My landlord has . . .My landlord has advised me that next month I will have to pay an additional €70 for registration with the tenants association. Have you heard of it? Do I have to be a member of this association?
There is a new registration fee that came into force on September 1st, but it is for landlords, not tenants. From that date landlords have three months to register with a new body, the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB).
The private residential market in Ireland has been fairly chaotic with no official record of landlords or rental properties. There was a system that landlords had to register with the local authorities but the majority of landlords simply failed to do so.
This new registration system is an attempt to regulate what has been a highly unregulated industry. The €70 should be paid by your landlord - it is after all a legitimate business expense and he will be able to claim tax relief on it, so the real cost to him will be substantially less.
It is a controversial charge in that the Irish Property Owner's Association say that they cannot afford to absorb the cost themselves and will have to pass the charge on while Threshold, the tenants' support agency, is instructing tenants not to pay the charge.
There are a number of other measures that came into force on September 1st as part of the Landlord and Tenants Residential Tenancies Act (2004) that impact on such issues as rent reviews, notice periods and leases, so you should have a look at www.environ.ie to get the details.
Hot tub in the back garden
We bought a house with a hot tub in the back garden. It's quite large - seating about six - and it is on a wooden deck that runs the width of the back of the house. It is quite close to the back livingroom, so we are keen to move it to the end of the garden to a more private spot. Is moving it an easy job? What sort of foundations do we need? There is already a water supply at the end of the garden.
Hot tubs are heavy, according to AquaSun, a company that supplies a brand called HotSpring. You don't say what brand yours is, but it's likely to be made either from a fibreglass composite or a special PVC emdurol, with a wooden or wood-effect surround.
Other than bearing in mind the weight of the thing, moving it shouldn't pose any problems. While it now appears to be sitting on a deck, it's almost certain that it is in fact sitting on a solid concrete bed. If hot tubs are heavy when empty, you can imagine how heavy they are with water and six people in them, so they need a solid base. At its new site you should lay a concrete base of around five inches thick or, if you prefer, patio slabs are an alternative, once they are laid on a firm, level, bed. The last thing you want is subsidence.
You have the water supply, but you will also obviously need an electricity supply down to the new site.
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Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.
