A Guide to the Minimum Standards

When you become a landlord in Ireland there is a list of minimum standards for residential rented accommodation, set out by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), that you must comply with.

As a landlord, you have a responsibility for meeting these minimum standards, and keeping up to date with the ever-changing minimum standards and legislation.

Property Condition and Facilities to Include

Before moving any tenant into your property, you must ensure your property meets the minimum standards required and is adequately equipped to ensure safety, comfort, and compliance.

• Your property must be free from damp and in good structural repair.
• You must have hot and cold running water available.
• Adequate ventilation and heating which the tenant can control.
• Where the heating is provided by the landlord, you must also provide a wall mounted heater in each room, that can be controlled by the tenant.
• All appliances should be in good and safe working order.
• A microwave, 4 ring hob and adequate fridge/ freezer (Ice box is not sufficient) must be provided.
• Adequate storage presses for food and cleaning materials.
• All electrical wiring, gas and water pipes should be in a good condition.
• Sufficient 10-year battery smoke alarms should be provided.
• A 10-year battery C02 alarm should be installed in any room with a gas appliance or boiler.
• All properties must have a fire blanket.
• If your property is in a multi-unit building, then you must include a fire detection device, alarm system, an emergency evacuation plan, a fire safety plan and emergency lighting in common areas.
• Front and rear doors should be fitted with a thumb turn locks to prevent being trapped inside in the event of a fire.
• You must provide access to washing and drying facilities, weather self-contained or communal.
• If your property has no outdoor space to dry clothes, you must provide a dryer.
• All habitable rooms should have natural light or adequate artificial light where it is not possible to supply natural light.
• Window restrictors must be applied to all windows that are located above 1400mm from ground level in order to prevent falls.
• All bathrooms should be provided with a working heater and adequate ventilation.
• Tenants should be given access to information on the property, building services, appliances and their maintenance requirements.
• Prevention against the infestation of vermin and pests should be undertaken and maintained.
• There should be adequate access to refuse storage facilities.

Repairs and Inspection

It is recommended by the RTB that landlords or their property manager carry out regular inspections throughout the tenancy. This is important to ensure any unreported maintenance is brought to light, tenants are fulfilling their obligations and to ensure the property is in a good and safe state of repair.

Reasonable notice should be given to all tenants before a landlord enters a property. A mutually agreeable time should be agreed in advance.

Breach of Minimum Standards for Rented Residential Accommodation

When a tenant believes that the property they are renting does not comply with the minimum standards listed above, they should first notify their landlord in writing. A reasonable time period must be given to the landlord to rectify the issue and reasonable access to the property should be allowed to make any repairs, changes or replacements.

If the issue is not resolved, tenants can then contact their local authority who are responsible for enforcing such standards in residential properties. If required, the local authority will then carry out an inspection of the property.

To avoid such issues occurring, it is a good idea to keep-up to date with any changes to the minimum standards through your estate agent or our own research.

How can a Property Management Company help?

The list of minimum standards is long and can often leave landlords doubting their efforts and wondering if they have met all the requirements adequately. Some stipulations can leave the landlord guessing whether they have fitted particular safety devices correctly and if they have supplied the tenant with the best standard of safety equipment possible. It is easy to unknowingly become non compliant, serve an invalid notice or rent increase to a tenant.

A good way to alleviate any worries is to work with a property management company who can take responsibility for all of the above and much more.

At Herbert and Lansdowne, we work with landlords every day and use our wealth of experience to free up your time and take the pressure off by ensuring all minimum standard requirements are met, mid tenancy inspections are complete, repairs are complete in a timely manner, and we even have a 24-hour emergency maintenance team to deal with any leaks, fires, break ins and emergencies outside of normal hours.  

3 Month Free Property Management Trial

We are offering a 3-month free trial to all landlords that would like to test drive the management service. Along with the above, there are a lot of additional aspects to the service – point of contact for tenants, arranging maintenance, key holding service, photographic inspection reports, and rent collection service to mention but a few.

Property Management Fees are Tax Deductible

The cost of our management service is 6% of the monthly rent plus VAT at 23%. Based on a rent of €1500 plus vat, this would work out at €90 plus vat per month. This is a fully tax-deductible expense and one of the best investments you can make in your rental property. We will ensure that maintenance is complete at competitive rates, rent increases are complete where possible and any tenant issues are dealt with as efficiently and effectively as possible, ensuring your asset is performing to the best of its ability.

Having your property professionally managed will ensure that you and your property are meeting all the requirements, your asset is performing to the highest level and most importantly that you do not have the stress or worry wondering if you have done everything required of you.

Call Alan McMurray today on (01) 5329000 or email alan@herbertlansdowne.ie to discuss our property management service. Bespoke management packages can be arranged to suit your needs.