Caden Grimes Estates

Residential & Commercial Property Sales & Lettings | Lettings Management | Accommodation Outsourcing | Corporate Relocation

Minimum Standards In Rented Accommodation

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What are the Minimum Standards to which a Tenant is entitled to in Rented Accommodation?

Minimum standards are set out in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2017. These regulations specify requirements in relation to a range of matters such as structural repair, absence of damp and rot, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, light and safety of gas and electrical supply.
Full details are available on the Department’s website: www.housing.gov.ie.

What are the main features of the Regulations?

All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations and enforcement of these regulations is the responsibility of each Local Authority.

  • Article 4 – Structural Condition

All rental accommodation must be maintained in a proper state of structural repair. This means that the dwelling must be essentially sound, internally and externally, with roof, roofing tiles and slates, windows, floors, ceilings, walls, stairs, doors, skirting boards, fascia, tiles on any floor, ceiling and wall, gutters, down pipes, fittings, furnishings, gardens and common areas maintained in good condition and repair and not defective due to dampness or otherwise.

There must be suitable safety restrictors attached to a window which has an opening through which a person may fall and the bottom of the opening is more than 1400mm above the external ground level. Suitably safety restrictors must secure window sufficiently to prevent such falls. Lockable restrictors that can only be released by removable keys or other tools should not be fitted to window opening sections.

  • Article 5 – Sanitary Facilities

All rental accommodation must contain the following self-contained sanitary facilities:

Water closet with dedicated wash hand basin with hot and cold water

Fixed bath or shower; supplied with hot and cold water. These facilities must be provided in a room separate from other rooms by a wall and door and contain separate ventilation.

  • Article 6 – Heating Facilities

All habitable rooms must contain a fixed heating appliance which is capable of providing effective heating. The tenant must be able to control the operation of the heating appliance. Where necessary, suitably located devices for the detection and alarm of carbon monoxide.

  • Article 7 – Food Preparation and Storage and Laundry

All rental accommodation shall contain the following self-contained facilities:

4 ring hob with oven and grill

Provision for the effective and safe removal of fumes to the external air by means of cooker hood or an extractor fan

Fridge and freezer

Microwave oven

Sink with a draining area

Adequate number of kitchen presses for food storage purposes… Cont’d…

…Washing machine within the dwelling unit or access to a communal washing machine facility within the curtilage of the building

In cases where the accommodation does not contain a garden or yard for the exclusive use of this accommodation, a dryer must be provided.

  • Article 8 – Ventilation

All habitable rooms must have adequate ventilation, maintained in good repair and working order. Kitchens and bathrooms must be provided with adequate ventilation for the removal of water vapour to the external air.

  • Article 9 – Lighting

All habitable rooms must have adequate natural lighting

All rooms (including every hall, stairs and landing) must have a suitable and adequate means of artificial lighting. The windows of every room containing a bath and/or shower and a water-closet shall be suitably and adequately screened to ensure privacy

  • Article 10 – Fire Safety

(i) Multi-unit dwellings are required to contain fire detection and alarm system, an emergency evacuation plan and emergency lighting in common areas.

(ii) Rental units that do not form part of a multiple unit must have suitable, self-contained fire detection and alarm system and a suitably located fire blanket. Smoke alarms should be either mains-wired with battery back-up or are 10-year self-contained battery-operated smoke alarms.

  • Article 11 – Refuse Facilities

The Regulations require access for tenants to proper, pest and vermin-proof refuse storage facilities. The use of communal storage facilities, where appropriate, will be considered to comply with the regulations.

  • Article 12 – Electricity and Gas

Installations in the house for gas, oil and electricity supply including pipework, storage facilities and electrical distribution boxes must be maintained in good repair and safe working order.

There must also be, where necessary, provision for the safe and effective removal of fumes to the external air.

  • Do the regulations apply to all rental accommodation? 

Yes, the regulations apply to all rental accommodation with the exception of the following:
· Holiday homes
· Accommodation provided by the HSE or an approved housing body containing communal sanitary, cooking and dining facilities. This kind of accommodation usually houses people with disabilities or the elderly and provides support for people with special needs who require assistance to live in the community
· Demountable (e.g. mobile homes) housing provided by a housing authority
· Accommodation let by a housing authority or an approved housing body will be exempt from the requirements for food preparation, storage and laundry purposes. In this kind of accommodation the tenant usually provides these goods, retaining ownership of them when they move to new accommodation (All other articles of the Regulations apply to both housing authorities and to approved housing bodies.)
When did the new regulations come into effect?
· The Regulations took effect on 1st July 2017.
Do the regulations apply to older protected structures” or listed buildings?
· Listed buildings are required to meet the requirements of the Regulations. The owner or occupier of a protected structure is entitled to ask the planning authority …Cont’d… …identify works that would, or would not, require planning permission in the case of their particular building. Landlords will be advised to contact the conservation officer in the local authority for advice when considering undertaking works.

How are the Regulations enforced?

