Landlord claims that Tenant must pay Household Charge as its a lease condition?

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It’s called a charge, then referred to as a tax, either way it is clearly stated it is payable by owners of residential property, and as such is not the tenant’s problem.

“The Household Charge

The Household Charge is an annual charge introduced by the Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 which is payable by owners of residential property. It is a matter for owners of residential properties to register and pay the Household Charge on or after the 1st of January 2012.
The EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland commits the Government to the introduction of a property tax for 2012. We are one of the last countries in Europe that does not fund local services through local property-based charges.”

https://www.householdcharge.ie/

I can see why a Landlord might expect his tenant to pay this charge.

Under Tenancy Obligations (Part 2) in A Quick Guide to the Residential Tenancy’s Act;

“Tenants must pay the rent and any specified charges.”

“These respective obligations must be adhered to whether or not there is a lease or written agreement - landlords and tenants cannot contract out of them. Additional obligations, however, can be included in a lease.”

http://public.prtb.ie/act.htm

If this charge is legally payable by the landlord, then my understanding is he cannot contract himself out of it.

I am a landlord and consider this my responsibility, not my tenants.

If I was a tenant I would follow Thresholds advice and not pay it.

These are just some thoughts for further debate.
 
Time said:
You cannot contract outside the law.
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So you're saying that it is actually illegal for a business to charge a customer for outlays incurred by them and legally payable by them to a third party? The household charge payable by a landlord is clearly a third-party outlay.
 
Has the government said that tenants are liable?

The tax is on ownership. The owner pays. Passing on the charge is outside the law thus voiding the term.
 
Time said:
Has the government said that tenants are liable?
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What has that to do with anything?

If I incur a cost in my business, I am clearly legally liable to pay it. If the cost relates to a client project, I am free to pass this cost on to my client, if my contract with the client provides for outlay charges.

The same commercial principles apply to landlord/tenants contracts.

If the government want to go off and amend the legislation to make it illegal for landlords to charge tenants for the cost of the Household Charge, this will change the situation, but until and unless they do, the above position stands.
 
Treshold: Our advice to tenants is: under no circumstances should they pay either the new property charge or the NPPR.

Citizens Advice:Who has to pay?
If you own a dwelling, you are liable for the Household Charge on it, subject to the waivers and exemptions listed below. If your house is rented out, you are liable for the charge – not your tenant. However, if it is let on a lease of more than 20 years, the person to whom it is leased is the owner for the purposes of the charge.

and on the other side of the argument:
IPOA:The following is an extract from a standard form Lease Agreement

The Tenant agrees with the Landlord as follows:-
“To pay and discharge Rates in respect of the Premises and to pay and discharge all applicable charges in respect of any Services used or consumed on the Premises without prejudice to the foregoing to pay and discharge charges for any additional service whether specified in the definition of Services or not which is or which may be rendered by a local authority in respect of the premises and to indemnify the Landlord against any charges which are or which may be payable by him in respect of the premises during the period of the Lease.”
 
There is no argument. Threshold are a tenants' lobby group. In common with trade unions and other private bodies, their statements and policy positions may be persuasive but have no legal standing. It is the applicable legislation, as implemented by the courts, that counts.
 
IPOA are a landlords lobby group. In common with trade unions and other private bodies, their statements and policy positions may be persuasive but have no legal standing. It is the applicable legislation, as implemented by the courts, that counts.
 
Time said:
IPOA are a landlords lobby group. In common with trade unions and other private bodies, their statements and policy positions may be persuasive but have no legal standing. It is the applicable legislation, as implemented by the courts, that counts.
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This is silly. I never mentioned, or cited, the IPOA anywhere. My argument relates solely to the legality or otherwise of outlays chargeable under contract.
 
The concept of outlay chargeable under contract is an integral part of every court case. The legality of such outlays is clearly not in doubt.
 
Is it legal to pass on the household charge? That is for a court to decide.
 
Sorry, I don't see the point of your input here. Why are you so selectively quoting me? My argument is that chargeable outlays are a common feature of consumer and commercial contracts. They are clearly not illegal. There is no argument here. Some others are maintaining that chargeable outlay clauses are somehow illegal in the context of landlord/tenant contracts/leases. There may be an arguable case here but no evidence has been presented here to support that case.

You have quoted statements above from Threshold and Citizens Advice but neither address this issue.
 
From Wicklow People:
Landlords pull fast one with Household Charge
TENANTS ADVISED NOT TO PAY €100

By MARY FOGARTY
Wednesday January 18 2012

TENANTS IN rental properties have been advised not to pay the €100 Household Charge to their landlords if asked to do so.

Other than where tenants are on a lease of more than 20 years, the charge is to be paid only by the owner of the house.

'It has been brought to the attention of Bray Citizens Information Centre that some landlords are attempting to pass on the new annual Household Charge to their tenants,' said a representative of the Quinsboro Road centre. ' We have confirmed with the Revenue Commissioners that it is the responsibility of the landlord to pay this charge and it cannot be recouped from the tenant.'

They added that The Private Residential Tenancies Board guidelines set out specific criteria for rent increases, which must be in line with market values. Rents can only be increased in accordance with these guidelines.

For more information contact Bray Citizen Information Centre on 0171 076 780 or go to www.citizensinformation.ie .

The charge will be replaced in the future by a valuation-based property tax.

The Household Charge Customer Service Centre can be contacted on 1890 357 357.

- MARY FOGARTY
 
ajapale said:
' We have confirmed with the Revenue Commissioners that it is the responsibility of the landlord to pay this charge and it cannot be recouped from the tenant.'
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I would love to see the Revenue statement confirming this.

The article is otherwise correct in that landlords cannot unilaterally jack up rents to cover their own cost increases. However if an existing lease includes provision for chargeable outlays, such outlays may be charged to the tenant.
 
It is the landlord's responsibility to pay the household charge. There is nothing in law to stop the landlord from recovering the cost of that charge from the tenant either directly or indirectly, especially if the lease contains such a clause.
 
If you leave the property, the landlord will just deduct it from the deposit refund. The PTRB is not much use, we have just been through that course about deposits and it was 18 months before we got 25% of the deposit back, but that is another story.
 
Landlords are liable for paying the charge, save for those long term lease situations referred to by some posters. If the charge is not paid, the Landlord will suffer the penalties.

However, a landlord is fully entitled to include in the terms of the lease that the tenant will reimburse him/her for the costs. I would expect that a lot of landlords will include specific reference to this reimbursement in leases from this point forward. There are no legal obstacles to this - its a simple matter of contract law. In these circumstances, if the tenant does not pay, then they are in breach of the terms of their lease.

While the Landlord is legally liable for ensuring its paid, I think it is out of line for Threshold to publically say it is unfair for tenants to pay the charge. Remember that this is a local authority charge to pay for local services used by the tenant. As the Landlord does not get the benefit of these services, there is a very strong moral argument if favour of the tenant reimbursing.
 
Just tell the Landlord that you'll reimburse him after he gives you a copy of the receipt that shows he actually paid it.

Odds are he hasn't.
 
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