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Do you have to move out because your landlord is selling up? Now they'll have to prove it

The aim is to stop landlords putting properties back on the market for higher rent.

LANDLORDS WHO TRY to evict their tenants by claiming they are selling up may now face fines or be taken to court if it subsequently emerges that they did not sell.

Today, Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly is to sign the new regulations into law. Previously, the minister said the fines could be up to €3,000.

The new rules hopes to end the practice of landlords telling their tenants they must vacate the property as it is being sold, only to let the apartment or house to new residents but at a higher rent.

Under the new rules, a landlord will have to sign a statutory declaration saying they want to issue notice to tenants in order to sell the property.

Up until now, tenants could be evicted if a landlord intended to sell the property, however it was not necessary to provide proof.

In a statement from the Residential Tenancies Board, it stated that if a notice of termination is found to be invalid then the tenant, a landlord may be may be directed to allow the tenant re-entry into the dwelling and or required to pay substantial damages to the tenant depending on the circumstances of the case.

Awards of damages of up to €20,000 may be awarded  for loss and inconvenience suffered as a result of a breach of obligations

alan kelly

Speaking last week in the new Oireachtas Homeless and Housing Committee, Minister Kelly said due to some legal issues, it took some time to write up the regulations.

We made the change that a landlord now has to sign a declaration if he or she is selling a house. If it is found that he or she has not done so, the Private Residential Tenancies Board can effectively deal with that and the tenant can actually go back into the house.

This is one of the last changes in law introduced under the Department of Environment aimed at strengthening tenants’ rights. Other measures included introducing a rental cap so tenants can only have their rent increased every two years.

A spokesperson for the department said “virtually all of the changes concerning rental space have been put in place”, adding these new regulations will be signed off on today.

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81 Comments
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    Mute john Appleseed
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    May 3rd 2016, 6:51 AM

    Once again the government is focusing on the private sector to solve the housing crisis. Where’s government housing and town planning?????

    269
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    Mute Chris Kirk
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    May 3rd 2016, 10:52 AM

    Councils should be fined for not maintaining their properties and not offering them up immediately for re-letting once they become vacant. It is a scandal to see Council properties left empty for months on end when there is a waiting list for housing.

    89
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    Mute Cathal P Forde
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    May 3rd 2016, 12:07 PM

    Months?? Try years. It is a total disgrace. Add to that the fact that if the leaving tenant has put in new doors or a new modern kitchen the council will rip them out, dump the lot and replace them with their regular average quality doors and kitchens.

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    Mute gregory
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    May 3rd 2016, 12:11 PM

    Supply also constrained by new taxes on rental income. 8% USC and 3% PRSI on top of 42% paye tax. And LPT property tax. No wonder landlords are selling up. Huge tax windfall for Labour/FG. These are Massive Tax Imceeases.

    36
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    Mute gregory
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    May 3rd 2016, 1:05 PM

    I am a conscientious landlord but tbh there’s money in it after paying mortgage/home insurance/life insurance/usc/lpt/prsi/paye. The vulture funds therefore buy blocks and leave empty speculating on property prices (if the hold ‘em price has to go up). Either that or they get an Letting Agent to charge through the roof. A couple of big fish can distort property prices.

    22
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    Mute gregory
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    May 3rd 2016, 1:06 PM

    Auto correct “no money in it”.

    15
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    Mute rory conway
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    May 3rd 2016, 6:42 AM

    PRTB will not ” effectively ” deal with the problem. They couldn’t be effective if they tried. It is an inept organisation. It is full of computer generated garbage. It does not know how to get to the core of a problem . It just does what their computers say. No independent thought process.

    261
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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    May 3rd 2016, 8:21 AM

    The PRTB operates based on Landlord and Tenants laws which decisively favour Landlords over tenants. Tenants have very little rights under Irish law.

    55
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    Mute Gareth Cooney
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    May 3rd 2016, 8:44 AM

    Never truer words written!

    22
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    Mute Chris Mcdonnell
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    May 3rd 2016, 9:08 AM

    We need to get past the problem, it’s not the private landlord’s responsibility to house our people, it’s our governments.
    If you buy a home, pay for it and look after it, you should be able to do whatever you like with your own property.
    The issue is our government want the private sector to house our homeless.
    We need our councils to build real homes in areas with decent falicities where these people can carve out a decent life for their families.

