Property prices continue to rise throughout the country and this has had the knock-on effect of forcing people to save for higher deposits in order to get on the property ladder. The net result of this is that the number of people in rented accommodation is continuing to rise. Unfortunately, monthly rent prices also continue to soar and defaulting rental payments amongst other issues has meant that there is a significant number of disputes between landlords and tenants being reported. Disputes between landlords and tenants are typically referred to the Residential Tenancies Board (“RTB”). Once the dispute is referred to the RTB they will gather all of the required information and hold an adjudication hearing. At this hearing both the landlord and the tenant will be heard and are entitled to bring a representative with them. Typically, they will attend by themselves. However, in certain circumstances they will seek to have a solicitor or auctioneer represent them before the hearing. Sometime after the hearing the RTB adjudicator who conducted the hearing will issue his or her report. This report will give a synopsis of the hearing and will also set out the findings of fact and what the determination of the RTB is. This adjudication report is issued to both the landlord and the tenant and if the proposed determination in the adjudicators report is not appealed by either side within 10 working days of the date of receipt of that report then the RTB will issue the determination order under section 121 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and it will be binding on both sides to the dispute.
However, it should be borne in mind that it is open to either party to appeal the decision of the adjudicator to the Tribunal of the RTB, provided that they do so within the 10 days. The RTB tribunal typically consists of a three-person panel. The tribunal hearing is essentially a De-Novo hearing unless the parties agree to limit the scope of the hearing to certain issues. This essentially means that the tribunal can hear the case afresh. It is important to note that the Tribunal is also quite informal and the landlord and tenant are entitled to be heard themselves or have a representative speak on their behalf.
The tribunal will not issue its decision immediately after the hearing. Instead it will notify the RTB of its decision who will then issue a determination order to the landlord and tenant. The determination order may then be appealed within 21 days to the High Court. However, the appeal to the High Court can only be on a point of law.
Once the determination order is issued, whether its from the adjudication hearing or from the Tribunal hearing, it will be binding on both parties unless it is appealed within the timeframe permitted under the act. Unfortunately, if either party will not comply with the terms of the determination order the party seeking to enforce the determination order will have to bring enforcement proceedings to the Court. There are two options open in this regard. They can make an application for the RTB to take enforcement proceedings in the courts on their behalf or they can take their own enforcement proceedings. More often than not the person seeking to enforce the determination order will issue their own enforcement proceedings and again more often than not this is done with the assistance of a solicitor.
The enforcement proceedings were typically issued in the Circuit Court which was a costly and cumbersome process. However, S.I No 69 of 2018 of the District Court Rules which was signed on the 26th day of February 2018 came into operation on the 23rd day of March 2018 and now permits enforcement proceedings of an RTB determination order to be brought in the District Court. Order93C of the District Court rules sets out the procedure which must be followed. Essentially the application must be made by way of Notice of Application and the proceedings must be brought in the court area in which the tenancy or dwelling concerned is or was situated. The rules also stipulate that the applicant must give the respondent at least 21 days’ notice of the application. The application must also be supported by a grounding affidavit. The grounding affidavit should set out and verify the facts relied on in the application.
If the respondent intends to oppose the application and the applicant is not the board then the respondent must give notice of such an intention to oppose and the grounds of opposition to the board and to the applicant no later than four days prior to the return date specified in the notice of application. The stamp duty on the new notice of application is €80 while the stamp duty on the grounding affidavit remains at €15.
This new procedure is far more cost effective and approachable than the historic Circuit Court enforcement procedure and it should ensure that the enforcement procedure is made more user friendly and perhaps most of all it should, in theory, mean that justice can prevail at a significantly expedited rate than if it was being brought in the Circuit Court. It will also ensure that applicants who have already had to go down the route of going to the RTB will not have to come up with the finances necessary to sustain a Circuit Court action.

The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (‘the Act’) provides that the owner on 1st November 2013 is the person liable to pay LPT for 2014 – even if that person sold the property before the end of the year and would not own or occupy the property at any time during 2014.

