For sale and treatment of tenants

I have a rented property that I recently decided to sell - usual sob story / overextended on borrowings etc. and feeling very financially exposed. I asked the sitting tenants if they would stay on at a reduced rent to facilitate viewings (max. two per week) until 'sale agreed'. They agreed to this and property has been on the market since Sep 2010 but no offers yet and may not sell for some time or at target price. Meanwhile tenants had the benefit of rent reduction of €250 p.m. for seven months = €1750. I had already twice reduced rent to reflect falling market rates.
They have now given me notice that they intend to quit as they are concerned that they may not be able to get a suitable replacement property in the area if they wait longer.
Naturally I am disappointed that they are leaving and that also raises insurance concerns re vacant property. I also feel that they have not kept their end of the deal. Also, they are almost 4 years there so I think they should have to give 56 days notice? I emailed PRTB for a view or to see if there is any precedent but they wont get involved unless I wish to engage fully in dispute resolution (which I dont wish to).
I am interested in the views of other posters on what is legal and what is reasonable here. Am I entitled to ask them for some / all of the rent reduction back? They have been good tenants but I have also been good to them and responded to all reasonable requests including allowing them to keep pigeons (and build a housing for them) in back garden. Would it be reasonable to insist on 56 days notice and / or say 50% of the rent reduction to be clawed back from their deposit of €1200 that I hold? I dont expect any major damage to the property other than wear and tear but could be left facing an expensive refurb programme if property doesnt sell and I need to go back to rental market. My initial reaction was to swallow the bitter pill / take the hit but on reflection I feel that this is a lose-win result for me v tenants and given how tough it is for landlords currently I need to be firmer on my rights.
Any views from other / experienced posters welcome.

I don't think you can claw back the rent reduction - the tenants complied with their end of the bargain, allowing viewings, it's not their fault that there have been so few and you can't sell.

But you are entitled to 56 days notice so, if the tenants don't give you that, you can retain part/all of their deposit to compensate yourself. Though you are obliged to try to mitigate your loss by looking for replacement tenants and if you do find other tenants within 56 days of the current ones leaving, then you can't retain all 56 days' rent.

You gave them the rent reduction on basis they would let people view it . If they did agree to let people view it (whether or not you had viewings) then they stuck to the agreement. It would be unreasonable and I guess illegal to break that agreement.

Considering these tenants have been good tenants for four years and considering that you've told them that you are trying to get rid of the apartment then it seems unreasonable to be so rigid about the 56 days(you dont say what notice they gave you).

..and ,yes, after four years one may need to refurbish/refresh somewhat-whether you're renting or selling.

Thanks for your comments that are helpful. Just to be clear the deal was that I would reduce the rent provided that the tenants facilitated viewings and agreed to remain until 'sale agreed'. They have facilitated viewings but clearly are not hanging about until sale agreed - so they have not fully honoured their end of the deal. Their original rent was €1,200 p.m. in Mar 2007 and has now reduced to €650 per month so they have got a very good deal overall, notwithstanding that they have been good tenants.

On balance, I think I will ask them for the 56 days notice (backdated) that would mean an extra months rent to late April and just move on from there. Getting a replacement tenant in a 'for sale' house will be well nigh impossible but I will try. At best, I will be looking for a house sitter just to keep an eye on the place as the house is in Cork and I live in Dublin.

The joys of owning investment property in post 2011 Ireland !

dublin dude said:

the tenants facilitated viewings and agreed to remain until 'sale agreed'. They have facilitated viewings but clearly are not hanging about until sale agreed - so they have not fully honoured their end of the deal.

Click to expand...

So you wanted them to commit to staying until some unknowable date in the future, when you eventually sell the apt?
How long do you think they could reasonably be expected to live in this kind of limbo, one year, two...?

They've been good tenants for 4 years, don't try to make their lives miserable now.

As Berni says, you had an agreement based on a very vague notion of when it would terminate, and one that had no guarantee of ever coming to pass. Did you get this agreement in writing?

I think your own gut reaction is correct. You should feel entitled to be given the 56 days notice, but I wouldn't seek to retain anything of the deposit for the perceived breach in agreement.

What does your contract say about the notice period?

Don't aggrevate yourself any further. Your tenants stayed for four years. You got along well. They paid you the rent agreed........Leave it at that.

Any ideas you have now of trying to clawback some rent based on some notional idea of fairness (rather than strong legal grounds) will get you nowhere and probably lead to some unnecessary confrontation

Thanks for further comments. By summarising and posting this thread I was hoping to get a good cross section of views which has now been achieved. Just to answer recent comments / questions, no I didnt put this agreeement in writing which was an oversight / error on my part but that is not at issue with the tenants. Of course there was no expectation on my part that tenants would stick around indefinitely / open-ended, but I had reasonably assumed that the carrot of a decent rent reduction would compensate them for any inconvenience / uncertainty given that they have been so quick to seek rent reductions over the years. I had indicated to them that a sale would probably not be likely until Summer 2011 (hopefully still the case) and if not that I would review the situation then and decide whether or not to keep the property on the market if no suitable offers. My original (standard) lease probably states 30 days notice but my understanding is that is overwritten by PRTB rules (56 days) once a part 4 tenancy is created and certainly for a tenancy that has lasted 4 years.

Interestingly, tenants are now stating that they will be moving on the original 30 days notice and not 56 days so some further negotiation may be necessary.

If they are out of lease then the original stipulation of 30 days is irrelevant, as I understand it. They are Part 4 tenants and have to give the requisite notice of 56 days.

You've had good tenant's, good relations and now they are telling you they want to go after 4 years. Just give them the deposit back. If you want to keep them a further rent drop might do the trick but tenant's want security of tenure so by putting the house on the market they rightly feel the need to move on.