Finding out previous rent set

J

January25

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A relation has recently purchased a property. It was previously rented at a low rent. He has contacted the RTB to try to find out the date the previous tenant left. He intends to use the property for 18 months (at least). He enquired to the RTB and provided proof of ownership, ID etc on request. However the RTB will now not give out any information about the previous tenancy. When he first enquired he was given the impression that they would provide the date. How is he to know when he can re let and reset rent ?
 
His solicitor should have insisted on a letter from vendor’s solicitor confirming all of this as part of the sale.
 
Ok will get him to try that. Are these dates really that sensitive that the RTB can’t release them ?
 
January25 said:
Are these dates really that sensitive that the RTB can’t release them ?
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I experienced the same problem — I couldn’t obtain prior rent-setting data from the RTB on a house purchase. I explained that the only way to avail of the RPZ exemption was to leave the property vacant for a year (since it was a protected structure, the period is one year instead of the usual two years). The RTB’s stance effectively meant I kept the house empty during a rental crisis (rather than providing the information I needed to establish the allowable rent).
 
January25 said:
Are these dates really that sensitive that the RTB can’t release them ?
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AFAIK the RTB will not release to a third party. TBH their data quality is so rubbish they could well get it wrong.

Your relative’s best route is an assurance from the vendor via solicitors. This is typical and TBH something his own solicitor should have got as a matter of course.
 
It’s an end of tenancy date. Nothing personal. Nothing sensitive. An example of overly oppressive regulation.
If tenants suspect they are being overcharged rent do they come up against the same barrier to obtaining information about a previous tenancy ?
The trail of e mails this person has been led on by RTB each reply from a different member of staff and conflicting advice would have to be seen to be appreciated. Why ask for folio proof of ownership and ID if they were never going to release a date in the first instance?
 
January25 said:
The trail of e mails this person has been led on by RTB each reply from a different member of staff and conflicting advice would have to be seen to be appreciated.
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Always the way with the RTB. You send in a query X responds to it, you ask another question Y responds and tells you the opposite. You question that, Z responds with an entirely different answer again and on you go.

It'll be chaos when the new system comes in. And we're the ones who'll be penalised for acting on their wrong advice and information.
 
@January25 I just came across this on the RTB website. It’s possible that if your relative shows this to them, they might provide the information. (Although when I tried previously, I ran into the same issue you’re experiencing.)

When you buy a vacant property that was previously rented out you must set the rent in line with the last rent paid by past tenants in the property. You must calculate the rent for new tenants using the previous tenant’s rent, even if you were not the landlord then. It is the responsibility of the new landlord to make every attempt to discover the previous rent amount. You need to ask for these details when buying the property. If it is not possible, you can contact the RTB to request the last rent amount reported by the previous owner and the date it was set.
 
Is it a GDPR reason - personal information of the last tenant and owner? Are rtb allowed to share that data.
 
Just wondering if they can share that data with anyone who happens to contact them. Is it in the RTA somewhere?

Afaik, personal data is any information that can be linked to a living individual, even indirectly. So wouldn’t the RTB need authorisation to share that with any third part (apart from Revenue).
 
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Think these two sections might answer my query above. Looks like the rtb can only provide the information on the published register.

S132.Furnishing of entries in registers, etc.
(2) On application by a person who is not the landlord or tenant of a particular dwelling, the Board shall provide to him or her a copy of the entry in respect of that dwelling in the published register (but not the entry in the register).

S128. Published register.
(4) The published register shall not contain any information, as respects a particular dwelling, that discloses or could reasonably lead to the disclosure of—
(a) the identity of the landlord or the tenant or tenants of the dwelling,
(b) the amount of the rent payable under a tenancy of the dwelling.
 
bipped said:
hink these two sections might answer my query above. Looks like the rtb can only provide the information on the published register.
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You can "check the register" on the RTB site. It is on the site at this location"/compliance/check-the-register/"

It looks like it gives
  • Address
  • County
  • Eircode
  • Bedrooms
The first part of the act says

Residential Tenancies Act 2004 said:
(1) On application by the landlord or tenant of a dwelling, the Board shall, on being supplied by the landlord or tenant with such information as it may require for the purpose of confirming the identity of the applicant concerned, provide to him or her a copy of the entry in respect of that dwelling in the register.
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The landlord, or tenant, can see the entire entry.

Maybe they are claiming that if you haven't rented out the property yet, you aren't technically a landlord, so can't see the full record.

I wonder if the RTB are hoping that by withholding the info, some landlords will set the rent lower as they aren't sure.

If a landlord accidentally sets it to high, then they will be picked out, so no loss. Either it is set to low, which locks in the low rent, or it is set to high which they will pick up.
 
Do i understand corrrctly that with the post march 2026 tenancy rules, when the market rent reset is possible after 6 years, the landlord will have the onus of proof to jusitfy the new rent amount using evidence of recent new tenancies in the area? Is it proposed that there be a new public register of tenancies? From this thread, it seems almost impossible to get such information currently. How will it work in a rural area with infrequent new tenancies?
 
LarryScott said:
I wonder if the RTB are hoping that by withholding the info, some landlords will set the rent lower as they aren't sure.
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I am not aware the RTB have a role to obfuscate. Nothing would surprise me though. The way things are going, Ireland will have Rental police to investigate landlords before it has Transport police.
 
patfert1 said:
Do i understand corrrctly that with the post march 2026 tenancy rules, when the market rent reset is possible after 6 years, the landlord will have the onus of proof to jusitfy the new rent amount using evidence of recent new tenancies in the area? Is it proposed that there be a new public register of tenancies?
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The Heads of the Bill are not publicly available yet, but they have been discussed in recent Housing Committee hearings. It seems that landlords will have to justify a rent increase to market based on the new rent register. Details of floor area, BER and 'character' also have to be provided, so it seems that a very basic rent register is being introduced.

Here is an extract from Threshold's submission on this point

"Threshold welcomes the Government’s proposed amendment, in Head 8, is a to update the definition of market rent. It appears that comparative properties will not be based on advertised letting values but from the RTB’s published register. At present, however, it is not clear what this register will look like or how rentswill be calculated. It is yet to be seen if it will be an improvement to the practiceof relying upon rental advertisements to gauge market rent."

The submission goes on to discuss floor area, character etc.

So, it won't be an increase to what the market will bear. Keep in mind that the rent register will include RPZ properties at very low rents.
 
Luternau said:
I am not aware the RTB have a role to obfuscate.
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That is their role. As covered in another thread, their official reports give the impression that the number of tenancies is consistently increasing. It's in reality falling. They include cost-rentals and previously unregistered landlords to keep the numbers up.

The RTB is not a neutral regulator.
 
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