The Act provides that a sale of a property after the liability date for the 2014 tax (1st November 2013) brings forward payment of the 2014 tax. For sales closing before the end of 2013, therefore, the Vendor would have to pay the tax for 2014 before closing the sale. Revenue has confirmed there will be no refund of the 2014 tax by Revenue to the vendor. [It should be noted that this will be the position every year from now on in respect of all future years for which the tax is due, given that the liability date for the tax for a given year is the 1st November in the preceding year.]

A contract for sale may contain a special condition by which the purchaser and vendor agree that the tax will be apportioned. In such cases, the tax is apportioned in accordance with the contract. Revenue has confirmed that there will be no refund of tax to purchasers who pay apportioned LPT to a vendor.

Because of the publication in early November of the widening of what was previously thought to be an ‘exemption’ only for first time buyers (during 2013 of second hand residential property for owner occupation) to all purchasers of such property during 2013, many vendors and purchasers find themselves in situations that they had not previously anticipated. Insofar as it is possible to give general information on what can be a wide range of complex scenarios, depending on the circumstances of each case, the position appears to be as follows

1. In relation to any new contracts now being negotiated, it is likely that a purchaser, who meets the conditions of Section 8 of the Act in relation to the exemption, will wish to claim the exemption from the tax in respect of the years 2014, 2015 and 2016, and will therefore be unlikely to agree to an apportionment. While the question of apportionment is a matter for negotiation between the parties to the contract, if a purchaser refuses to agree to apportionment and the vendor still wishes to continue with the sale, the vendor will have to pay the tax for 2014 before closing the sale this year, even though the vendor will not own or occupy the property in 2014, and will not get a refund of any tax paid.
2. In relation to the ‘exemption’ for purchasers (not just first time buyers) of second-hand residential property during 2013 for owner occupation (investors are not entitled to the exemption) – Revenue has confirmed that if these sales do not complete before the end of 2013, purchasers will not be able to claim exemption for 2014, 2015 and 2016. Revenue has confirmed that they will go by the date of completion of the transaction, not the date of the contract, and that they will not entertain claims for an exemption where the closing takes place after 31st December 2013.
3. Revenue has confirmed that the only tax that will be refunded is to a purchaser of second hand residential property for owner occupation who bought between 1 January and 1 May 2013 and the amount to be refunded is the amount of the 2013 tax they paid. By virtue of being the owner as of 1 May 2013, this person was the liable person for the 2013 tax. The 2013 tax was paid with this purchaser not knowing that the true interpretation of the Act was that all purchasers of this type were in fact entitled to an exemption in the same way as first time buyers. The 2013 tax paid will be refunded – but only if the purchaser applies to Revenue for a refund and shows that s/he meets the requirements of Section 8 of the Act.

Changes to the monetary jurisdictions of the civil courts will take effect on 3rd February, 2014.

These changes are provided for in Section 2(1) and Part 3 of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013.

From 3rd February, the new limits of the civil jurisdictions will be:

• District Court: €15,000.
• Circuit Court in civil proceedings (other than personal injury claims): €75,000.
• Circuit Court for personal injury actions as defined in Section 2 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004: €60,000.

New building control regulations were signed by the Minister for the Environment on 15th January, 2014 and come into operation on 1st March, 2014.

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has been pressing to have the building regulations updated in a manner which would seek to ensure that another Priory Hall debacle could not happen in future.

The new 2014 regulations will apply to any development in respect of which a commencement notice is issued after 1st March, 2014. When issuing a commencement notice, seven sets of documents must be filed with the building control authority which must demonstrate how the building will comply with the building regulations and how this will be arranged. One will be a certificate of compliance (in a form set out in the regulations) confirming that the design is in compliance with the regulations. The filing will be done electronically.

These changes will have a profound effect on the building industry and, while the problems the Department is seeking to prevent mainly relate to apartments, the new regulations apply to all buildings other than extensions below 40 square meters.

From a conveyancing perspective it looks like it will no longer be possible to build a house, housing estate or apartment block without an architect and engineer being involved in monitoring the construction – because of the documentation required. This will have obvious cost implications, but should ensure a better standard of construction.

The new regulations provide that a building cannot be occupied or used until the final certificates of compliance (in the forms set out in the regulations) are filed with and registered by the building control authority.

Any person commencing a development before 1st March, 2014 should have factored in the requirements of the new regulations, in case they do not get a valid commencement notice served before the end of February 2014.