    149
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    Mute P.J. Nolan
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    May 3rd 2016, 9:15 AM

    If that is the case how come a tenant who paid the deposit and first months rent and not a penny more was still in a house 9 MONTHS later. That landlord (not me thankfully) has since sold his couple of houses.
    Most tenants are ordinary people just trying to get along as are most landlords but the nightmare situation above has prompted many a landlord to get out of the business.
    6 years ago there were more than 20,000 properties for on daft now there’s 3,200 a month ago there was 3,400. All this tinkering will make no difference, more houses will.
    As a landlord I would trade increased certainty for the tenant for a fast way of removing the nightmare tenant

    84
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    Mute Brian Deane
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    May 3rd 2016, 9:59 AM

    One of the FG/Lab government’s key housing policies was to reduce the number of available rental properties by driving as many landlords as possible out of the rental market. This was motivated primarily by an ideological hatred by Labour ideologues of people who buy a second house. The good news for Labour is that their policy worked. The bad news for everyone else is that there are fewer properties to rent and consequently, rents have risen following the simple law of supply and demand. Another consequence has been that as landlords exit the market in large numbers, overseas vulture funds have bought up properties to let out. These vulture funds have absolutely no ties with this country and have/will sell up whenever the mood takes them….so much for the ‘professional landlord’ as espoused by the Irish commentariat.

    The blame for the Dublin rental crisis should be laid exactly where it belongs…..Alan Kelly and the latte-drinking Labour ideologues who caused it.

    38
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    Mute John Moylan
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    May 3rd 2016, 12:10 PM

    @Fiona – wrong: try talking to landlords – the PRTB is a tenant supporting quango loaded in tenants favour, often in the face of common sense.

    41
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    Mute James Costello
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    May 3rd 2016, 10:57 PM

    Need to bring in law to crucify tenants on dole and rent allowance and not paying rent rather than protect them, not fair on good tenants

    9
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    Mute Josephine Sweeney
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    May 3rd 2016, 6:26 AM

    His time in office is over,he shouldn’t be allowed to make any more big changes like this while acting in caretaker mode

    215
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    Mute Duncan
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    May 3rd 2016, 6:45 AM

    Big changes is right !!!

    45
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    Mute Assel Dannourah
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    May 3rd 2016, 6:51 PM

    huge

    1
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    Mute Drew TheChinaman :)
    Favourite Drew TheChinaman :)
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    May 3rd 2016, 6:43 AM

    How about you stop meddling in the free market for rental accommodation and actually enact policies to increase the supply of housing?

    All this legislation does is encourage people to take their rental property off the market and decrease the supply compounding the problem.

    191
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    Mute The Guru
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    May 3rd 2016, 6:54 AM

    I take it you’re a landlord who has engaged in this practice? Otherwise why would you care. Seems to be a common sense rule.

    56
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    Mute Drew TheChinaman :)
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    May 3rd 2016, 7:18 AM

    No… I rent a €9.5k a month apartment that should be closer to €7k if the supply were 15% greater due the one next door (and similar places) that’s sat empty for 3 years because the owners would rather not rent were on the market.

    The same situation has pushed prices sky high in London and Sydney.

    64
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    Mute Shane Hickey
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    May 3rd 2016, 7:52 AM

    9.5k a month? Humble brag. No fear of you

    59
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    Mute The Guru
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    May 3rd 2016, 8:16 AM

    So what’s your issue with this rule then? Obviously they should do a lot more but getting rid of these practices is a good thing surely. Are you saying that rather than having to fill out a stat dec, landlords will leave places empty!?

    15
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    Mute Drew TheChinaman :)
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    May 3rd 2016, 8:33 AM

    I don’t have to say it… It’s already proven to be happening in major property markets such as London and Sydney and is starting to emerge in secondary property markets, Vancouver and Seattle for example.

    Cities awash with foreign investment buyers who would rather leave a property empty and use it as a tax write off than risk renting it are distorting prices.

