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What are Your Rights as a Tenant?

By February 25, 2015 No Comments

What is a Tenant?

You are classified as a tenant when you hold the right to use a piece of land or a structure by agreement with the property owner.

As a Tenant, you are entitled to these rights under The Residential Tenancies Act 2004:

  • Quiet and exclusive enjoyment of your home
  • Certain minimum standards of accommodation
  • A rent book
  • The right to contact the landlord or their agent at any reasonable times. You are also entitled to have appropriate contact information such as telephone numbers, email addresses, postal addresses, etc.
  • Your landlord is only allowed to enter your home with your permission. If the landlord needs to carry out repairs or inspect the premises, it should be by prior arrangement, except in an emergency
  • Reimbursement for any repairs that you carry out that are the landlord’s responsibility
  • Have friends to stay overnight or for short periods, unless specifically forbidden in your tenancy agreement. You must tell your landlord if you have an extra person moving in
  • Certain amount of notice of the termination of your tenancy
  • Refer any disputes to the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) without being penalised for doing so
  • The right to a copy of any register entry held by the PRTB dealing with your tenancy  
  • Since 1 January 2009, all homes for rent must have a Building Energy Rating (BER). A BER will help you make an informed choice when comparing properties to rent.

Under the Residential Tenancies Act there is also:

Termination of Tenancy

The termination of a tenancy depends on the type of tenancy that you have and how long you have been in the accommodation. The two most common types of tenancies are Periodic tenancies and fixed term tenancies. A landlord must always give you notice when asking to leave. A notice of termination must;

  • Be in writing
  • Signed by the landlord or his or her authorised agent or, as appropriate, the tenant
  • Specify the date of the notice itself
  • State the reason of the termination

The notice that the landlord must give depends on the length of the tenancy :

 

Length of tenancy

Notice that the landlord must give

Less than 6 months

4 weeks (28 days)

6 months to 1 year

5 weeks (35 days)

1 to 2 years

6 weeks (42 days)

2 to 3 years

8 weeks (56 days)

3 to 4 years

12 weeks (84 days)

4 years or more

16 weeks (112 days)

We can advise you in:

  • Rent Reviews
  • Lease Agreements
  • Termination of Leases
  • Residential lease agreements

At Hughes Murphy, we have a strong knowledge of accommodation law, tenant’s rights and landlord/tenant law. If you require advice or representation as a tenant, please get in touch.