I want to sell my rented-out property but worry the tenants won't want to leave
I’m Want How Rent Has Bee, Won’t Worried Expensive Tenants Leave The To Given
I hope you can help me as I’m not sure what I need to do. A number of years ago, I bought a house to rent out to supplement my income from the farm. However, I now want to sell the house as I have two children already in college, with a third hoping to start next year.
I want to use the money to help pay for their college which is proving to be more expensive than I had anticipated. Also, with house prices being so high at the moment, I think that now would be a good time to sell.
The tenants have been in the house for about five years now and they have been very good — they have always paid their rent on time and take care of the property. However, given how expensive rent has become and the fact there are so few rental properties out there, I’m worried the tenants won’t want to leave.
I know tenants have a lot of rights these days and a year ago I registered the tenancy with the Residential Tenancies Board. I don’t really know how to go about asking them to leave and what I’m supposed to do. I really don’t want this to drag on and would like to sell the property as soon as I can.
It is good you have registered the tenancy with the Residential Tenancies Board. Landlords who do not register their tenancies face a fine of up to €4,000 and a possible prison sentence if convicted. The purpose of the Residential Tenancies Board is to maintain a register of private tenancies.
The Residential Tenancies Board has an investigations and sanctions unit which has the power to investigate landlords who have not complied with residential tenancies legislation. It also has the power to caution or sanction landlords with fines of up to €15,000 if they do not meet their obligations as landlords.
If you wish to serve a notice of termination on your tenants, for this to be legally effective, certain procedures must be followed. The notice of termination must be in a particular format and must be correctly drafted. The RTB website has helpful templates which can be downloaded.
You will also need to give the correct notice period. If your tenants have been in the property for five years, the notice period will be 180 days. You will need to be very careful when calculating the termination date.
As you intend to sell the property once the tenants have moved out, you will also need to swear a statutory declaration that this is your intention. Please note that if you don’t sell the property within nine months after the termination date, you must give the tenants the opportunity to re-occupy the property again. This will be included in the statutory declaration. There are templates for statutory declarations on the RTB website also.
You will need to serve the tenant with both the notice of termination and the statutory declaration and you will also need to send these documents to the RTB on the same day. It is best to serve by registered post so that you have proof of delivery.
Once you serve the notice of termination and statutory declaration on the tenants, they have 90 days in which to notify the RTB if they have an issue with the validity of the notice of termination.
If the tenant does this, then this will be investigated by the RTB and a determination hearing may be held, where the RTB will hear evidence from both sides and decide whether the notice of termination was validly served.
You may want to instruct a solicitor to assist you with drafting the notice of termination and statutory declaration to ensure it is done correctly and with the correct notice period given.
Email: info@walshandpartners.ie
- While every effort is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this article, solicitor Angela O’Connor does not accept responsibility for errors or omissions, howsoever arising. Readers should seek legal advice in relation to their particular circumstances at the earliest opportunity.
