odd tenant situation

G

galway_blow_in

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got a call earlier today from a cousin of mine who lives in the east of the country , he discovered in the past week that his tenant of two years is operating a business from the house , this involves paying customers calling to the house to have pets groomed

he would like to end the tenancy as he is certain that his insurance is now inadequate and he also probably has a problem re_ revenue and the local authority , health and safety regulations are also most likely a problem

i told him he was correct to seek to end the tenancy but asked him how easy this was during the current eviction freeze ?

he only called around about twice per year , rent was always on time and the place was well kept so he didnt suspect anything until he spotted the business advertised on a FB
 
What if he did not spot it advertised, how would the property owner be held responsible for the actions of his tenant?

I have tenants, I dont check up on them, and I dont have worries what they get up to, once they are not causing anyone any trouble.
 

maybe the tenant has some sort of insurance to cover what they are doing ? but does the buck not stop ultimately with the owner of the house if the property is not registered as a commercial property ?

a house is presumably not meant to be a commercial entity ?
 
The situation needs to be regularised. A standard lease would not permit a commercial enterprise to be run from residential premises in a residential area, for the following reasons:

Increased vehicular traffic
Increased foot-fall
Inadequate off-street parking for customer vehicles
Non-payment of business rates to cover increased water usage and payment of commercial waste charges
No appropriate insurance to cover the clients, their pets or the public
Likely non-compliance with COVID regulations.

That's for starters. This is typical of selfish absentee landlords, unfortunately; if the rent is paid to heck with the consequences for residents in the area of the rental or compliance with laws. I've closed down a couple locally with interventions from the authorities, a delivery business, and a hairdressers and I've one more in my sights.
 
1. There is a new Greenway opened near where I live. Some of our neighbours are complaining that people are using it and our footpath has an extra buggy or two passing our houses. Privacy of the semi detached Mortgage Mountain is at risk.
2. A few years ago some neighbours organised a petition to close down a hairdressing concern in another neighbour's garage.

What happens in good ol' squinting windows Ireland never ceases to amaze me. Try to make a few furtive bob and they are on your case.
 
@galway_blow_in

I think the first thing he has to do is call the tenant to see if this is the case. Then he should write a letter to the tenant sent by registered post reminding them that the terms of their lease prevent them from running a business. He should ask for confirmation in writing that this is the case.

You never know. The tenant may stop when asked, and this would be the most simple solution for the landlord.

If not, having a paper trail like this will be invaluable if it ends up at the RTB.
 
Why not just ask the tenant to get insurance. If the authorities could be bothered about the business I’d say you’ll be waiting years for them to show up. If the tenant was growing weed or running a brothal then you might hear from the authorities.
 
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for all i know the tenant has insurance ?
 


i dont know if he has a lease , i didnt ask him . some landlords just make do with RTB tenancies , last time i was a private landlord ( only house i own is under long term lease to local authority ) in 2017 , the tenants had been there before i bought the place in 2015 and there was no lease in place so i myself never bothered getting one drawn up.

I dont know if RTB tenancy rules prevent running a business , perhaps they do but in the current eviction freeze climate , would they even evict over something like that ?
 
@galway_blow_in

Its standard in most tenancy agreements. I'd be surprised if he didn't have it.

It is too early to start thinking about evictions. First he has to ask the tenant to stop.
 
A tenant of mine ran a creche from the house some years ago and insurance was the only landlord relevant issue. The landlord should insist that the tenant is fully insured for this business with an indemnity to the landlord.

After that it depends how the landlord feels about it, neighbours, the fact the tenant did not inform him in advance etc. I cannot see what Revenue has to do with the landlord. If the council have an issue they will let him know, but I cannot see why they would.
 
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