    36
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    Mute Noel Keary
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    May 3rd 2016, 8:43 AM

    I think his point is about supply and demand. The government can introduce legislation until the cows come home but at the end of the day, if there’s not enough properties for rent compared to the number of people looking then rent will continue to rise. Also, introducing more legislation will only disincentise landlords to stay in the market. I’m going to get some stick for saying this but we need more landlords not less.

    55
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    Mute Gerry Fallon
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    May 3rd 2016, 8:50 AM

    Hang on drew, are you saying you pay 9.500 a month for an apartment or 950 eu.? If it is 9.500 a month you must be a luas driver to be able to afford that, are you?

    45
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    Mute Shane Hickey
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    May 3rd 2016, 8:52 AM

    9.5k is 9 500 if he’s paying that much he’s an idiot

    31
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    Mute The Guru
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    May 3rd 2016, 10:03 AM

    In Sydney they can avail of negative gearing and it’s mainly rich Chinese building up assets abroad. We don’t have those incentives and not many rich people want to live in Ireland.

    8
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    Mute Drew TheChinaman :)
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    May 3rd 2016, 11:48 AM

    I already pointed out no less than three times no one is living there. They are just sitting on the assets reducing the supply.

    And it’s going to become more common as low interest rates make property a better investment than a pension.

    10
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    Mute Shane Hickey
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    May 3rd 2016, 12:03 PM

    actually Drew, you are right and you are wrong. The London properties that are being bought up by outside forces are in areas such as Kensington, Southwark, Westminster and so on. Outside of local authorities, there is not much to rent in those areas anyway that would be affordable. Yes, the flats in Southbank Tower which start at £1million are going to be empty for most of the year but your average Londoner couldn’t have afforded it anyway.

    I have lived in pretty much every borough in London at some stage, the most shocking change to me is Kilburn. I shared a flat with two others there for less than £900 a month 14 years ago. That wouldn’t even get you a room today.

    This legislation is to weed out the dodgy buy to let people who are nothing but carpet baggers. The stock will remain the same but they will be forced to put their extra housing on the market, drive down the cost of property and get people buying their first homes affordably. There is nothing wrong with a housing association who follow corporate governance and human decency but half the landlords in Ireland are shysters.

    3
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    Mute Suzy
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    May 3rd 2016, 8:03 AM

    House next door to me has been sold for 10 months but landlord can’t get 1 tenant out. PRTB are useless, tenant can stay even though she got notice a year ago, all the others left no problem. New owner can’t get in, previous owner can’t get his money.

    167
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    Mute Phil Blanc
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    May 3rd 2016, 9:06 AM

    But apparently Landlords have all the rights, Suzy. Did you not know? Someone who has never been a landlord and been stuck with destructive abusive tenants told me.

    69
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    Mute Chris Mcdonnell
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    May 3rd 2016, 9:09 AM

    Susie this is where you take the law into your own hands

    35
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    Mute Dave cullen
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    May 3rd 2016, 10:23 AM

    Prtb are for tenants only.Landlords have their properties wrecked by social welfare tenants and haven’t a leg to stand on.Theres never a mans name on these leases,but he’ll be in the property as soon as the landlord walks away after handing over his keys.

    51
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    Mute Peter Buchanan
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    May 3rd 2016, 7:17 AM

    Soon to be former Minister Kelly…..thank goodness

    128
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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    May 3rd 2016, 7:11 AM

    Window dressing. You move out. You find another place. After a long drawn out process if the rented property does not sell, and you can actually prove that, you can move back in but the landlord can increase the rent anyway. The new Regulations may provide a very mild obstacle to very scrupulous landlords but not to most landlords.

    There is one solution. A massive programme of social housing, properly resourced and properly funded.

    89
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    Mute Patrick Gough
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    May 3rd 2016, 9:08 AM

    that’ll take 20 years fiona. and in the meantime? There is no solution. working people are pushing up the price of renting. The cap on rent supplements must be increased to keep up with going rate.

    11
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    Mute Unknown
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    May 3rd 2016, 9:27 AM

    Get in the f*cking sea. Increase the cap my a$$. If you cant afford a house on the scratcher move somewhere cheaper. Rent suplement is raising rent for proper tennants.

