Increase rent ' officially' but effectively not really.

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nbc

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I have a property where the rent hasn't increased in 4 years.
She's a single mum with 2 children and a very nice person and also a dream tenant. She receives HAP so pays some herself and rest from the state.
I didn't want to increase rent over the years because of above. My concern now is that if she moved out ( unlikely) at some stage Id be stuck with current rent. Simple question- am I allowed to increase the rent by the max allowable ( I checked on the website and its 8%) and declare this on RTB but just ask her to continue paying the old rent or is this fraud?
Cheers
NBC
 
I don’t see anything wrong with it. Tell her in writing that the higher amount is due and send her the odd chaser by email. But reassure her verbally it’s just a ruse.
 
It's not fraud afaik but just remember that under the current RTB regime no good deed ever goes unpunished.

Charge her as near the going rate as you can, otherwise you may later deeply regret your generosity.
 
I've had no issues with offering a rent holiday.

Have done it in the past in return for getting an overgrown garden under control and for doing a deep clean of a property when I didn't have the time to do so.
 
DannyBoyD said:
Whatever; the point being that there's no issue doing so.
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Come on, if you attempt to dodge a law by coming to an artificial arrangement with another party that would make no sense except as a device to circumvent or frustrate that law, you will usually come a cropper if your cunning plan later comes to the attention of either a statutory body charged with enforcing that law, or a court of law.
 
DannyBoyD said:
Whatever; the point being that there's no issue doing so.
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I'm sure that the RTB might beg to differ...

Setting Rent and Rent Reviews in a RPZ | Residential Tenancies Board

RTB operates Ireland's National Tenancy Register and resolving disputes between Landlords, tenants and third parties. Governed by residential Tenancies Act 2004. View more information on landlords and tenancies.
www.rtb.ie www.rtb.ie
There are serious consequences for landlords who set rents in breach of the RPZ rent caps. It is an offence to do so and it also amounts to ‘improper conduct’. The RTB is empowered to prosecute landlords who commit offences under residential tenancies legislation or alternatively, may investigate and sanction landlords for engaging in improper conduct.
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I'm amazed at some of the suggestions being made in this thread and being allowed to stand given Askaboutmoney's intolerance of stuff like tax evasion, law breaking etc.
 
There's nothing dodgy or evasive about offering a rent holiday.

The rent is *not* in breach of the RPZ without the rent holiday.

The OP wants to increase the rent *following* the RTB calculator and recognises that they have a good tenant they want to keep.

That can be done.
 
ClubMan said:
I'm amazed at some of the suggestions being made in this thread and being allowed to stand given Askaboutmoney's intolerance of stuff like tax evasion, law breaking etc.
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This is different.

The OP has a choice - Put up the rent by 8% and hurt his existing tenant but protect his long term future. Or not put up the rent and effectively, give a discount to future tenants. If there is a workaround, I would take it.

Otherwise I would just put the rent up by 8% as most other landlords are doing.

Brendan
 
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RTB limits on increases are from the last rent review. Would it be cleaner to not trigger a rent review now and when the time comes just increase the rent properly in line with the maximum allowed?

It's hard to see the RTB not interpreting a standing discount as an alteration to the agreed rent, in which case the discounted rate becomes the rent that should be used for the purposes of calculating any future increase.
 
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DannyBoyD said:
How will the RTB get involved here? Tenant brings a claim to object to getting a rent holiday?
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In exactly the same way as they might get involved in any dispute over rent being charged to future tenants. Unlikely, but problematic if it arises.

The RTB guidance and the Residential Tenancies Act is clear that the actual rent should be declared, going through a rent review and submitting the required documentation that deliberately misstates the rent greed with the tenant is never a good look. Will you get away with it? Probably, but that's the case with many offences.
 
DannyBoyD said:
You are not mis-stating the rent. You do the all the paper work in the proper way.
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Wasn't the suggestion to increase the rent to X but charge the an amount less than that? If there is an agreement with the tenant that they pay Y, then Y is the rent, not some other figure that better suits your purpose.
 
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