Long standing tenants

Dear all, i'm looking for some direction and information as i'm getting severely mixed messages whilst checking with official agents and online.

I'm a complete accidental landlord, I have very long standing tenants with an informal agreement and very very modest rent. This is 13 years plus on a property. Originally this migrated from a rent a room scheme to one where i'm genuinely not there, but could be if needed.

I want to invest now in doing up the property a little, leaving the tenants there, but I do now want to officially move out, have a lease, increase the rent (but will keep below market value due to the long standing agreement), register with the RTB.

My question is, could I be in deep water for not registering already, or is there an exemption for a long term tenancy such as this? I've read some reviews to this effect, but not sure how to fully interpret.

Any direction greatly appreciated!

Get legal advice. This doesn't sound like a typical tenancy. If you retained a right at all times to co-occupy the house with these people, it may not be a tenancy at all.

T McGibney said:

Get legal advice. This doesn't sound like a typical tenancy. If you retained a right at all times to co-occupy the house with these people, it may not be a tenancy at all.

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thank you, I will do, and I never actually looked at it this way!

It sounds like these people are not tenants but licensees:

See here.

A licensee is a person who occupies accommodation under license. Licensees can arise in all sorts of accommodation but most commonly in the following four areas;

1. persons staying in hotels, guesthouses, hostels, etc.,
2. persons sharing a house/apartment with its owner e.g. under the ‘rent a room’ scheme or ‘in digs’,
3. persons occupying accommodation in which the owner is not resident under a formal license arrangement with the owner where the occupants are not entitled to its exclusive use and the owner has continuing access to the accommodation and/or can move around or change the occupants,
4. persons staying in rented accommodation at the invitation of the tenant.

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It sounds like 2. and 3. above could be ticked.

However if it's a long time since you've exercised your right of occupancy they might have a good case that they are de facto tenants now.

NoRegretsCoyote said:

It sounds like these people are not tenants but licensees:

See here.

A licensee is a person who occupies accommodation under license. Licensees can arise in all sorts of accommodation but most commonly in the following four areas;



It sounds like 2. and 3. above could be ticked.

However if it's a long time since you've exercised your right of occupancy they might have a good case that they are de facto tenants now.

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thank you for taking the time to reply, yes, these could be ticked, but I agree with your de facto tenant comment also. I wonder could a solicitor draft something in a tenancy agreement to negate this risk, I will have to ask, no wonder so many people are selling at this point, it can become a minefield.

Dublin80 said:

thank you for taking the time to reply, yes, these could be ticked, but I agree with your de facto tenant comment also.

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Well it's either one or the other!

Have you retained a room for exclusive use the whole time? Have you made use of it? If so they are licensees, not tenants.

If they are licensees you can formally "move out" and ask them to sign a tenancy agreement at an agreed rent. Then they become tenants with full protection of the Residential Tenancies Act - make sure this is what you want!

Does a licensee have to be registered with the RTB? It doesn't seem to be the case?

DannyBoyD said:

Does a licensee have to be registered with the RTB? It doesn't seem to be the case?

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No registration needed.

A licensee has very few rights at all compared to a tenant.

Dublin80 said:

thank you for taking the time to reply, yes, these could be ticked, but I agree with your de facto tenant comment also. I wonder could a solicitor draft something in a tenancy agreement to negate this risk, I will have to ask, no wonder so many people are selling at this point, it can become a minefield.

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You could mitigate the risk yourself by holding at least part of the house for your exclusive use & also visit ocassionally unannounced & let yourself in. I don't mean in a contrarian or abrupt manner but rather exercising the Licensee:Licensor agreement that you have in place.