    47
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    Mute Duncan
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    May 3rd 2016, 6:33 AM

    Wow I bet that’ll stop the crisis !!

    86
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    Mute UndieGrundy
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    May 3rd 2016, 11:34 AM

    Total joke. They needed to dramatically increase the notice time given to tenants.

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    Mute windbag
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    May 3rd 2016, 7:35 AM

    Between this and Moduler homes …. This guy is a waster ……

    65
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    Mute tommy macdonagh
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    May 3rd 2016, 7:53 AM

    no problem, i’ll get a family member to make an offer and then have them retract it, after all the paper work is sorted. supply and demand dictates rental prices, tennants had it good enough for the past 6-7 years its the landlords turn now :)

    56
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    Mute William Boyd
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    May 3rd 2016, 8:33 AM

    Tommy is no more a landlord than the man on the moon, fishing again for a reaction eh Tommy?.

    20
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    Mute Gerry Fallon
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    May 3rd 2016, 8:58 AM

    Good man Tommy, so how many houses have you got rented out now? I see by your plan to get one of your brothers to buy one of your houses and then back out is a great plan, only problem is now we know what way your thinking so we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen and close off that loophole too.Ruthless landlord . just goes to show you what were dealing with with people like you.

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    Mute Patrick Gough
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    May 3rd 2016, 9:13 AM

    If you put a house on the market and nobody makes a realistic offer surely you can take it off the market and relet it

    28
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    Mute Fintin Stack
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    May 3rd 2016, 6:53 AM

    Unenforcable!

    46
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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    May 3rd 2016, 8:10 AM

    The housing shortage favours the Banks by restoring security asset values and enriches the vulture funds who have bought in very cheaply and can sell on very expensively. There has been and will continure to be a huge level of wealth extraction from the Irish economy to foreign interests.

    The private rental sector will continue to be driven upwards by a combination of demands from tenants who should be in cheaper social housing, tenants who cannot afford to buy their own homes and are paying extortionate rents, former owners of mortgage distressed homes and an influx of highly paid renters brought in by Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and many new economy companies, although the last factor is confined to areas of Dublin. The demand pressures will continue upwards, the supply issues will not be addressed for a very long time. Misery is the consequence.

    This suits the Government’s policies, led by Michael Noonan, in fostering and supporting the predatory role of foreign vulture funds.

    A Report on this has just been published.,

    A generation of younger Irish people have been sacrificed to the vulture funds.,

    The Kelly initiative is sticking a tiny Elastoplast on a major arterial bleed.,

    As always, vested interests dominate and the Government is an active facilitator. This policy will continue under the new FG Government.

    30
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    Mute Em Ni Mhurchu
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    May 3rd 2016, 9:02 AM

    You got in in 1 Fiona! This should be roared from the rooftops. It’s an absolute disgrace and those responsible should be jailed for treason and crimes against the Irish people

    13
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    Mute Karen Doyle
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    May 3rd 2016, 10:20 AM

    So do landlords have any rights over their own houses….?

    27
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    Mute Pat Gorman
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    May 3rd 2016, 10:15 AM

    If the government is determined to destroy the private rental sector what are they planning to replace it with?
    Where are the tenants going to go?
    They are trying to destroy an entire industry without any plans for what happens when private landlords stop letting.
    Stupidity reigns in Dail Eireann.
    As ever.

    24
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    Mute von
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    May 3rd 2016, 7:33 AM

    About time someone moved their asses to stop these Landlords.

    18
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    Mute von
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    May 3rd 2016, 7:36 AM

    I will add i hope its the last time Alan Kelly takes any initiatives l put him in a room somewhere that we do not have to look or hear him.

    29
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    Mute Pat Gorman
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    May 3rd 2016, 10:18 AM

    Great thinking von.
    About 223,000 people will be sitting on the street when the “landlords are stopped”.
    Pure stupidity.

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    Mute Pat Gorman
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    May 3rd 2016, 10:25 AM

    P.S.
    Private landlords take a lot better care of their tenants than state landlords.
    Moyross in Limerick is a rental s**t hole which is completely state owned.

