Rent review - when should I send notice to tenants

G

Ger1966

Registered User
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Hi all,

I've a question about the rent review process and when notice should be sent to the tenants.

Tenants moved into my apartment on Aug 1 2021 paying €1450 per month, with the expiring on July 31 2022. My intention is to increase by 2%. I've been looking at the RTB site to see what I need to do to inform the tenants of the new rent.

I need to fill out this form as part of the process: https://www.rtb.ie/images/uploads/f..._of_New_Rent_RTB_(Revised_Dec_2021)_Final.pdf.

Towards the bottom of the second page is says "This Notice of Rent Review must be served by the Landlord on the Tenant(s) at least 90 days before the new rent becomes payable. There are also restrictions on how frequently rent reviews can take place – once every 12 months for tenancies located in RPZs and every 24 months for tenancies located outside RPZs. For more details on rent reviews and to find out if your tenancy is in a RPZ, visit www.rtb.ie ".

Does this mean that I should have issued this notice at the end of April?

If I issue it today, does it mean that the new rent won't come into effect until 90 days from now?

Thanks!
 
Thanks @jpd

When it comes to the new lease and the rent, does this need say that the rent will be €1450 until Sep 30 and then €1479 from then onwards?
 
Ger1966 said:
Thanks @jpd

When it comes to the new lease and the rent, does this need say that the rent will be €1450 until Sep 30 and then €1479 from then onwards?
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A new lease is redundant. Notice of rent review is all that is needed. Make sure you dot the i's and cross the t's and use the prescribed forms on the rtb website.
 
the only time the 90 days doesn't apply is if it's a new lease. Say three tenants lived there and two moved out. You need to end the last tenancy and start a new one. You are allowed to review the rent proportionally as a result. So if they moved out 9 months into a lease. You can increase the rent by 1.5% for the new lease with the last remaining tenant on the lease.
 
We checked this before for a nephew who was renting, and the RTB said if the tenancy is a fixed term lease for one year in an RPZ, the rent can only be increased after the 12 months. If its not an RPZ, then its after 24months.
Any rent increase must have 90 days notice of when the new rent comes into effect.

If your RPZ tenancy started on 1Aug21 then it cant be reviewed until 1Aug22. The notice must include 90 days notice. RTB said if the notice is posted, the landlord should allow a few days for post to be received. It can be hand delivered also.
Say you issued a rent increase on 1Aug22 and the tenant received it on 2Aug22, then the new rent could start on 1Nov22.
 
Thanks @bipped

The lease is up on Aug 11. I thought that I had to give 30 days' notice, so I had a reminder set to send the notification earlier than the 30 day requirement. It was only when I read the RTB form that I saw the 90-day requirement. So to be able to increase the rent by the 2% from Aug 12 2022, the tenants would have had to have received the notification no later than May 14 2022. Is that correct?

If I post them the notice today (June 28) and allow 2 days for delivery i.e. they get it on June 30, then the earliest date that the new rent would be applicable would be Sep 28 i.e. June 30 + 90 days. The next rent after that date would be October 12, so they'd pay the "new" amount on that day. Is that correct?
 

This is a very interesting post as it is very common in house shares and not clearly explained on RTB website.

Apologies for the following long post but I've been trying to understand how house-shares work within the RTA rules for a while now because it affects a lot of people I know. Any comments or examples appreciated.


AFAIK its not that simple to end a tenancy and start a new one. If tenants have part 4 rights they are entitled to notice periods - the tenancy can only be terminated for allowable reasons.

Say three tenants signed a lease agreement and two wanted to move out after 9 months, the two leaving want to sublet or assign the lease. If the landlord doesn't allow that, then the two can vacate under the RTA rules but that leaves the last tenant liable for the entire rent if they decide to stay. They have part 4 rights at that stage.

But,

IIRC, I read that assignment of part of a dwelling is not allowed under the RTA rules anyway (not certain about that) so the two leaving can't assign other people to replace them but thats what normally happens in house-shares, one moves out and another moves in. If its not allowed under RTA, is that a breach that could result in a termination notice? Does that mean that a sublet or assignment can only be where the entire tenancy/lease agreement is transferred and only with the landlord's permission?


If a few tenants all sign the lease agreement together and some later leave, am I right in thinking that the last tenant left has a few options:

1) They can stay and pay the full rent or leave if they can't afford the entire rent.

2) They can ask the landlord to find replacement tenants. Landlord advertises, vets and selects replacements and adds them to the existing tenancy. The new tenants are bound by the tenancy terms and gain part 4 rights after 6 months occupancy. Tenants pay rent to landlord. Rent reviews are based on the lease date & can happen after 12 or 24 months from the start of the lease, irrespective of the dates any replacement tenant moves in.

3) They can take in two lodgers with the landlords agreement. Lodgers pay the last tenant. The lodgers can request to be added to the tenancy and will start to accrue part 4 rights from the date they are added as tenants. (May be different to the date they move in, according to RTB webchat). They then pay rent to landlord. Part 4 rights are gained after 6 months occupancy as tenants. Rent reviews are based on lease date and within rules.

If a lodger or replacement tenant moves into a tenancy that already exists for 9 months, and the landlord increases the rent after 12 months with 90 days notice, the new tenants would get a rent increase after six months occupancy.

The other scenario is where tenants in a house-share have individual tenancy agreements with the landlord. When a tenant vacates, the landlord finds a replacement. The rent is individually agreed with each tenant from the date they move in and increases are individually reviewed within the rules. Each tenant gains their own part 4 rights after 6 months occupancy.

Have I got any of this right?
 
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NoRegretsCoyote said:
I'd strongly advise against this.

It should be sent by registered post to avoid any dispute down the line.
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Thats what I thought then I read on a letting agent's blog that tenants might not be at home to sign for a registered letter so "recorded delivery" where an post gives a proof of postage is safer. Maybe do both?


Ger1966, Afaik the rent increase can't be issued until the 12 months is up (RPZ) which means the first rent increase is actually 15 months after the tenant moves in. Some posters who are landlords will know how this works for sure, but that's what happened my nephew, they got a rent notice when they were in the apartment a year and it was for 3 months later.
 
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bipped said:
Thats what I thought then I read on a letting agent's blog that tenants might not be at home to sign for a registered letter so "recorded delivery" where an post gives a proof of postage is safer. Maybe do both?
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Probably no harm. The main thing is to have a paper trail so that this can never be challenged at the RTB.

It's pretty cheap for that peace of mind.
 
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