# Who pays bin charges - Landlord or tenants?



## Raul (9 Nov 2008)

Just a very quick question. Normally, who pays bin charges for a rented house? The landlord or the tenants? There is no dispute but just wondering what the norm is here.


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## Kara (9 Nov 2008)

The occupier of the property- the tenant.


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## becky (9 Nov 2008)

I live in an apartment complex and it's built into the service charge so the landlord pays it otherwise the tenant pays it.


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## Raul (9 Nov 2008)

Thanks folks


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## ajapale (9 Nov 2008)

Moved from  Affordable Housing to  Property Investment which is where Landlord / tenant issues are discussed.


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## murphaph (10 Nov 2008)

as with so many things in this area....it depends what's written in the lease. An 'off the shelf' lease for a house will usually state that the tenant is responsible for bins and all other service charges.


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## Louisb (11 Nov 2008)

If you are letting the house I'd suggest you pay for the wheelie bin and add it into the rent you charge. It will save you inheiriting a lot of rubbish when the tenants move out or a lot of unauthorised burning of rubbish in your fireplace!


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## Guest122 (12 Nov 2008)

When I rented years ago the landlord paid all such fees but just priced them into the rent - so ends up the same as tennant pays in the end.
BB


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## Bronte (13 Nov 2008)

A landlord can price them into the rent but since they've introduced this pay by weight I charge tenants separately.  Then they ensure they recycle and the bill is less.  Otherwise they would probably be bringing home builders rubbish to put in it.


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## MissThing (25 Nov 2008)

I have a problem with bin charges, I'm a tenant since 2006, Dublin City Council are refusing to take the bins away because of outstanding charges (which they are demanding are paid in full), which date back to 2002 (before we moved in). We asked the landlord to sort out the bills either directly with DCC or he pay from 2002 - 2006 and we pay the rest - guess what? He hasn't bothered, he lives outside of Ireland and doesn't answer his phone and only sparodically answers his e-mails so we're left with an unsightly build up or rubbish. We've contacted the PRTB but as there's no record of the tenancy (not registered) we're screwed. Not sure what out options are? Any ideas?


Addition:
In one of the mails we suggested paying the bill in its entirity to DCC from the next month's rent (this was two months ago) but he replied (promptly by return I might add) telling us to pay the rent in full with seeking advice from his solicitor on the matter.


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## MissThing (25 Nov 2008)

[sorry I went to edit my previous post and duplicated it instead]


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## Bubbly Scot (25 Nov 2008)

In the leases I prepare it's down to the tenant to pay unless it's been negotiated otherwise. In the current climate I'm finding more and more landlords are happy to pick up the bill for bins just to get tenants in and keep them.


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## MissThing (25 Nov 2008)

yes we're happy to pay the charges for the duration of our occupancy, the difficulty we're faced with is that the charges are for the duration prior to our occupancy - hence our landlord's responsibility (he was the occupant then before he moved to Spain). However as he's not paid the bill we're left with the result, DCC won't take any more rubbish.


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## Bubbly Scot (25 Nov 2008)

MissThing said:


> yes we're happy to pay the charges for the duration of our occupancy, the difficulty we're faced with is that the charges are for the duration prior to our occupancy - hence our landlords responsibility (he was the occupant then before he moved to Spain). However as he's not paid the bill we're left with the result, DCC won't take any more rubbish.


 
That's certainly not right, it's the same with ESB chasing previous tenants for bills. You should only be liable for the duration of your tenancy. Sadly, you're in a catch 22 situation. You can't take money out of your rent to pay the bill, he's correct there. Is there an alternative supplier? Bear in mind too that some private contractors, should you go down that route, won't touch rancid waste.


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## MissThing (25 Nov 2008)

I had thought of that but I haven't seen other operators' trucks in the area.


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## sharpsuit (25 Nov 2008)

MissThing, I am very concerned that DCC has cut off your bin collection through no fault of your own. It is a nasty response from DCC over something you have no control over. The problem in the DCC that there is no Panda or alternative for you to go to.

It is a breach on the landlord's part in not paying the bin charges that he is responsible for. You could threaten to take a case to the PRTB for a breach of landlord's responsibilities.

You say that your landlord is living in Spain. If you pay your rent to the landlord - either in an account in Ireland or Spain - you will be legally obliged by Revenue to withhold 20% of your rent to pay this to Revenue. If you do not do so, Revenue will penalise you when you apply for rent relief. This liability does not arise if the landlord has appointed an Irish agent to receive the rent. Has this happened?


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## MissThing (25 Nov 2008)

We pay the rent by DD into his Irish bank account, we haven't yet applied for rent relief.  There is no Irish agent who act on his behalf, just him on e-mail (when it suits him).


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## MissThing (25 Nov 2008)

MissThing said:


> We pay the rent by DD into his Irish bank account, we haven't yet applied for rent relief. There is no Irish agent who act on his behalf, just him on e-mail (when it suits him).


 
Come to think if it, he's never given us his Spanish address!


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## sharpsuit (25 Nov 2008)

Hi MissThing,

You have an obligation under the Taxes Consolidation Act to withhold 20% of your rent so that this can be paid later to the Revenue Commissioners. This means that you only pay your landlord 80% of the rent. Check out www.revenue.ie and the rent relief application form. You should email the landlord to explain why he will be receiving a reduced rent in the future (unless he appoints an agent in Ireland to account for the rent.)


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## MissThing (25 Nov 2008)

Ok Sharpsuit, thanks very much for that information.


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## PaddyBloggit (25 Nov 2008)

MissThing said:


> Ok Sharpsuit, thanks very much for that information.




An alternative solution .... if your landlord is being difficult ..... get another landlord! Surely he should be minding his tenants ..... difficult to get tenants if he's in Spain and if he gets an agency to run the show for him ... it will cost him! He should pay his outstanding waste charges and consider himself lucky that you haven't walked by now.

(Personally, I can't blame DCC .... they are dealing with an address and can't afford to let charges go unpaid)


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## MissThing (3 Dec 2008)

PaddyBloggit said:


> An alternative solution .... if your landlord is being difficult ..... get another landlord!


 
Believe me I've thought about it, its just such a load of hassle to move though.


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## Dreamerb (3 Dec 2008)

If you're in an own door premises, you are normally liable for the bin collection charges, and standard tenancy agreements usually provide for this. Obviously, that does not include any liability in respect of previous tenants, but in fairness to the landlord he didn't incur the charges either. Local authorities have a bad habit of treating waste collection charges rather like the rates of old, and attaching them to the address rather than the individual in order to try and secure payment. To the best of my knowledge, there's no legislative basis for them to do this, and it seems inappropriate to remove your service on the basis of someone else's arrears. 

What I would suggest is that you ask the landlord to write to DCC explaining when your tenancy commenced and confirming that you cannot therefore be liable for any previous charges outstanding. If they wish to secure payment they can then either attempt to pursue the landlord for them, or track the previous tenant. 

I'd write to DCC as well either - 
(a) informing them that you are happy to pay your charges since moving in and requesting restoration of service (and, if there was a reason for non-payment, such as disputed bill from the beginning, explaining that bit), or, 
(b) if you _have _paid your charges since moving in, telling them that the withdrawal of service is unreasonable and demanding for its prompt restoration.


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