Landlords Advised to Pass on Household Charge to Tenants

Although tenants will not be directly liable for the new Household Tax – it looks like many private tenants will be expected to pay an amount to cover the new charge to landlords on top of their rent.

The  Irish Property Owners Association – (IPOA)  has advised landlords  to  levy the Household Charge on their tenants.
The IPOA is a  national association representing the providers of private rented accommodation – and they say they have about 5000 members.
Their  advice to landlords is to write to their tenants and outline that a  service charge of €25 a month will be levied. This equates to  €300 a year – which is the total amount per dwelling of the NPPR and the Household Charge .

The landlords will still have to register their properties  for the Household Charge and make the payments. They will just be recouping the tax from their tenants.

UPDATE– Dec 22nd  2011 –  following representations by the Competition Authority, the IPOA issued another statement

They now say  “ it is a matter for IPOA Members to make their own business decisions, independently of each other, on the new Household Charge and any other charges which are levied to fund local services. The recommendation made by the IPOA to its members that they should pass on the Household Charge to tenants is therefore superseded by this statement.”

“The relationship of landlord and tenant is a matter of contract between the parties and it is for the parties to any letting agreement to agree between themselves its terms, including the settlement of any charges levied to fund local services.”

 

Local Authority houses are not liable for the Household Charge  – nor are houses owned by voluntary housing bodies.

More about the Household Charge here