Overcrowding in a rented house?

M

Magillagorilla

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Can anyone shed any light on what constitutes overcrowding? Take the case of a family being in a rented house for many years. Good tenants, HAP, 3-bed house. There are two parents and five children, the eldest of whom is now over eighteen. Naturally the family is anxious for their own house. With annual registration coming up will this cause any difficulty for a landlord? The house is insured for a family, and many families lving in their own houses would be as large as this. Thanks for any advice.
 
I don't know if this Act was updated,but here is the definition from the 1966 housing act

Housing Act, 1966, Section 63

The electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB) comprises the Acts of the Oireachtas (Parliament), Statutory Instruments, Legislation Directory, Constitution and a limited number of pre-1922 Acts.
www.irishstatutebook.ie
 
Thanks for the reply.gippimann. I have checked it out and the 1966 Act is still in operation. Has anyone here been refused registration by the RTB in a situation like this? The second criterion regarding air-space in the bedroom would seem to indicate overcrowding. The family in question have been on the housing list for many years. They desperately want to move but it seems unlikely in the current climate.What can a property owner do in a case like this? The parents came with three very young children and now have five, one over eighteen. Neither they nor us have broken any regulations. They simply had more children.
 
I think it is down to bed spaces. So a 2bed house would usually fit 4 single beds.
Just found this on RTB site: notice to end tenancy:

Grounds to end a tenancy | Residential Tenancies Board

RTB operates Ireland's National Tenancy Register and resolving disputes between Landlords, tenants and third parties. Governed by residential Tenancies Act 2004. View more information on landlords and tenancies.
www.rtb.ie
​

'2. The property is not suited to the tenant’s needs​


The property no longer suits the needs of the tenant, for example, it may be too small. In this case, a statement as to why it is no longer suitable for the needs of the tenant must also be given with the notice of termination. The statement must also specify the bed spaces in the dwelling.'

If you think of it you filled in a form for HAP and it asked for the number of bed spaces. Council also stipulates that at certain ages the child who is now a adult should have its own room.

Housing Act, 1966, Section 63

The electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB) comprises the Acts of the Oireachtas (Parliament), Statutory Instruments, Legislation Directory, Constitution and a limited number of pre-1922 Acts.
www.irishstatutebook.ie

Found this on the Housing Act 1966
PART IV

Overcrowded and Unfit Houses
Definition of “overcrowding”.
63.—A house shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be overcrowded at any time when the number of persons ordinarily sleeping in the house and the number of rooms therein either—
(a) are such that any two of those persons, being persons of ten years of age or more of opposite sexes and not being persons living together as husband and wife, must sleep in the same room, or
(b) are such that the free air space in any room used as a sleeping apartment, for any person is less than four hundred cubic feet (the height of the room, if it exceeds eight feet, being taken to be eight feet, for the purpose of calculating free air space),
and “overcrowding” shall be construed accordingly.
 
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Interesting thread. My tenant has had her 2 adult children move out of a 3 bed in the past year, and has just moved in a family this week from Ukraine.
Good point re: insurance. The house is only insured for the 3 original tenants. I might have some leverage with this.
 
Thank you.
That is certainly out of order because they are not the same family. I am always asked at renewal if it is still "the family", as in parents and children. I think any other arrangement could be regarded as sub-letting.
 
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