Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 takes effect

Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 takes effect

The President has signed the Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022 enacting legislative amendments which came into effect on 6 July 2022. These amendments extend the required termination notice period that tenants must receive (where there has been no breach of tenant obligations). The measure is designed to give greater security of tenure to tenants.

Key changes for landlords serving a Notice of Termination

• Requires landlords to send a copy of any Notice of Termination to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) at the same time they serve it on the tenant;
• Increases the notice period which landlords are required to provide tenants with when ending certain tenancies; and
• Enables the RTB to assist landlords obtaining the contact details of their previous tenant(s) ( where a landlord had ended the tenancy previously and is required to re-let the property to the tenant(s) ).

What do these changes mean?

All Notices of Termination must be copied to the RTB at the same time as the notice is served on the tenant

From 6 July 2022, when landlords are serving a Notice of Termination on their tenants, they must also send a copy to the Residential Tenancies Board at the same time. Failure to send a copy to the RTB at the same time will invalidate the Notice of Termination. All Notices of Termination, including Notices of Termination served where the tenancy has lasted less than six months, must be copied to the RTB.

Process for Rent Arrears unchanged

The termination process for rent arrears remains unchanged. Landlords must continue to serve a copy of the 28-day written rent arrears warning notice to the RTB. The 28-day period will count from the date that both the tenant and the RTB have received the warning notice, so landlords must send both notices at the same time. A landlord must also send a copy of the Notice of Termination they have served on their tenant for rent arrears to the RTB on the same day they serve it on their tenant. Please note that failure to submit a copy of the rent arrears warning notice or any Notice of Termination to the RTB will invalidate the Notice of Termination.

Obligation on landlords to offer tenant opportunity to re-let where applicable

When a landlord ends a tenancy for certain reasons (outlined below), they must offer the previous tenant(s) the option to re-let the property, where the property becomes available again under certain conditions. These specific reasons and their related conditions are outlined below:

• When the landlord wants to sell the property. In these instances, the landlord must offer the tenancy back to the previous tenant(s) if they do not enter into an agreement to sell the property within nine months from the expiry of the notice period.
• When the landlord ends the tenancy because they require the property for their own use or family use. In these instances, the landlord must offer the property back to the previous tenant(s) if the property is vacated by the landlord or the family member and becomes available for re-let within 12 months from the expiry of the notice period.
• When the landlord wants to significantly refurbish their property. The landlord must offer the tenancy back to the previous tenant(s) once the refurbishment works are complete.
• When the landlord wants to change the use of the property. The landlord must offer the property back to the previous tenant(s) if the property becomes available for re-let within 12 months from the expiry of the notice period.

Previously it was the tenant’s responsibility to provide their contact details to the landlord in writing, within 28-days from when they received the Notice of Termination, if they wanted to be considered for an offer to re-let. This has changed - it is now the landlord’s responsibility to ensure that they have made every reasonable effort to obtain the tenant’s contact details and offer the property back where applicable.

The RTB can assist landlords in obtaining contact details of tenants for the purpose of facilitating a re-letting offer. The process for this is outlined in the Helpful Questions and Answers below. 

Notice Periods

From 6 July, when a landlord wishes to end a tenancy, there are new notice periods that the landlord must provide a tenant. The new notices periods are only for tenancies that are 7 years old or less. There has been no change to the notice periods for tenancies that are greater than 7 years old. These are outlined below:  

• Less than 6 months - 90 days
• Not less than 6 months but less than one year- 152 days
• Not less than 1 year but less than 7 years - 180 days
• Not less than 7 years but less than 8 years - 196 days
• Not less than 8 years - 224 days