breached the law. But for what, I would have waited much more time (a good six months) to receive the additional rent due and if the tenant showed the evidence he received  together with the notice at the tribunal (i.e. stopped acting in bad faith), the tribunal would have confirmed the validity of the notice, since it is a rule of the Tribunal to rehear the case as a brand new case where new evidence can be added in addition to the evidence of the adjudication case (unlike the High Court which is just a judicial review and facts determined by RTB tribunal cannot be contested or evidence added).
This is my personal opinion confirmed by my own experience and Tribunal reports: the RTB adjudicators are most of the time experienced barristers or solicitors with a clear mandate (I am not sure who exactly gives the mandate but again I have my opinion) to help the tenants at the maximum extent the law and the High Court allows them and to go as slow as possible when the tenant case is really in bad shape, that is why it is so difficult in Ireland to evict non-paying tenants!

GGTrek

Snoopy1 wrote: »

I've been to the agency and just keep getting fobbed off with replies like "we will see"

If you new proposed rent is at market, you might be able to find equivalent properties advertised at slightly lower prices, print this evidence and take it to the agent. Explain to them that you can find lower rent and ask them to pass this information to the landlord, in addition tell them that you were a good tenant and the landlord would have expenses in finding a new tenant which is a risk for them (it might not be a tenant who pays rent on time or keeps property in good state) and that they should consider these expenses and risks in the rent negotiation.

athtrasna

Mod note

Can we get back to the OP please? Please don't hijack their thread.

LuckyLloyd

If the notice is in an invalid format you can wait as late as the last week in March to return a written response where you indicate the rent review is not in a valid format and therefore not accepted. That will force them to rewrite it correctly, buying you additional time as the notice period will then start upon receipt of a valid rent review notification.

And if you've already contacted the Agency and they've not been helpful then you should consider doing exactly that. It will give you more time to consider your financial position and alternative options.

But ultimately, it is their right to review at an appropriate juncture and increase to the market rate. It will eventually be your decision to continue living there at the new rent or seek alternative accommodation.

Good luck.