· Responsibility for the enforcement of the regulations rests with the relevant local authority and it is a matter for each individual local authority to decide the specific details of its enforcement strategy and inspection arrangements. Local authority inspectors inspect rental properties for the purpose of ensuring they comply with the regulations and where a property does not comply, can engage a series of sanctions against a landlord.

· An Improvement Notice sets out the works a landlord must carry out, within a set timeframe, to remedy any breach of the regulations. Where an Improvement Notice is not complied with, a housing authority may issue a Prohibition Notice, which directs a landlord not to re-let a property until the breach of the regulations has been rectified.

· A person who obstructs an authorised person in the lawful exercise of their powers or who contravenes the regulations is guilty of an offence. Failure to comply with an Improvement Notice or a Prohibition Notice is also an offence.

· The maximum fine for an offence is €5,000 and €400 for each day of a continuing offence. Where a person is guilty of an offence under this Act, the court shall, unless there are particular reasons for not doing so, order that person to pay the costs and expenses incurred by the housing authority in relation to the prosecution of the offence

Contact details for your local authority, along with a technical information guide and copies of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations, can be found on the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Governments website www.housing.gov.ie

Caden Grimes Estates is a licenced Estate Agent,
PSRA Nr 001883.
Providing commercial and residential Sales and Lettings, Lettings Management and Corporate Relocation.

Damp In Your Home?

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What Causes It & How To Prevent It

Damp walls in themselves are bad– that cold, constant airborne moisture is bad enough by itself, causing coughs and infections.
But it doesn’t come alone – it is a breeding ground for bacteria – usually mould, a fungus often in the form of ‘black mould’ which loves to nest in timber, paper, plaster board. You’ll get that musty/mildew smell, sometimes the cause is obvious, sometimes not.
Mildew BTW is just another mould, a little easier to clean, but still a fungus.

The fungus releases toxins which attack lungs, causing coughing and wheezing – which can turn to more severe flu-like symptoms – especially in those prone to respiratory tract infections.

Leaks: can be very easy or very difficult to track down.

A leaking cistern or a badly fitted shower curtain/door will be obvious.
But if the seal around the bath or shower tray is old you won’t see the effect of it (though you’ll probably smell it). A leaking pipe behind the bath or under the sink can be hard to spot too.
One giveaway is your pump (if you have a pumped system) switching on & off when you’re not using water. That is evidence of either a dripping tap/toilet or a hidden leak.
It won’t go away, so don’t ignore it.

Condensation: is, in my experience, the biggest culprit.

Drying clothes in the bedroom or on a rad, fish tanks breathing and (most often) leaving the ensuite door open after showering. If you do that the warm moisture heads straight across the room to the window where it forms condensation. That in turns rolls down the glass and forms a nice warm breeding ground for fungus.

There is an extractor fan in the bathroom (and the kitchen) for a reason. Leave it on and clean it every couple of months, even with your vacuum cleaner. Close the bathroom door – that makes it easier for the fan to do its work. If you must open the door, you must open a window nearby.
And never block vents. They allow tired (oxygen-less) air to go out and fresh air to come in.

Cabinets: If you have a moisture build up and/or mould in presses or wardrobes, either ventilate them or use moisture traps – they’re available in hardware stores and are cheap & cheerful.

Exterior: Heat wants to escape, that’s a fact. You may have heard of thermal bridging, typically it happens where an inside wall is in direct contact with an exterior surface – think of your inside wall where it meets the window or floor; or where the ceiling meets the roof. All of that lovely expensive heat is just looking for the easiest way out. You can get mould build-up there too – that’s where the moisture from the air settles.
Of course, an exterior leak can also be caused by missing roof tiles, defective guttering or the ‘pointing’ between bricks wearing away. In older properties uninsulated north facing walls can absorb and transmit moisture from out to in.

Treatment: You can buy ready made mould killing solutions or you can mix 3-parts warm water to 1-part bleach (wear gloves). Rub it in well and leave for an hour at least before you start cleaning.

If the mould is well established you need a professional, experienced, cleaner. It can be more difficult to get rid of the black staining that’s left behind than it was to kill off the mould. How To…. 

Repainting: Depending on whether you’ve killed the mould and how bad the staining was, you may want to use a strong sealant coat over the area, or you might want to use an anti mould additive in the paint. Ask the guy in the shop.
And use a soft sheen or a satin emulsion – if the problem does recur, it makes cleaning it off a lot easier

BTW – you may sometimes see peeling ceilings in bathrooms with no sign of mould. New bathroom ceilings should have been sealed to stop the steam getting in behind. But of course that doesn’t always happen. If you see this, scrape the ceiling really well, get a proper (I like PVA but again ask the guy) sealant and apply that before painting.                                                         

Caden Grimes Estates Is A PSRA (001883) Licensed Estate Agent, Based In Dublin
Info@CGestates.ie

Affordable Homes Scheme – Affordable For Who?

