Need advice on new landlord and problems with deposit.

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Hairdo

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I have been living in an apartment for over a year. This apartment was owned by a receivership when I moved in. I signed a 12 month fixed term lease which ended about 2 months ago and I have been operating on a rolling 1 month agreement since that.

I was informed by the receiver's agent a few months ago that the apartment was going to be sold tenant in situ and that it shouldn't affect me.

The sale went through about a week ago. Up to this point I had not received any notice of the fact the landlord had changed other than the new landlord was now looking for me to pay him but wouldn't give me proof of ownership and I had not received any notice saying that the old landlord was no longer the landlord. Both parties were then looking for me to pay them both. I had to get into the middle of it and refuse to pay either until I was issued with official details of who pay. I received this letter a few days ago, and today I received another registered letter:

About a month ago the new landlord came over to say he wasn't going to raise the rent and I didn't have anything to worry about. That was fine. He informed me that this is not a normal sale as he bought part and parcel, and that he couldn't change the lease or the agreements or the rent. The issue was that he gave me the old lease with the old landlord's details and payment details on it, and his solicitor said that it was a new lease, valid until next year( a new 12 month contract). This wasn't possible as I hadn't signed a new lease.

I have been resident in this apartment for over a year and am now in a part 4 tenancy. Now the new landlord has issued me with a lease that states that he is putting up the rent as of next month. Firstly, I have been informed by the PRTB, Threshold and Citizen's Information that he cannot do this as the new tenancy act has come into Ireland and the rent cannot be raised within a 24 month period. Secondly, doesn't he have to give me more notice that that even if he could put up the rent?

He mentioned before that the old landlord won't give him my deposit, they are not giving it to me either. Now he has added in the lease that he wants a new deposit from me, he wants to change the previous agreement of paying up to date and now he wants a month in advance also.

I have already paid a deposit for this apartment. I don't feel I should have to pay again. And if the sale is such that he can't change the terms of my renting, then how is all of this possible?

I am a mature student and in the middle of a 1 year further education course. And I am in receipt of rent allowance. The new landlord agreed that he wouldn't raise the rent or change any details of the agreement and that actually he couldn't even if he wanted to as he bought from a receivership, part and parcel. Is this true? And if so, how is he (through his solicitor) changing all that now? I don't have a solicitor and I can't afford one. PRTB is closed until 4th December and I won't be able to get any advice for a while now.

Now he seems to have changed his mind about everything. I am wondering what are my rights here? I cannot afford to pay another deposit and a month's rent in advance. If he had told me this at the time, I would have looked at my options before now and not have entered into a new 1 year agreement with the electricity company! Now I am indebted to them because of his false promises! We had a verbal agreement, is this worth anything?

He is looking for a rent increase to come into effect next month. Even if he were within his rights to raise the rent isn't he obliged to give me more than that amount of notice? I don't understand the legalities of this situation. Is a receivers sale, with tenant in situ, different to another sale? According to he PRTB I have rights to stay here but he is treating this now as if I moved into another apartment, but I have already been resident here for over a year, so I have been told that I have rights to stay, but with the money and deposits he is charging me I won't be able to afford this. To be honest I don't really have anywhere else to go. I can't afford to pay another lump sum of rent, rent in advance and deposit, especially when my previous deposit hasn't been returned and I have already paid a deposit for his apartment!

I feel that this situation is unfair as I have already had an agreement in this apartment but I don't know what to do now, and to top it all off the new landlord's solicitor has issued me with all this on the day before Christmas Eve, probably knowing that I have only 28 days to file a claim with the PRTB and that I would first need advise, and because it is Christmas and the New Year that nowhere would be open. I cannot ask anyone about the legalities of any of this.

Please let me know if you have had any advise
 
I started to write a reply to this rather long post where many points have been raised, on several occasions - but found it was going to be very time consuming to give an adequate reply to the information provided.

Hairdo said:
I have been living in an apartment for over a year. This apartment was owned by a receivership when I moved in. I signed a 12 month fixed term lease which ended about 2 months ago and I have been operating on a rolling 1 month agreement since that.
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In my opinion, a monthly rolling agreement, would mean that you could give a month's notice and leave which, as you have been living there for some 14 months, would mean that you must give 42 days notice - 42 days is not monthly. Therefore, you plainly have a Part 4 tenancy.


