Borderwise Booklets
Issue 1
10th February 2008
Going South – Housing
©
NIACAB (Northern Ireland Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux)
This booklet
provides general information and advice for people who are currently living in Northern Ireland but want to move to the Republic of Ireland to live. It includes information on
finding accommodation and what your rights and entitlements are.
S6 Going South - Housing
This factsheet
aims to provide information for people living in the Northern Ireland who want
to move to the Republic of Ireland (ROI) to live. It provides information on
finding accommodation and what your rights and entitlements are. You may get
further information from the addresses and websites listed.
The information
in this leaflet was compiled in January 2008
Finding
somewhere to live
If you are planning
to live in the Republic of Ireland there are many options available when
looking for accommodation.
Renting
a Home
As a private
rented tenant will be asked to sign a document which will set out the details
of the agreement you have made with the person who owns the accommodation. This
is called a tenancy agreement. In addition to the rights which may be set out
in your tenancy agreement, all private rented tenants have basic rights. These
include;
- You are entitled
to quiet and exclusive enjoyment of your home.
- You are entitled
to certain minimum standards of
accommodation.
- You are entitled
to a rent book.
- You have the right
to contact the landlord or their agent at any reasonable times. You are
also entitled to the appropriate contact information you need to do so
(telephone numbers, email addresses, postal addresses, etc.).
- Your landlord is
only allowed to enter your home with your permission. If the landlord
needs to carry out repairs or inspect the premises, it should be by prior
arrangement, except in an emergency.
- You are entitled
to reimbursement for any repairs that you carry out that are the
landlords’ responsibility.
- You are entitled
to have friends to stay overnight or for short periods, unless
specifically forbidden in your tenancy agreement. You must tell your
landlord about an extra person moving in.
- You are entitled
to a certain amount of notice of the termination of your tenancy.
- You are entitled
to refer any disputes to the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB)
without being penalised for doing so
- You have the right
to a copy of any register entry held by the
PRTB dealing with your tenancy
Obligations of a
landlord:
- Register the
tenancy with the PRTB.
- Provide your
tenant with a rent book or statement of rent paid.
- Make sure that
the property meets certain minimum standards.
- Repair and
maintain the interior of the property to the standard it was in at the
start of the tenancy.
- Repairs – a
landlord is usually responsible for keeping the structure and outside of
the accommodation in good condition. A tenant is responsible for
decorations and day-to-day maintenance.
Minimum Physical Standards
Your landlord, the
local authority or housing association has a legal duty to make sure your home
complies with certain minimum physical standards. The landlord must:
- Ensure that the
house is essentially sound with roof, floors, ceilings, walls and stairs
in good repair and not subject to serious dampness or rotting
- Provide a sink
with hot and cold water.
- Provide a bath or
shower and toilet.
- Provide appliances
for space heating, which may include an open fire
- Provide facilities
for installation of cooking equipment and facilities for the hygienic
storage of food
- Ensure that
electricity or gas supplies are in good repair and safe
- Ensure that every
room has adequate ventilation and both natural and artificial lighting
- Ensure that all
common areas used by more than one household are kept in good repair
- Ensure that all
unoccupied basements, outbuildings, yards and forecourts are kept in good
repair.
If you feel your
accommodation does not meet these standards you can complain to your Local authority.
If you are living in private rented accommodation you should contact The
Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB).
The Private
Tenancies Board (PRTB)
The Private
Residential Tenancies Board is an organisation set up by
the Irish Government. Its main role is to provide a dispute resolution service
for landlords and tenants. If you have a tenancy dispute you should contact the
PRTB. An application form
must be completed by both the landlord and tenant. Following the receipt of the
completed application form, the Board will contact you and the other party to
confirm your agreement to mediation, clarify the issues in the dispute, explain
the process and seek relevant documentation. For more information contact:
Private
Residential Tenancies Board
Floor 2
O'Connell Bridge House
Dublin 2
Tel: +353 1 6350600
Website: www.prtb.ie/
Local Authority and Social Housing
Local authorities in
Ireland are the main provider of social housing for people who need housing
and cannot afford to buy their own homes. Local authority housing is allocated
according to housing need, and rents are based on your ability to pay. For
further information contact the housing department of your local authority.
Applying for
local authority housing
If you think you may
qualify, you should apply to your local authority, which will take account of
factors such as your household size, income, your present accommodation (if any),
the condition of that accommodation and any special circumstances, including
age, disability, medical circumstances, etc. Some local authorities in Ireland impose an income limit on applicants. Someone from the local authority may visit
you to assess your present housing circumstances. If you are accepted by the
local authority as being in need of housing, you are then placed in the local
authority housing waiting list. Each local authority draws up its own rules for
deciding order of priority on the waiting list, called "'schemes of
letting priorities". You can get a copy from your local authority.
Rent
Rent is based on
your ability to pay, so if your income is low, your rent will be low; and if
your income increases, so will your rent. The income of any other members of
your household will be added to the rent calculation and there may be
deductions for any children in your family.
Rent Supplement
If you are living
in private rented accommodation and cannot afford to pay the rent, you may
qualify for rent supplement from your local health board. The amount of rent
supplement you will be entitled to will be calculated by the Community Welfare
Officer. If you are not satisfied with a decision you should appeal to the
Community Welfare Officer. For more information contact your local health
centre.
Rental
Accommodation Scheme
If you have been
receiving Rent supplement for more than 18 months you may be eligible for the
Rental Accommodation Scheme. The scheme is organised by Local Authorities who
will establish a relationship and agree a contract with private landlords.
These properties will then be used to house people with long term housing
needs.
Housing
Associations
Housing associations
are independent non-profit making organisations that provide rented housing for
people who cannot afford to buy their own homes or special groups, such as
older people or homeless people. In order to qualify you must be registered on
the local authority housing waiting list and there is usually a means test. For
further information on Housing Association contact the housing department of
your local authority.
Irish
Council for Social Housing
50
Merrion Square East
Dublin 2
Dublin
IRELAND
Tel:+353
1 661 8334
Website:
http://www.icsh.ie
Buying a Private House
Most people in
the Republic of Ireland own their own home. However the process of buying and
selling can be complex and expensive. It is advisable to consider your options
carefully. For further information contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau in
Northern Ireland Tel: 028 9023 1120 or Citizens Information Board if you reside
in the Republic of Ireland Tel: 1890 777 121
There are a
number of schemes available to help people onto the property ladder. These
include:
Shared Ownership Scheme
The Shared Ownership
Scheme is aimed at people in Ireland who cannot afford to buy their entire home
in one go. It allows you to buy a proportion of your home to begin with,
increasing that proportion in steps until you own the whole house. Whilst you
are buying a portion of your home, ownership is shared between yourself and the
local authority and you make payments on a mortgage for the part you own and
pay rent to the local authority. For further information, contact the local authority in the
area where you want to buy a house.
The Affordable
Housing Scheme
The Affordable
Housing Scheme is a scheme in Ireland that aims to help lower income households
to buy their own homes. The Scheme allows lower-income house buyers the chance
to buy newly constructed homes and apartments in areas where property prices
have created an affordability gap for lower income house buyers. These
properties are then offered for sale to eligible first-time purchasers at
prices significantly less than their actual market value.
Affordable Homes Partnership
2nd
Floor
Cumberland House
Fenian
Street
Dublin 2
Tel: +353
1 6564100
Website: www.affordablehome.ie