New Residential Tenancies Act Legislation

By Jade Guilmartin

From 1st July 2009, the Residential Tenancies Act that we currently follow will be repealed.  After this date we will be operating under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008.
The Act is similar to that of the Residential Tenancies Act of 1994, however, it has some differences/changes.  Many of these changes favour the tenant, rather than the landlord.
One of the key changes that landlords should be aware of NOW, is the notice period required to end a fixed term tenancy without grounds.  Currently, if you are coming up to the end of a fixed term tenancy and you want vacant possession back (for example you are moving back in to your property), you will need to give 2 weeks notice to the tenant to vacate prior to the end of their fixed term.
Under the new legislation, this will change to 2 months notice.  This means that you will need to know quite early on whether you would like the tenant to vacate at the end of the tenancy or not.
There are quite a few other changes, many of them will also affect you if you are buying or selling property.
For more information on this Act, contact our office, we’d be happy to discuss some of the new changes, or provide you with a link to the Act so that you may read it.