    18
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    Mute Pat Gorman
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    May 3rd 2016, 11:49 AM

    Daft law.
    “Only two years more” say I.
    All I need to say to my tenants is that I give them two whole years notice.
    They are usually gone to a new apartment voluntarily in about 10 weeks.
    Psychology….Dear Boy…. Psychology.

    3
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    Mute Catherine Mc
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    May 3rd 2016, 10:05 AM

    Personally I think the householder has the least rights in this country

    18
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    Mute Ken Kelly
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    May 3rd 2016, 7:53 AM

    I am not fond of mr Kelly but this is a good thing to do. It is not meddling in the market, just ensuring fairness for all parties.

    18
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    Mute tommy macdonagh
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    May 3rd 2016, 7:55 AM

    it is laughable how easy this is going to be got around. i determine my rental price, no one else :)

    34
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    Mute Sea View
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    May 3rd 2016, 8:47 AM

    You are determined in not taking your ‘anti-psychotic ‘ medications ,Kenneth ..

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    Mute Sea View
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    May 3rd 2016, 10:01 AM

    Just saw that the first posters name was ‘Ken’ -My apologies to the real ‘Ken’ ..”Tommy” is the “Kenneth” that I was going on about …

    4
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    Mute Karen Doyle
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    May 3rd 2016, 10:26 AM

    Who is Alan Kelly to say what i can do with my own house? Tenants have all the rights, what about landlords who have mortgages etc? Not every tenant is a good tenant and there are instances where I would be better leaving my house empty at this stage than renting it.

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    Mute Gerry Fallon
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    May 3rd 2016, 8:46 AM

    Im delighted that at last this is coming in.Its a great piece of legislation and hopefully will put these greedy heartless Landlords in their place.By the way, it should be stressed that the majority of landlords are decent people looking after their property and tenants. And its only proper it has come in as there are so many families renting now because they cannot get a mortgage or there are no houses for sale.Their kids go to school locally, work locally.The upheaval it caused when the landlord gave notice to quit must have been awful for them.My advice to a landlord would be if you have a good tenant stick with them and dont be greedy, and think of the inconvenience that ensues by your quest to get a few more quid.For once I give Alan Kelly credit.

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    Mute Chris Mcdonnell
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    May 3rd 2016, 9:15 AM

    Gerry what if you don’t have a good tenant? What if they pay their rent late? Treat your Property poorly, annoy your neighbors, take part in anti social behaviour? What would you do then?

    35
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    Mute Patrick Gough
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    May 3rd 2016, 9:20 AM

    Good tenants are a joy but alas they are very rare. If any of you landlords out there have a good tenent look after them even if the rent is.not the highest you can get

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    Mute Rob Cahill
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    May 3rd 2016, 10:06 AM

    The vast majority of people renting are decent tenants who look after the property and respect the neighbours etc.. To say good tenants are rare is ridiculous. Sure there are a few bad eggs and I have heard some horror stories but they are well in the minority.

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    Mute P.J. Nolan
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    May 3rd 2016, 12:38 PM

    Agreed Rob I’m a landlord for almost 20 years and vast majority are ordinary people trying to get along

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    May 3rd 2016, 8:18 AM

    Ireland is almost unique in Laldlord and Tenant laws which enable new owners such as Receivers, Banks, Vulture funds and new investors obtain the removal of existing tenants. Even in the UK tenants have formal statutory protection when there is a change of ownership or pending change of ownership.

    In non-speculative markets, there is a preference to purchase private investment properties with the benefit of an existing rent roll.

    Many Irish households are now farm paying more than the recommended 30% of income on accommodation. This produces poverty as income is leached from tenants into the pockets of asset owning landlords, with no trickle down effect because much of this asset ownership is owned through complex offshore structures which means that the wealth does not flow back in. It’s like blotting paper, sucking out Irish wealth and evaporating hard earned income.

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    Mute John Moylan
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    May 3rd 2016, 12:15 PM

    @Fiona – If Banks cannot access the asset, then they won’t give a mortgage to (the landlord etc), to buy/build it.

    So then what ? How does not building then solve anything ?

    As long as we have recourse mortgages, that is never going to change.

