Designing a longer term lease.

The preference for letting property for 1 year is often suitable for both tenant and landlord alike, however, if we do start to see people showing a propensity for longer term renting then creating a lease that facilitates this is vital.

The fact is that the ’12 month term’ is partly irrelevant, what it does do is set out the terms and agreements; but during that 12 months the renter obtains the right to stay for a longer period under ‘Part 4’ of the Residential tenancies act 2004 (a 4yr cycle).

This is often a point of contention in eviction cases, so it is vital that people wishing to avail of Part 4 write to the landlord stating this between 3 and 1 months before the end of the tenancy date, although it can exist even without notification being given.

But today we’ll assume that both parties to the lease want to engage in a longer term choice. There are a few primary issues that each of them will want to cover.

1. Who pays for certain aspects of the …

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The PRTB (Private Residential Tenancies Board)

If you rent a property which is covered by the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 then you must register a tenancy with the PRTB, if you get the registration in within a month it will cost €70, if you are late it is €140. This fee gives the landlord virtually nothing and if you don’t register the PRTB can (in case of any dispute), defend the tenant but not accept any complaints from a landlord.

The fact that this is so one-sided is evidence that there is an anti-landlord undercurrent which is highly prevalent in Ireland goes so far as to be expressed in legislation. Contrary to popular belief, a landlord has very little ability to turf out tenants or behave in a manner which is one sided.

If you don’t register your tenancy you cannot offset mortgage interest against rental income, the laws on offsetting expenses (mortgage interest) for landlords have changed, and now you can only offset 75% of the interest against rental income, if you had this reduced to zero for not registering with the PRTB you could …

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