Moving out/Spare Room to rent in Dublin?

You'd be surprised how common stuff like that is.

Well for me anyway 

He needs to be careful, but he is covered by the rent pressure zone (RPZ) legislation. He can only increase above those limits if the dwelling is substantially refurbished. That is trickier with an apartment, because a lick of paint and a new wardrobe doesn't cut it.

In respect of sitting tenants, he can only increase by 2% per annum, assuming it has not been increased since 24 December 2016. Say, for example, the last rent was €1,000 taking effect on 1 May 2012, and given that he has to give minimum 90 days notice, he could not increase it above €1,140 per month, assuming an effective date of 1 May 2019. The first review after 24 December 2016 is 2%, but every review thereafter is 4%.

If he has new tenants moving in, he can increase it by 4% by annum. On the example above, if he had new tenants moving in on 1 May 2019, he could charge them €1,280.

If you want to pm me, I might be able to help a bit more. The RTB website does have a calculator that will do all the sums for you, which is probably the best place to start.

If you have the following info, you can work out whatever you want:

1) date the previous rent first took effect

2) amount of the previous rent

Assuming that 1) is pre-24/12/16 and he wants to increase the rent for his current tenants, he should move sooner rather than later, because he continues to be bound by 2% per annum, as opposed to 4%.

Like say it is €1,200 at the minute and has been since 1/5/2014 - if he increases today (effective 1/5/2019), he can increase to €1,320 (that's 10%, or 2% per year over five years), then 4% the following year (which would be about €1,372). If he just leaves it one year, then he would only be able to increase it by 12% total then, which would only be to €1,344.

HOWEVER, there is a caveat. If he has new tenants, and provided he doesn't change the rent for his current tenants, he could charge a bit more. Say he had new tenants moving in on 1/5/19, he could charge them €1,440 per month (4% per annum). Say he increases the current tenant's rent now (effective 1/5/19) to €1,320 (the max permissible for a sitting tenant) and then in a year a new tenant moves in, he could only charge them €1,372 (€1,320 + 4%). However, if he were to leave the rent at €1,200, then in a year a new tenant moves in, he could potentially charge a new tenant €1,488 as of 1/5/20 (€1,200 + 24%).

There's a lot to consider, frankly. Also, he needs to be aware of the risk of terminating a tenancy for a spurious reason. There are only limited reasons for which he can terminate a tenancy. But if you give a reason and don't follow through on it, depending on the reason, it can cause you trouble. Like say you tell the tenant you are going to sell the place, then don't, then re-rent it for a whack more, they can claim against you and, depending on their loss, they could be awarded a lot against you. Plus, it is very, very easy to bring a claim to the RTB and there are thousands of cases every year now.

It is tricky to substantially improve an apartment. To get around the percentage rules there has to be "a substantial change in the nature of the accommodation provided under the tenancy". That's close to impossible with an apartment.

Cheers will have a read through it.