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    Mute John Moylan
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    May 3rd 2016, 12:20 PM

    @Fiona, you say “This produces poverty as income is leached from tenants into the pockets of asset owning landlords, with no trickle down effect because much of this asset ownership is owned through complex offshore structures which means that the wealth does not flow back in”

    This does not apply to the (huge) number of private landlords who, if the house was built anywhere in the last 15years are in a sea of negative equity and who, because of the gross rent now attracting PRSI and USC as well, now find they are backing rent every month with their own money, to banks. See, banks again. There is nothing to ‘trickle’ down.

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    Mute P.J. Nolan
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    May 3rd 2016, 12:30 PM

    Good point John about the banks and access to the assets.
    Re: Recourse mortgages

    Surely if we have non recourse mortgages interest rates will rise?

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    Mute Patrick Gough
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    May 3rd 2016, 9:26 AM

    It’s ironic that the improved economy has caused the problem. more people working, more money on worker’s pockets, pushing up rents. problems for social welfare renters

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    Mute Rob Cahill
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    May 3rd 2016, 10:02 AM

    Is this in Law already?? We were just kicked out of our place a few weeks ago because the landlord was “selling”. We asked the price because we were interested in buying but they just ignored us (Agency not Landlord). They put the rent up last November and then tried to put it up again in December but because the new rules stated only one increase every 24 months we didn’t have to pay the second increase which would have saved us a lot in the long run. But the house was damp and had visible mould on the ceilings and no matter how much to reported it they didn’t care.

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    Mute gregory
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    May 3rd 2016, 12:54 PM

    Rob, not a very good landlord I’d say trying to push up rent 2x. I rent out a house myself but dont use Agents as they’re useless and charge €7mth for nought. If previous tenant didnt heat house f long time u can get mould. Very hard to get rid of.

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    Mute Rob Cahill
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    May 3rd 2016, 1:16 PM

    We were there 4 years and we reported the mould every few months, Once they came in and painted over it but the problem was the roof, The membrane under the slates needed to be replaced, When it rained you could hear the water dripping from the roof to the ceiling. To be honest the agency are renowned for having a bad reputation so it was probably them trying the rent twice instead of the owner. We rented another now direct from a landlord and all is going well.

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    Mute gregory
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    May 3rd 2016, 1:23 PM

    Rob, there’s an appartment block beside the Garda Station in Mallow with exactly same problem. The roof leaks and mould is so bad its actually a health hazard. The owners should be forced to either repair it or knock it down. I rent out a house myself but the owner was charging a friend of my €650/month for a home full of mould w/ leaky roof. All her clothes got destroyed. She tried to get Agent to do something but she was ignored. I told her to run an leave one months rent in the bank to cover her damages. I’ve literally no idea how they get away with it.

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    Mute gregory
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    May 3rd 2016, 1:25 PM

    This new journal app doesnt work well w/ android. Another typo: €75/mth the Agents charge no 7

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    Mute Rob Cahill
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    May 3rd 2016, 1:34 PM

    Yeah was thinking 7 was low :P. We dumped about 10 black bags of clothes as they were damaged from the dampness, We also had to run the heating more than we should have and had a dehumidifier going 24/7 so the bills were expensive. We are out only 2 weeks now but already we are sleeping much better and feeling a lot better too. Was a blessing in disguise, I just hope whoever goes in there next has better luck getting it sorted.

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    Mute gregory
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    May 3rd 2016, 2:24 PM

    Good stuff Rob moving house is a real pain but good to see you got a decent place and can relax now. That dampness issue is the worst.

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    Mute P.J. Nolan
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    May 3rd 2016, 3:31 PM

    Lack of ventilation can be a common cause of mould too lost count of how times I have cleared room vents that were stuffed or taped up to “keep the room warm”

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    Mute Pat Gorman
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    May 3rd 2016, 12:25 PM

    The crass stupidity of Dublin lawmakers is evident here.
    All I have to tell my tenants is that “I am getting old” so get out.
    A landlord does not need to mention the future of the house.

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    Mute Mark Murray
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    May 3rd 2016, 5:08 PM

    where do the prtb get the authority to do that, your *( some what not coerced threatened voluntary) declaration when you sign up,

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    Mute Lukey
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    May 3rd 2016, 3:51 PM

    everyone says how are is is to find a place in dublin which is true. but once ya find a place you gotta make is yours

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