Is this Notice of Termination valid?

Hi there,

Lately my accountant asked me about the rent credit for last year and if I redeemed it. I hadn't, and so he said he would do it for me if I could get the relevant information from my letting agent.

I contacted my letting agent 2-weeks ago about this information. Heard nothing back. Last week, I sent a follow-up email - and still nothing.

Yet today I received the following bizarre email:

"We will forward the relevant information to you on receipt.

In the meantime it may be an opportune time to confirm to you that the owner has received an offer for the property and as a result will need to issue a termination notice to you as soon as outstanding matters are resolved. In the circumstances you may wish to consider moving to alternative accommodation should the opportunity arise.

We wish to apologise for any inconvenience caused"

An out of the blue termination notice.

I've been staying here without issue for over 2-years. In fact, I'm now 1-month into my third year of tenancy here.

The thing is, this letting agent has been very deceptive and slippery in the past and clearly played fast and loose with what he could get away with.

I fear he's trying to get away with something here, but I'm unsure exactly how to play this. All I received was an email without any concrete details.

Any advice is much appreciated, as I'm very unsure what to do here.

ted1

That’s not a termination notice. It’s politely asking you to leave.

read it again.

“he will need to”, but he hasn’t actually done it.

winstonia

https://www.rtb.ie/ending-a-tenancy/notices-of-termination

You don't need any information from your landlord to claim the credit by the way.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515162#Comment_120515162

I don't know the landlord name and PPS number, nor do I know the RTB number. These are the details that the CPA requested and the details the letting agent is so far refusing to give to me.

Just to ensure I'm not forced out earlier than I need to be, what is the minimum number of days I can remain in the property after an official notice has been issued?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515189#Comment_120515189

Yep, those fields are optional on the form

FishOnABike

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515189#Comment_120515189

https://www.rtb.ie/ending-a-tenancy/notices-of-termination

Minimum notice required from your landlord would appear to be 180 days.

If you have a fixed term lease it might not be possible until the end of the fixed term depending on whether the lease had a relevant break clause but it would be at least the statutory 180 day minimum.

Any notice for the reason of wanting to sell the property would also need an accompanying statutory declaration in order to be valid.

As @ted1 has pointed out you haven't actually received any notice of termination yet, just a heads up that one might be on the way.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515400#Comment_120515400

I don't believe it's a coincidence that my demand for that information re: rent credit, neatly coincides with this abrupt notice that I should leave the property.

I don't even believe their claim that the property has been sold - it's an apartment block of 6 blocks of hundreds of apartments. Why would any prospective buyer of the entire lot choose to just evict me and not everyone?

It makes no sense at all.

Competing apartments of the same type as mine are going for an average of 400-500 euro per month more than what I'm paying. I think he wants to play on my naivety, get me out ASAP, and re-rent the apartment for the standard rate these days.

SwimClub

If you get a valid termination notice because the owner is selling you would just leave within the 6 months of notice. I wouldn't worry about who is buying the place it isn't really relevant. If it isn't sold within 9 months of you leaving or it's listed for rent again by the same owner you can report them to the RTB/request to move back in at the same rent. It's possible your request made them sell up if they aren't tax compliant etc. but there's nothing you can do about that now so no point thinking about it. I'd start looking for another place as the letting agent suggested, it might take a while to find in current situation.

SwimClub

To issue a valid notice to quit they would have to be registered with the RTB so maybe that's what they meant by 'outstanding matters being resolved'. Don't go anywhere until you get a valid notice and check it with the RTB obviously.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515910#Comment_120515910

Something dodgy is definitely up - and I would want to pursue this as far as I possible can.

The letting agent already illegitimately raised my rent last year (cynically taking advantage of my naivety at the time), and the contract I signed is littered with clauses that are against the rights that tenants are entitled to.

Should I report it to the RBT, or even Revenue Commissioners?

Hmm...not sure what to do, but something must be done to fight against slippery, nasty letting agents like this, who think they can get away with anything and everything when it suits them.

Note how it's phrased; that they will give me the details for the rent credit 'on receipt' of their correspondence about suddenly needing to leave the property.

Claw Hammer

You are paying 400- 500 a month below the odds and you decide to stir up trouble.

?

