RTB 2022 Registration Overcharge

[T McGibney]

In early 2022, a landlord registers a residential tenancy with the RTB and pays €90 to register the tenancy for the shorter of its duration or 4 years.

In April 2022, legislation is enacted to unilaterally shorten the registration period to one year.

In early 2023, the landlord is advised by the RTB that their registration has now expired and that they must pay €40 to renew it.

They have not consented to the shortening of their earlier registration, for which they paid €90 in good faith. They ask the RTB why they're not entitled to a refund of or credit for the difference of €50 which they overpaid last year for what was effectively a single year's registration. They get no satisfactory answer.

They ask me for advice. I tell them that the State makes its own rules on matters like this and that we generally have no option but to put up with it. They remind me that if a private company did the same thing, for example in shortening the term of an insurance or service contract, they would at the very least be expected to reimburse the customer for the unused portion of the original fee. Failure to do that or to compensate them for the lost service would constitute a breach of contract on the company's part. I have no answer to that.

Am I missing something? All feedback is welcome.

 

[azerty]

I had read somewhere that the 90 fee was covering for 4 years anyway but I never managed to re-register on the website until my tenants gave their notice so I can't confirm.

I also wanted to add that a private company would have advised their customers of the change of the terms and conditions and not just expect them to find out. I never received any information from the rtb about the changes. I learned about it through the media months later as I don't visit the rtb website regularly in my free time.

 

[Dermot]

Registration Fee exemptions?.
Tenancies that have a duration longer than six months are called "Part 4" tenancies. Before 4 April 2022 when such a tenancy was due to expire, landlords could renew the tenancy registration and this renewed tenancy is known as a "furtherPart 4" tenancy. Landlords in these scenarios must still complete the annual registration of their tenancy on time but are exempt from having to pay an annual registration fee for the portion of the tenancy in their "further Part 4" tenancy.
For example, if there are three years left on the "further Part 4" tenancy,then the landlord will be exempt from paying an annual registration fee for those three years years. Even though there is a fee waiver in place in these circumstances, landlords are still required to complete the annual registration in accordance with the regulations. If the annual registration is late, then the standard fee and any late fees will be applied.
This fee waiver will be automatically applied when you register a tenancy online where an application meets the required criteria.
If you are filling out a paper Tenancy Registration Application (RTB1) Form, no payment is due where an application meets the required criteria.

 

[NoRegretsCoyote]

They ask me for advice. I tell them that the State makes its own rules on matters like this and that we generally have no option but to put up with it.

If it's been legislated it's been legislated. Section 134 of the amended RTA obliges landlords to register annually.

Personally I feel the RTB should give a €50 refund in these circumstances but it doesn't seem legally obliged. I suspect the issue here is that it doesn't have the technical capacity.

 

[lff12]

In early 2022, a landlord registers a residential tenancy with the RTB and pays €90 to register the tenancy for the shorter of its duration or 4 years.

In April 2022, legislation is enacted to unilaterally shorten the registration period to one year.

In early 2023, the landlord is advised by the RTB that their registration has now expired and that they must pay €40 to renew it.

They have not consented to the shortening of their earlier registration, for which they paid €90 in good faith. They ask the RTB why they're not entitled to a refund of or credit for the difference of €50 which they overpaid last year for what was effectively a single year's registration. They get no satisfactory answer.

They ask me for advice. I tell them that the State makes its own rules on matters like this and that we generally have no option but to put up with it. They remind me that if a private company did the same thing, for example in shortening the term of an insurance or service contract, they would at the very least be expected to reimburse the customer for the unused portion of the original fee. Failure to do that or to compensate them for the lost service would constitute a breach of contract on the company's part. I have no answer to that.

Am I missing something? All feedback is welcome.

You are correct, effectively the old rate was at the value of €1.875 per month so they could have allowed those who had registered less than 24 months previously a "free" year until the new rate kicked in. They didn't though, so nothing that can be done about it except mention its unfairness. Perhaps a nice letter to minister O Brien pointing out that anybody who had paid at the old rate would have effectively paid for more than 2 years of registration and then some?

 

[Frank]

RTB website has been a shocker since it was redone.

Last straw in me getting out.