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€400,000 For A 3-bed Apartment In O’Devanney Gardens

Fiona Reddan of The Irish Times has the story here

Caden Grimes Estates Is A PSRA Licenced Dublin Estate Agent
Licence Nr 001883
Info@CGestates.ie

Household Buyers Face Competition in Dublin Property Market

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Sales - Residential

Slight Fall In Dublin House Prices – A Sign Of Things To Come Or A Brexit Blip?

The Central Statistics Office say that house prices in Dublin have fallen by 0.2% up to July this year.
Some 6,425 (new home) properties were bought, a drop of 6% on 2018. Of those, 4,434 were bought by householders and 1991 by ‘cuckoo funds’, local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies – that’s 1 in six of all new homes.
Cuckoo funds are so called because they snap up large blocks of new housing, squeezing out the household buyer. Typically they buy to rent in sought after areas and will charge top market rent. Local Authorities and AHB’s buy for social housing.

 According to Dermot O’Leary of Goodbody Stockbrokers ‘household’ buyers are down so far in 2019 by 6% while ‘non-household’ purchases were up by a huge 60%.

Caden Grimes Estates Is A Dublin Based Estate Agent, Sales And Lettings.
PSRA Licence Number 001883

The Banking and Payments Federation warned that people on low and middle incomes are effectively out of the housing market. Most people now need over €80,000 to be approved for a mortgage.
In a tight mortgage market, banks are risk averse and favour those in Government employment and the professions.

The Central Bank report a 75% rise in repossessions, up from 127 to 221 in the April to June quarter.

The Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy insists that the housing crisis will be solved by the May 2020 General Election.

Sources:
Charlie Weston / Irish Independent; Dermot O’Leary / Goodbody Stockbrokers; CSO

Mortgage Switch Savings Could Reach €3,400 A Year

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Inertia-
Thousands of homeowners are needlessly overpaying their banks because of their failure to switch mortgage lender.

Consumers ‘becoming more aware’: Mortgage switching expert Martina Hennessy, managing director of Doddl.ie. Charlie Weston  Irish Times

Thousands of homeowners are needlessly overpaying their banks because of their failure to switch mortgage lender. The cost to the average mortgage holder has now reached €3,400 a year – a rise of almost €900 since a year ago.

The Irish Independent Mortgage Switcher Index calculated the potential savings, based on the spread between the highest and lowest interest rate on the market. It found that the gap between the current available rates has grown to 2.2pc.
Over a month, this amounts to a saving of €281 for the average home mortgage, according to the index produced by switching platform Doddl.ie.

There is a golden opportunity to switch as homeowners have risen out of negative equity, so common during the recession, while Central Bank rules have made switching easier. Some banks are even offering cash lump sums to switchers.

Switching rates has increased lately but many homeowners are still reluctant to move their mortgage to a different lender.
Some are unaware they can switch, with others fearful something will go wrong.
But experts said the reluctance to switch was costing homeowners dearly.

The Mortgage Switcher Index highlights the huge difference between the lowest and highest interest rates on the market.
Variable rates as high as 4.5pc are being charged to homeowners, but rates as low as 2.3pc are available.
Discounted mortgage rates have been ignored by the experts who compiled the index.
The managing director of Doddl.ie, Martina Hennessy, said a typical homeowner on a 25-year mortgage is paying €1,335 a month.
This same homeowner could cut their monthly repayments to €1,054 by switching. This would give an annual saving of €3,372 a year – which is about the same as the average monthly salary for an Irish worker.
For a family with a larger mortgage of €300,000, annual savings of €4,200 can be made.

Caden Grimes Estates Is A Dublin Based Estate Agent
PSRA Licence Number 001883

The rate of mortgage switching has more than trebled in the past four years, Ms Hennessy said. But she added that thousands more homeowners could benefit from making the move.
She said just 5pc of mortgage loans at the end of 2015 were switched. This had jumped to 14pc at the end of last year.
“Consumers are becoming more aware that switching can save them money, mainly thanks to Central Bank requirements on lenders to make mortgage switching easier,” said Ms Hennessy.
She added that property values have increased. This means loan-to-value ratios have gone down, also making it easier to switch.

Many lenders have tiered rates, with lower interest charged for those with lower loan to values. And many banks provide a lump sum amount to help defray the cost of the switching, such as conveyancing fees. The banks call these switcher packs.
“These switcher packages range from value €1,650 to up to 3pc of the mortgage amount outstanding back in cash. “The easier it becomes to switch, the more people will realise that they are not tied to one financial institution if there are better rates on the market,” Ms Hennessy said.

The launch of the new switching index comes at a time when banks are continuing to cut their mortgage rates. Permanent TSB became the latest to give borrowers a break. It has reduced its fixed rates for new customers and those switching to it.
Ulster Bank this month reduced some of its mortgage rates, ICS Mortgages launched into the residential market, with some of the lowest rates, and KBC last month cut its rates.
It comes as the European Central Bank piled pressure on banks in the eurozone to lend more to homebuyers after it reduced the interest rate it pays banks that deposit money with it.
This is a way to force banks to lend more, instead of depositing money with the ECB.