October 2021 Question: I am currently living in the States and want to sell my tenanted house in Cork. Can the required Statutory Declaration be completed by a solicitor outside Ireland? Response: If you are a Landlord and need to have a Statutory Declaration signed, we understand it has to be completed by a solicitor licensed to practice in Ireland. We are not aware of any exceptions to this. IPOA – Supporting Landlords For Over 27 Years Contact Us – 01-8276000
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September 2021 Question: There was a leak coming from the property above mine, it has caused damage to my ceiling, wooden floors and tenant’s laptop, is this covered by insurance and who is responsible? Response: On the assumption that your property is a rented apartment unit within a management company (OMC) controlled block, there will be a management company Block combined (property and liability) insurance policy (the ‘Block policy’) in place in the normal course, which you as an owner contribute to via your annual management fee and this is paid to date. Your first port of call therefore is
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September 2021 Question: One of my tenants would like a smart meter installed in my rental property. Do they need my permission to have this installed? What are the benefits of agreeing to this for me as Landlord and the Tenant? Is there an installation cost involved? Response: As part of the Climate Action plan, homes across the country are getting Smart Meters installed by ESB Networks free of charge. About 400,000 Smart Meters have been installed to date and every home across Ireland will be offered a Smart Meter over the next three years. The main benefit is that
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September, 2021 Tenancy disputes regarding Deposits remains one of the top of the list for the RTB. At the end of a tenancy, it can be difficult to prove exactly how much damage has been caused to a property or its contents. A detailed inventory can give a good indication between the start and end of tenancy, but it still does not provide that additional proof which may be the difference between winning or loosing a dispute with the RTB. We would suggest that you use photographs together with your written documentation. Not one or the other! Remember – photographs
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August 2021 In recent times, the Irish social housing market has been generating interest from private sector participants. Investors, home grown and abroad are keen to acquire residential units and let to local authorities on long-term leases and it is not just institutional funds that are investing in Social Housing. For many individual investors it is considered a relatively low risk income producing asset. We see in Europe and the UK, the investment market for social housing is well established, pension funds, private investors and other specialist investors regularly invest in this sector. This looks to continue to develop in
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The Residential Tenancies (No.2) Act 2021 was signed into law on Friday 9th July by President Higgins and commenced on that date, apart from Section 6 which commenced on the 16th July 2021. Commenced on the 9th July 2021 extends the rent arrears protections in Part 3 (Residential Tenancies) of the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 (PDRTA) until 12 January 2022; limits the amount of rent in advance and/or a deposit that landlords can ask people to pay to secure a tenancy; and provides that students do not have to give more than 28 days’ notice to
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The State has, for more than 15 years, exasperated the housing crisis by introducing populist anti property owner legislation. This has had a devastating impact reducing supply. 22,000 tenancies have been lost since Rent Pressure Zones were introduced in 2016. Government policy cannot and should not be developed as a reaction to the hysterical posturing of left-wing politicians and tenant advocacy groups on social media and television. Legislation needs to be considered, measured, accountable and effective. Additional supply is what is required and retaining existing supply is essential. Extending the rules to 2024 substantially disadvantage landlords trapped with unsustainable rents,
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