Notice from Landlord to leave

Question

Our landlord phoned to ask us to leave the house we have rented for the last three years because he plans to sell the house. Do we have to accept this?

Answer 

As you have been renting the house for three years, you have what is called a “Part 4 tenancy”, which gives you certain rights. The landlord can only end your tenancy for certain specified reasons. An intention to sell the property within three months counts as a valid reason.

However, a phone call is not a valid form of notice. You must get a written notice of termination, signed and dated, stating the reason for termination and giving you the proper period of notice, which, in your case, as you have rented for three years, is 12 weeks (84 days). When a landlord plans to sell the property, the notice of termination must include a statement that he intends to sell the property within three months after the tenancy ends. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) publishes sample notices of termination with the detailed information that is required in various situations. In the case of a planned sale, the wording of the required statement is: “The reason for the termination of the tenancy is due to the fact that the landlord intends to sell the dwelling, for full consideration, within three months after the termination of the tenancy”.

Your landlord must also make a statutory declaration that he intends to enter into an enforceable agreement to sell his full interest in the house. (A statutory declaration is a solemn statement, which must be signed in the presence of someone who is authorised to witness statutory declarations – such as a practising solicitor, a Peace Commissioner, a notary public or a Commissioner for Oaths.) The RTB’s sample notice of termination for a landlord planning to sell contains sample wording for this statutory declaration, which you should receive along with the notice of termination. 

If your landlord is found to have evicted you illegally, he may be required to pay you substantial damages.

Further information is available from the Citizens Information Centre below.

Know Your Rights has been compiled by Boyle Citizens Information Centre which provides a free and confidential service to the public. Tel: 0761 07 6330

Address: Elphin Street, Boyle, Co. Roscommon

Information is also available online at citizensinformation.ie and from the Citizens Information Phone Service - 0761 07 4000

Challenging a school’s policies

Know Your Rights: Challenging a school’s policies

May 2016

Question

My son shaved his head on Saturday and was sent home from secondary school on the following Monday. The school is using school policy to justify suspending him for one week until his hair starts to grow. What can I do?

Answer

All schools should have policies in place to deal with issues as they arise in the normal day-to-day running of a school (codes of behavior, school rules and other policies). These should be provided or made available to parents of children attending the school. If you are unhappy about a school’s policy or the implementation of a school’s policy you can make a complaint to the school. The school should have a formal complaints procedure that you can follow.

The complaints procedure usually involves contacting the principal with your complaint. (The school’s procedures may ask you to speak to another member of staff before speaking with the principal.) If having spoken with the school principal, you are still not happy that your complaint has been resolved you may contact the chairperson of the school’s management authority.

If the chairperson cannot resolve your complaint they should discuss the matter at a meeting of the management authority. The school’s Board of Management is usually the management authority. However, in the case of Education and Training Board schools you should contact the Education and Training Board responsible for the school.

Shortly after reaching its decision, the management authority will let you know its decision on your complaint. This decision ends the school complaints process. The Department of Education and Skills provides information about making a complaint to a school on their website. If you have followed the school’s complaints procedures and you are not satisfied with the outcome you can escalate your complaint about the school to the Ombudsman for Children’s Office. The key criterion for any intervention by the Ombudsman for Children is that the action complained of has or may have adversely affected the child. The Ombudsman can examine any administrative actions of the school, staff or Board of Management including whether the school’s policies have been followed correctly or if those policies are fair. 

Making a Will

A public information presentation entitled Making a Will won’t kill You will be held in King House, Boyle on Wednesday 11th May 2016 at 6.30pm.  The presentation hosted by Roscommon Citizens Information Service (CIC), Roscommon LEADER Partnership and the Older People’s Council, is free of charge and all are welcome.

Topics covered will include: 

• how to make a Will and what will happen if you don’t (on Intestacy)

• Testamentary Guardianship

• Discretionary Trusts

• availing of Tax Breaks

• Taking out probate

• providing for vulnerable relatives

• rights of other family members

• setting up Power of Attorney

• and common pitfalls and useful tips.

The seminar will be delivered by Anne O’Carroll BCL MA of Cascade Training Consultancy.  Ms O’Carroll, who has won national Justice Media Awards from the Law Society for her legal journalism, has over 20 years’ experience in demystifying legal issues for the lay person through training workshops and public information presentations. The Presentation will be delivered in an accessible and jargon-free style, and promises to be highly informative. The aim is to provide clear, concise information on what practical steps to take when making a will and how best to provide for your loved ones.

There will be a Question & Answer session and information handouts will be provided. 

• If you have young children,   a farm or business,   or are a house-owner 

• or are caring for a relative who is dependent or has special needs 

• and you’re worried about what will happen after you are gone, 

• You need to attend this event.

For more information ring Roscommon CIC on 076 107 6380 

or Boyle CIC on 076 107 6330

Time off work - effect on state pension

Question

I’m going to take some time off work to look after my children. What effect will this have on my contributions for the State pension?

Answer

Under the Homemaker’s Scheme, time you spend out of the workforce caring for children or a person with a disability can be disregarded when calculating your entitlement for a State Pension (Contributory). The scheme came into effect on 6 April 1994 (time spent homemaking before this is not taken into account).

You do not get credits for years spent out of the workforce. Instead these years will be disregarded when working out your entitlement to a State Pension (Contributory). However, you may get credits for the remainder of the year you leave the workforce, and for part of the year when you rejoin the workforce.

