If i have tenants in an apartment and want them to leave so i can move in as owner occupier am i allowed terminate the contract before the term of the lease is up? (Presumably with sufficient notice of 28 days)
You are right that one of the valid reasons for a landlord to terminate a residential lease is that he or his family want to move in. This occcupation by the landlord must be genuine and the PRTB takes any abuse of this exemption seriously.
From the PRTB website( which has all the info you need for residential tenancies) on landlords terminating residential tenancies :
"2. Termination of a Tenancy by a Landlord
Valid notice In order to be valid a notice of termination must:
Be in writing
Be signed by the landlord or by his/her authorised agent
Specify the date of service
State the reason for termination (where the tenancy has lasted for more than 6 months)
Specify the termination date (the tenant has the whole of the 24 hours of this date to vacate possession)
State that any issue as to the validity of the notice or the right of the landlord to serve it must be referred to the Private Residential Tenancies Board within 28 days from the receipt of the notice.
Serving the notice
The notice may be served on the tenant in person, may be left at the rented dwelling, or may be posted to the dwelling. If it appears that the tenant is not in occupation, the notice may be served in a conspicuous position on the outside of the dwelling. Notice Periods for the Termination of a Tenancy by the Landlord
Subject to the terms of any letting agreement in place, the notice period to terminate a tenant’s tenancy is determined by the duration of the tenancy, as follows:
Notice Period
Duration of Tenancy
28 days Less than 6 months 35 days 6 months or more but less than 1 year 42 days 1 year or more but less than 2 years 56 days 2 years or more but less than 3 years 84 days 3 years or more but less than 4 years 112 days 4 or more years
Where a tenancy has lasted more than 6 months and less than 4 years, the landlord must state in the termination notice the reason the tenancy is being terminated and the termination will not be valid unless that reason relates to one of the following: - the tenant has failed to comply with the obligations of the tenancy - the landlord intends to sell the dwelling within the next 3 months - the dwelling is no longer suited to the needs of the occupying household - the landlord requires the dwelling for own or family member occupation - vacant possession is required for substantial refurbishment of the dwelling - the landlord intends to change the use of the dwelling.
In the case of the last three of the listed termination grounds, the termination notice must contain certain additional details as specified in the Act relating to the former tenant being given first refusal to resume the tenancy should the dwelling become available for re-letting. In the case of the first ground (except where the termination is for serious anti-social behaviour) the tenant must have been given an opportunity to rectify the matter and have failed to have done so for the termination to be valid."