You were correct to confirm to whom you had to pay the rent.


This is one of the paragraphs that put me off answering your query. The previous paragraph ends with a colon (I received another registered letter which indicates to me that this is a quote of part of the letter. However this paragraph does not seem to be a quote from the letter.

A lease with the old landlord's name and address would not be a valid lease for you to now sign. Therefore, he must have a lease agreement that is updated. As a new landlord with a new lease agreement he is entitled to have new clauses in the agreement (as would be your previous landlord if you were going to sign a new fixed term lease). Changes could include a new rent increase.


A rent increase must have previously been advised in writing at least 28 days before the increase is to take effect. My understanding of the new laws since the 4 December 2015 requires a minimum of 90 days notice to be given before an increase in rent. and yes, an increase after 4th December must not be less than 24 months sine the last rent increase.

Hairdo said:
And if so, how is he (through his solicitor) changing all that now? I don't have a solicitor and I can't afford one. PRTB is closed until 4th December and I won't be able to get any advice for a while now.
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I presume you mean the 4th January 2016? The PRTB is really like a court and cannot give specific advice otherwise they may be considered as not impartial to a pending case. However, they do give general advice. Solicitors who are not active and fully conversant with the RTA 2004 and especially with the new laws which are, to date, only partially signed into law, may be correct in their advice to their clients. The RTA 2004 is, in places extremely difficult to understand and poorly written. Even a judge has stated that it was poorly written!


As mention previously, a landlord and especially a new landlord, is entitled to change clauses in any new agreement which if you don't agree, you don't have to sign it. However, in my opinion, if the new landlord registers this tenancy with the PRTB as a new tenancy with a new landlord (and therefore has to pay a new registration fee) he is more entitled to change the terms of the new lease agreement.

Your deposit paid to the receivers with whom you signed the original lease is legally liable to return that deposit, not your new landlord (unless it has been passed on to him. Your rent should still be paid monthly in advance - there should have not been any break in the rent payment thus you shouldn't have to pay any extra rent in advance.

I don't know of electric companies requiring yearly contracts - certainly most tenants don't enter into yearly contracts and pay by direct debit thus avoiding having to pay a deposit to the electric company. When a tenant leaves they just give the final meter reading and pay to that date.

Verbal agreements are difficult to prove as it is usually a case of "he said, I said". When dealing with landlords it is imperative to have everything in writing. If you agreed something verbally you should confirm in writing to the other party what was agreed between you. The other party then has the opportunity to accept or deny the verbal agreement.

Hairdo said:
Is a receivers sale, with tenant in situ, different to another sale? According to he PRTB I have rights to stay here but he is treating this now as if I moved into another apartment,
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Usually a property sold "as a going concern" would continue as is. However, when there is a receiver in place things could well be different. Receivers sell properties with no guarantees what so ever. I do find it difficult to understand how you signed a lease with a receiver - they do not normally rent properties to new tenants - did you get a good deal on the rent? Yes, you have the right to remain in the apartment for a total of 4 years. However, I am unsure if a new landlord has to register the tenancy again with the PRTB - if he does then you have a new tenancy with the new landlord but still have the right to remain for a total of 4 years, that is, 4 years from the time you first started to reside in the property.


As I mention previously, your previous landlord (the receivers) are liable to return your deposit or proof that it has been passed on to the new landlord. One of the advantages of the new laws coming into force is that the PRTB will hold the deposits and this will help in your type of situation. The new landlord is entitled to have a deposit. Again, as mentioned previously, there should not be any extra rent to pay as this is always paid in advance - unless you paid the old landlord a payment that was due to the new landlord. Then it would be a case of making a claim with the PRTB against the old landlord (the receivers) for both the deposit and an over payment of rent.

Hairdo said:
Please let me know if you have had any advise
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That advice is in my opinion and understanding of the law and not anything legal. I am not in the legal profession just a poster who has an interest in the tenancy laws - I am impartial. You may like to consider how long it has taken to reply to your post.
 
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