Unruly tenant a ‘living’ nightmare for landlord

Minister of State Jan O’Sullivan’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act appears to be good news for the neighbours of unruly tenants, but may result in an injustice to the landlord.

A landlord with a tenant who doesn’t pay rent, or who breaches the terms of the lease, must follow due process to have the tenant leave by giving the required notice. Fair enough.

If the tenant is not happy about the notice to terminate the lease, he can dispute it with the PRTB, engaging their dispute resolution. Again, fair enough. The problem for the landlord, and also for the neighbours, will not be the current nor an amended process of dispute resolution, but the length of time to get a hearing with the PRTB, which can be a year from the date the landlord notifies the tenant to leave.