Notice length required

[Lone Star]

A tenancy registered to one person has ended, however 1 tenant (who was never named on the lease) has stayed on, and wishes to stay.

The landlord wished to do up the house which is 25 yrs old. The rent is well below market value, so tenant who has now got others living there is on a good deal.

I note that notice has to be served on the tenant and sent also to the RTB on the same day.

Is a genuine plan to do up the house sufficient to give notice?
Is it 220 days notice for someone living there 8 years, notwithstanding the fact they were never on the lease?
What's to stop a chain happening again with the new people that are now living there without the landlord's permission.
There is now no written lease agreement at all.
Email sent to the RTB to clarify position etc remains unanswered to date.

Landlord is a good guy and just wants the house back to do up and eventually charge a reasonable market rate/not gouge, they are also considering selling and buying a holiday home in the west instead....That's option b.

 

[lff12]

"Do up" means you are making material alterations like adding another bedroom (or removing one). Or doing a retrofit that increases the BER rating by 7 points in the scale. Anything less than this would not qualify to evict a tenant - it has to meet the qualification of "substantial refurbishment."
I assume you had a unit rented with multiple rooms, and set it to multiple tenants, one of which was the "head tenant" who actually had the tenancy, and the rest were effectively licencees or sub-lets. They don't have rights as they were living there as the licensee. Just my off the top of my head reading.

You cannot increase the market rent without a significant modification to the house as stated above - not even if you ask the informal tenants to leave. If you've permitted them to live there after the official tenant left though, I suspect RTB would see that as a "new tenancy" and after 6 months they effectively gain part V rights even without a lease. I they are there 8 years it would be a good idea to give them 220 days notice, but frankly, unless you are going to do a proper retrofit or extensive material change (see here for what "substantial refurbishment" means - it doesn't mean you are repainting & changing the furniture). This also might be useful - "landlords are required to maintain a certain standard in properties offered for rent to the public. The landlord is required to carry out maintenance for general wear and tear. Over the lifetime of a property this would usually include, replacement of bathroom sanitary wear and kitchens, servicing and/or replacement of heating systems and windows. The RTB have stated that these types of repair and maintenance will not be considered substantial changes to the nature of the property."

 

[Lone Star]

Thanks Iff12. That's really helpful. Yes substantial works. BER works required especially so in light of energy costs and environment.
Yes a head tenant who left circa May 2022.
Thank you.