In a market flooded with tenants, you may find yourself asking why you would need to engage the services of a letting agent, and you are right to ask yourself this very important question. Hiring the right letting agent can save you money in the long run as a professional letting agent will have a wealth of experience and up-to-date knowledge of the market that is invaluable when sourcing tenants in today's market.
This can be a very stressful time and some landlords are overwhelmed at what is asked of them. It’s important you connect with a letting agent that understands your expectations, and this in turn will minimise the hassle and stress on you. It’s also important to maintain standards in your property, and as Galway city and surrounds are in a Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ ) and you are capped at a two per cent rent increase per annum, your letting agent should advise where, when, and how best to invest your money in your property.
It is vital that you are compliant in all areas, as if you find yourself up in front of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB ) and are deemed to be non-compliant, well, it’s a little bit like speeding – you might say to the Garda that you didn’t realise you were over the speed limit and you’re very sorry, but you’ll still be fined and get penalty points. However, the fines are somewhat higher in the world of property.
The RTB has powers to investigate nine breaches of rental law by landlords, called improper conducts, including: raising the rent unlawfully in a Rent Pressure Zone; failing to register a property; failure to update the register when required to do so; failing to offer a tenancy back to a tenant when required to do so; knowingly giving a false or misleading reason for ending a tenancy in a Notice of Termination; and seeking a greater amount in deposit or an advance payment than is allowed.
If landlords are found to have committed improper conduct, they can be sanctioned with a written caution and/or a sanction of up €15,000 and up to €15,000 in costs.
M&C Property completed the acquisition of Winters Property Management at the beginning of 2022. With more than 25 years' experience in the business, we offer a variety of professional letting packages to suits the needs of all landlords. For further information contact our new business letting agent Jane Fletcher Cahill on 091771898 or [email protected].