A homemaker, for the purposes of the Homemaker’s Scheme is a man or woman who provides full-time care for a child under the age of 12 or an ill or disabled person aged 12 or over. A homemaking year is a year in which you are out of the workforce for the full tax year. Up to a maximum of 20 homemaking years can be disregarded when working out your entitlement to a State Pension (Contributory).

To qualify for a State Pension (Contributory) you must have a minimum yearly average number of contributions from when you entered social insurance to pension age. The Homemaker’s scheme provides that full contribution years spent caring in the home are disregarded in calculating a person's yearly average number of contributions. Take, for example, a woman who started work in 1985, took 10 years out of work to care for children from 1995 to 2005 and then returned to work for another 20 years before retiring in 2025 and applying for a State Pension. Her yearly average would be calculated over 30 years instead of 40 years when the 10 years spent in the home are disregarded.

Further information is available from the Citizens Information Centre below.

Know Your Rights has been compiled by Boyle Citizens Information Centre which provides a free and confidential service to the public. Tel: 0761 07 6330

Address: Elphin Street, Boyle, Co. Roscommon

Information is also available online at citizensinformation.ie and from the Citizens Information Phone Service - 0761 07 4000

Rules for drones

Question

I intend to buy a drone. Are there any rules I should be aware of?

Answer

Drones and model aircraft are both considered small unmanned aircraft and the same rules apply to their operation. The rules are set out in the Small Unmanned Aircraft (Drones) and Rockets Order 2015 (SI 563/2015).

Under the rules, all drones weighing 1kg or more must be registered with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA). This includes the weight of the battery and all attached equipment, including cargo, at the start of its flight. You must be over 16 years of age to register a drone, otherwise it must be registered by a parent or legal guardian. You register your drone online at iaa.ie/drones.

You must never operate a drone in a negligent or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of others and you must have permission from the landowner for take-off and landing. You must never operate it:

·         Farther than 300 metres from you or out of your direct line of sight

·         Over 120 metres above ground level

·         Over urban areas or over a group of 12 or more people

·         Within 120 metres of any person, vessel or structure not under your control

·         Closer than 5 kilometres from an aerodrome

·         If it will be a hazard to another aircraft in flight

·         In civil or military controlled airspace or in restricted areas such as prisons

If you want to operate your drone outside these limits, you must apply to the IAA for a specific operating permission and complete a drone safety training course. If your drone weighs 4kg or more, you must complete a drone safety training course before operating it. You should be aware that there may be privacy or trespass issues if you operate a drone over private property. While you do not need insurance to operate a drone it is recommended that you are insured and that you complete a drone safety training course.

Discrimination when renting residential property

Question

Are advertisements saying that landlords won’t accept tenants getting Rent Supplement allowed?

Answer

Equality legislation applies to lettings and accommodation. The Equal Status Acts 2000-2015 ban certain kinds of discrimination. Broadly speaking, discrimination means that you receive less favourable treatment than other people in a comparable situation on grounds of gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race or membership of the Traveller community. Landlords cannot discriminate against potential tenants on these grounds.

Since 1 January 2016, following an amendment to the Equal Status Acts, landlords cannot discriminate against tenants because they are getting Rent Supplement or any other social welfare payment, or a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). This means that landlords can no longer state when advertising accommodation that Rent Supplement (or HAP) is not accepted and they cannot refuse to rent you accommodation because you are getting Rent Supplement, HAP or a social welfare payment.

However if you are sharing with the home owner (under the Rent a Room Scheme, for example), a license agreement exists and the Acts do not apply. There are some other exemptions. If you feel you have been discriminated against by a landlord or their agent, you can contact the Workplace Relations Commission to find out more about making a complaint under the Equal Status Acts. Visit workplacerelations.ie for contact details.

For more information about your rights you can contact the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.

Further information is available from the Citizens Information Centre below.

Know Your Rights has been compiled by Boyle Citizens Information Centre which provides a free and confidential service to the public. Tel: 0761 07 6330

Address: Elphin Street, Boyle, Co. Roscommon

Information is also available online at citizensinformation.ie and from the Citizens Information Phone Service - 0761 07 4000

Census 2016

Know Your Rights: Census 2016

Question

Can you explain how the census works? Do I have to complete the form?

Answer

The Census of Population counts every person who is in the State on a particular date. It establishes the size of the population in the State and it also helps to provide an accurate measure of population changes due to inward and outward migration.

The census takes place every 5 years and is carried out by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The next census will be on Sunday 24 April 2016.

The census counts everyone who is present in the State on the designated night, including visitors who usually live abroad. Under the Statistics Act 1993, you are legally obliged to complete and return the census form. If you refuse to provide this information, or if you deliberately provide false information, you may be fined. Teams of enumerators deliver census forms to every household and to every other type of place where people may be present on census night (such as hotels, guesthouses, hospitals, ships). Everyone who is actually on the premises on census night, including visitors, should be counted. Census enumerators call to all households to deliver forms before census night and then call back to collect completed forms. Enumerators all carry ID and can help if you have difficulty completing the form.

The form includes a wide range of questions, including age, marital status, sex, place of birth, level of education, type of employment and housing characteristics. All the information that you give on the census form is confidential. The CSO only uses it for statistical purposes and no other organisation (including government departments or agencies) can access information from the census that would identify you in any way.

When you have completed the form on census night, sign the declaration at the end of it and keep it safe until your enumerator calls back to collect it.

Further information is available from the Citizens Information Centre below.

Know Your Rights has been compiled by Boyle Citizens Information Centre which provides a free and confidential service to the public. Tel: 0761 07 6330

Address: Elphin Street, Boyle, Co. Roscommon

Information is also available online at citizensinformation.ie and from the Citizens Information Phone Service - 0761 07 4000