IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Diarmuid Mawe, Craig Kenny, Katelin Toomey and William Fogarty, Maples Group
between the parties, the lease may provide for referral to an expert or an arbitrator for deter - mination. 6.7 Payment of VAT In the case of a commercial/business lease, a landlord may elect (but is not obliged) to charge VAT on the rents, in which case VAT applies at the relevant rate (currently 23%). 6.8 Costs Payable by a Tenant at the Start of a Lease Stamp duty is payable on commercial leases at 1% of the average annual rent. It is the ten - ant’s responsibility to discharge the stamp duty. A tenant may also be obliged to pay insurance rent, any initial service charge contribution and, if commercially agreed, a deposit. 6.9 Payment of Maintenance and Repair A landlord or management company will normal - ly maintain common areas in a multi-let building or estate and recoup the costs from the tenants through a service charge. 6.10 Payment of Utilities and Telecommunications Normally, a tenant is responsible for all outgo - ings consumed on the premises, and these are usually metered and paid directly by the tenant to the provider. Utilities and telecommunications consumed on the common areas are normally paid by the landlord and recouped from the ten - The landlord will usually insure the property, and the tenant will refund the amount of the premium to the landlord as insurance rent under the lease. Typical risks insured against for property dam - age are fire, flooding, storm, malicious damage, subsidence and lightning. Terrorism insurance is ants via a service charge. 6.11 Insurance Issues
also available in the Irish market. Some tenants and businesses have recovered costs under business interruption insurance, depending on the terms of the relevant insurance policy. In 2022, the Irish Commercial Court issued its third judgment in favour of the claimants in a case taken by a group of publicans against a large insurance group in Ireland in relation to the non-payout of proceeds in respect of business interruption insurance due to closures necessi - tated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was presided over as a test case for the juris - diction and should offer greater clarity for policy drafters seeking to bring certainty as to the level of risk assumed by insurers providing business interruption cover. 6.12 Restrictions on the Use of Real Estate A lease will contain a user clause outlining the permitted use of the property by the tenant. If a tenant wishes to change the permitted use, the consent of the landlord is generally required (legislation provides that such consent may not be unreasonably withheld). 6.13 Tenant’s Ability to Alter and Improve Real Estate Depending on the provisions of the lease, a ten - ant may be permitted to alter or improve the property, usually subject to the landlord’s con - sent and the tenant’s obligations on yield-up of the premises, which normally include returning the property to its original condition. Structural alterations are generally prohibited, with internal non-structural alterations permitted subject to the prior written consent of the landlord. 6.14 Specific Regulations The RTA govern leases of residential property in Ireland, provided the term does not exceed
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