No Sympathy!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120516060#Comment_120516060

I didn't "stir up" trouble, I merely asked for the details that my CPA requested that I find.

There was no antagonism on my part. I simply didn't receive any correspondence from them about the matter, and the time that I do, it comes with a notice to leave the property.

If you are siding with an unscrupulous letting agent, I'm not sure what more I can say.

Kevrano

For the rent credit, you need the RTB reference number. If the tenancy isn't registered with them, you can't apply for the credit. You should have received a letter from the RTB themselves with the ref number

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120516415#Comment_120516415

I see.

Are all tenancies not obliged to be registered with RTB then?

Kevrano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120516424#Comment_120516424

They should be yes, but I know people who tried to apply for the credit and got stuck at that point on the application, so I think there are some dodgy tenancies out there.

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude in my first message.

All the info you need for the credit can be found on your lease and RTB letter. You should get the 2022 payment in a couple of days (I did).

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120516415#Comment_120516415

That field is optional.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120516462#Comment_120516462

I don't have an RTB letter, nor have I received one.

My lease agreement doesn't mention the RTB either.

I've since contacted RTB to ask about my tenancy.

Also, apparently my apartment has been sold, but there's no mention of any sale of it on the official property sales website.

Ginger83

You do not need to do anything yet because you have not received any notice, valid or not. WHEN you receive a notice of termination then the clock starts. You can of course check that the notice is valid with the RTB but even if it is not the landlord is serious about getting you out. At the moment the letting agent are chancing their arm hoping you will leave.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120516606#Comment_120516606

He fooled me once in the past with the illegitimate rent increase, he ain't going to succeed a second time.

I haven't yet responded to their email, and I don't think I will.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120516659#Comment_120516659

You don’t need to, you haven’t received a notice of termination, valid or otherwise, just a heads up that one is in the way. At least this gives you an opportunity to grab something quickly if it becomes available.

SwimClub

How do you know the property was sold?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120516940#Comment_120516940

I don't believe it has been sold.

I checked this site earlier: https://www.propertypriceregister.ie

My apartment is not listed as sold, either this year nor last year.

There is no basis for the claim that the apartment has been sold. It's clearly part of the lie that the letting agent is giving off, as usual.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120516947#Comment_120516947

I’m confused, in your op, the quoted part you received from the EA said the owner has received an offer, have they now told you it has been sold?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120517008#Comment_120517008

Okay, that's a fair point.

I missed that nuance. They stated, as you say, that the apartment has received an offer rather than having been sold.

There is no evidence of sale, only an offer made.

But that would be an even more bizarre reason to contact me and say I should seek alternative accommodation.

h2005

It’s not that bizarre though if they are actively trying to sell the apartment. Sounds like they’re just giving you a heads up.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120517025#Comment_120517025

Perhaps, but given the history of dealing with this letting agent - their history of permanent deception and lies - it's sometimes not so easy to just take their comments at face value.

Up to this point, there was no evidence to suggest they were selling the place.

When you stitch that together with their now continued reluctance to provide any information relating to the rent credit, it suggests that something else is going on.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Chances are he’s not looking to sell but he also doesn’t want you claiming tax credits on the property, for reasons only known to himself. You keep calling the letting agent dodgy, but they take instructions off the property owner. If you can find a similar property elsewhere at the same money, then move. If not, I’d be inclined to stop asking for the details, hopefully the termination order never arrives, and be happy you’re paying €4/500 less a month. The tax credit is only worth that a year! Anyway, as people have said, those fields are optional, you could’ve still applied and said nothing.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120517057#Comment_120517057

For sure, and I'd say you're right.

I haven't responded and will continue not to, for the reasons you cite.

But if the letting agent hopes and persists that he can eliminate me with ease, hoping that nothing will come of it, then he has another thing coming. I've already put together a vast swathe of evidence to give to the RTB (and others) to point the relevant authorities in his direction.

I'm just happy the letting agent is old - perhaps in his 60s. His time to scam others is limited, the scum of the Earth that he is.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120517057#Comment_120517057

Given the current climate in the rental sector, and the high price of property, it is fair to assume the owner does want to sell, particular if a good offer has been received.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120517081#Comment_120517081

Not if he has to pay CGT and Theres a possibility of relief been giving in the not so far future