My Aunt is facing eviction, after living in her apartment for 22 year the landlord wants to increase the rent from 142/mo to 800/mo- 142 she agrees is very little, but the place is in a very bad state. The landlords solicitor is emailing me at least three times a day demanding to know if she is going to vacate or pay the new rent. I have appealed to the PRTB arbitration service, they have yet to get back to me, and i have placed my Aunt on Dublin CC housing list, despite being sympathetic they have no housing to offer right now.
I think the landlord's solicitor is trying to get me to answer his endless emails so he can use my answers in some way. I have tried to be vague and ambiguous, but can he demand answers when we are still tying to find a solution for my Aunt. Specifically he wants to know when my Aunt will vacate, or does she accept that she will have to pay 800 from now on?
I am out of my depth here and would appreciate some advice.
Under Section 19 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (pdf) landlords cannot charge more than the open market rate for the apartment or house. (See 'Rates' for more information on the open market rate). You should note that the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act only apply to mainstream private rented housing - local authority tenants are covered by different laws. You can find out more about local authority tenancies here and about your landlord’s rights and obligations here. Your landlord cannot review the rent more than once a year unless the accommodation has changed substantially. This might, for example, constitute a complete refurbishment or another major change. You can ask your landlord to review the rent if:
You think it is more than the current market rate for the property or
You want a new review and more than a year has passed.
Your landlord has the right to review the rent annually. However your landlord must give you at least 28 days notice (in writing) before increasing the rent. If there is any dispute about the amount of rent or about arrears of rent, either side can refer the dispute to the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB). You must contact the PRTB before the date the new rent comes into effect or within 28 days of getting the notice, whichever is later. Read more about the PRTB and dispute resolution here.
The law (Section 19 of the Private Residential Tenancies Act 2004) defines the open market rate as "the rent which a willing tenant not already in occupation would give and a willing landlord would take for the dwelling". One of the PRTB’s functions is to monitor and research trends to find out what this market rate is in relation to cases taken to the PRTB.
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