Tom O’Neill of O’Neill, Estate Agents has just this month been successful in gaining his licence in all four categories to practice and is now registered with the Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA). Tom has reviewed the legislation setting up the PSRA, but Tom is unsure of the impact of this legislation on his role as a property service provider.
Tom is confused regarding the contribution he had to make to the property services compensation fund, considering he has very comprehensive personal indemnity insurance arranged. He has asked his solicitor to explain the difference between both.
Recently, Tom heard that an estate agent in the area underwent a compliance audit conducted by the PSRA and had breaches regarding the legislation. Luckily, he was afforded the opportunity to make corrections to his practice. Tom has concerns regarding how prepared he would be for such a compliance audit.
Tom’s agency has managed several properties for a landlord in locations in Cork, Galway, and Dublin for the past 5 years. Recently, Tom had a meeting with the landlord and the landlord is keen to increase the rent by 4% next month in relation to all his properties. The landlord was also unhappy with one of his tenants and had asked him to leave. The tenant challenged the landlord stating he had a part 4 tenancy and refused to leave. The landlord concluded that he would happily go to the district court to remove this tenant from his property.
