I’ve been renting here for 6 years. multiple apartment block. safe and secure, I’ve been no hassle nor has landlord (apart with annual visits)
He has spent nothing in the interim on furnishings, paint, running repairs etc. I didn’t push to avoid rent increase.
any suggestions? I’d gladly give a lick of paint to avoid increase in rent , likely? 2 bed apartment in cork.
assistance /views welcome. It’ll be a €12,000p/a increase, not to be sniffed at.
tom
I’m coming under enormous pressure from landlords for rent increases.
Tis the banks turning the screws.
i meant a €1,200 per annum increase
Some landlords are clueless. If you were to leave, even a month void period would negate any benefit to them and if the new tenants only stay a year before leaving, compared to you staying a number of years more, then they are absolutely losing money as a result of taking a short-term view of things.
I agree, long term tenants who never miss a rent payment are treated as badly/ worse than the short term demanding ones.
Just life I guess
Will see if I can negotiate reduction by painting gaff (1st time in 6 yrs)
on a sidenote: shoulda moved to Dublin in 2012 and bought :-}
Thanks SoCoDu, I guess the only pro is I don’t have a huge mortgage round my neck and money (constantly reducing) in the bank 
Seems unlikely I’m afraid.
We rented for 10 months in cork recently and by the time we left the house sustained an 11% increase. The market has moved on and the landlord is entitled to seek an increase, regardless of the quality of furnishings.
I have sympathy, as I’ve seen the low standard of fit out in cork first hand, but I don’t see that painting is going to sway the landlord. Most have handymen who’d paint an apartment in 3 days for 300 quid, and void is unlikely as the cork rental market is mental.
cheery news
Any coincidence that this comes the day after Alan Kelly publically announces that short term rent controls are on the way?
And just to be pedantic, is your current rent €833 per month, or €1,000? If it’s the latter, the planned rent increase is ‘only’ 10%, not 12%.
It’s possible the landlord believes that the price he would be able to get from a new tenant is significantly higher than the 10% increase he is asking the OP for. In his mind he gets to keep a known good tenant for and gets 12% more or he gets to shop for a new tenant at 25% more (not beyond the bounds of possibility if rent hasn’t changed in six years).
true on all points
I guess it’ll be resolved by my desire to stay put vs his desire to achieve a set rent rise. somewhere in between the truth will out.
all those negotiation books/ lectures etc will need to prove their worth now
As someone who has been a tenant, a homeowner and a landlord and combination of each at different times rent rise seems reasonable after 6 years. I’m sure the landlord does not want to lose you as it’s great ( and worth something to many landlords ) to have a hassle free tenant. However the landlord probably fees he needs some increase after 6 years. Prtb, property tax etc have reduced landlords profit.
Can you determine whether your rent is still reasonable or not after the increase?
Alan “Day late dollar short” Kelly
The converse may be equally true.
Perhaps the landlord has done his homework and is gambling that the tenant would find it cheaper to incur the rent increas than go to the expense of moving.
Just to throw another perspective into the mix: if you do work on the apartment you will actually increase the fair rent on it. A freshly painted apartment will rent for more than a tired smoke-stained one. If you’re in there 6 years, the landlord will be looking at a biggish refurb when you exit (painting and beds at least, carpets?, kitchen stuff? what state is the bathroom in, etc.,). He’ll get that done as cheaply as he can, but if he’s not well connected in that regard, it could add up to a fair whack (easily a couple of months rent will vanish into the out of pocket costs before he knows what’s happening). He may be dreading it (cost and hassle and risk). Right now, he’ll weigh that against the lower rent. i.e. he’s taking a lower rent from you, but if you moved out his cashflow would take a hit: out of pocket by refurb costs, void while finding a new tenant, void while doing the refurb works, hand you back your deposit; and he’d have a whole load of hassle. Or he could skimp on refurb etc., and then rent at lower end of market.
If you left the place in move-in condition, then he’d be confident of getting more rent from the next tenant, which should increase his preference to re-let it (or his willingness to risk you moving out).
So it might make sense that rather than painting, you allow the apartment to deteriorate from point of view of decor, but keep paying the rent on time. This tactic of letting the property deteriorate was also one followed by tenant farmers in Ireland back in the day. Leads to pretty shabby farms in longer term!
This increase will be hard to fight. Tell him how much of a struggle it is. Try to do it face to face and make sure it’s emotionally uncomfortable. If you can cry, do that. If you’ve a partner (child?) and she can cry, even better. You want him thinking as long and hard about the next increase as possible, and to stack up as much discomfort as possible. He’s left the property go 6 years, so he’s almost certainly a procrastinator. If you make this really unpleasant, while maintaining the appearance that you’re a good sort and doing your best, he may be slow to come back to you. You need to make it rewarding for him to leave you alone: no bother to him, rent on time every time, neighbours happy with you, etc., If you see a planning permission notice go up in the neighbourhood, get on the phone to him.
The longer you’re in, also, the greater the cost for him to change the situation, and if it’s the only property he’s letting, the less familiar he’ll be with the letting process (the whole hassle of advertising, meeting tenants, choosing, etc., then if it goes wrong!.. etc.,) which will work to your benefit.
I don’t know if that’s any help, just trying to give practical tips
I rented the same house in Dublin for 5 years. Fab house but old and freezing, with bad electrics… Agent did her best on behalf on landlord but only cosmetic fixes could be made without major refurb.
Despite our loyalty and maintaining of house with reasonable care, we were evicted as bank wanted vacant possession. Afterwards, bank decided to rent it, and let old landlord in charge. We got offered to move back in a few months later for 25% rent increase (500 to 625 each). The house had not been touched and vacant all through the winter. The house must have been smelly and damp at that stage!
Broke my heart to let the house go but we’d found an ok new place in the interim and a nice landlord. If we’d only known that new landlord would sell 1 year later and we’d be moved again I reckon we’d have swallowed the increase or fought harder to minimise it
Ah now some of us want and value good tenants
Put the blame for rent rises where it should rightfully fall, the government and all their new charges, taxes and fees, wait until the new “no rent supplement” legislation comes in that’s when shit will hit the fan with landlords asking for 2-3 month upfront deposits etc
The worrying thing is that there is no end in sight.
Daft supply for Dublin is still 1770 when it was 8 - 9k in 2009.
85 in Meath. It dipped below 100 for the first time that as far as I can recall around the turn of the year.
I think avoiding the rent increase is impossible but do look around and see what your alternatives. I was told my rent was increasing 22% but I haggled it down to 13% based on showing them my other options.
Or… if you do want new carpets and the walls painted … reply with… you are delighted he got in touch as you have been meaning to discuss a few items with him … mainly painting, new carpets etc.