Missing Landlord

god9

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right forum for this - seems to be.

Myself and three of my mates - moved into a rented accomodation in December (2006). We paid the landlord a months rent in advance and a deposit.

We moved in and everything was fine. The landlord would regularly call me to discuss different things regarding the house and kept saying that he would call around for us to sign a lease and organise a monthly payment. This was in January.

Since then I have heard nothing from this landlord. I have repeatedly tried to contact this person on their mobile (which is still switched on but never answered??). I am not even 100% sure of the landlords name and i have contacted the real estate agency we went through for more contact-details - but have had no luck.

So in summary we have not paid rent (over 12k) since December. Not a dime - we have signed no lease or agreement so we are not sure where we stand . There is no sign of the landlord what so ever - nothing - Very strange situation ! Any comments/advice appreciated.

jubi lee

er will you have his 12k if he comes looking for it?

is the ESB bill in his name?? if so, then you have his name and can contact him thatway....

that sounds really really strange to be honest....is he still alive?? have you left voice messages? have you tried calling him at different times of the day?

r3nu4l

Ask the real estate agents for his/her full name and alternative contact details?

Explain that you need to contact him to pay rent and that there are tax implications (rent relief) and that you will contact Revenue if you don't get an answer.

god9

jubi lee wrote:

er will you have his 12k if he comes looking for it?

is the ESB bill in his name?? if so, then you have his name and can contact him thatway....

that sounds really really strange to be honest....is he still alive?? have you left voice messages? have you tried calling him at different times of the day?

Nope - there are no bills in his name. We had to setup everything - I don't think the house was lived in - in years before we moved in. We also don't get any mail for the landlord (which usually happens in rented accomodation).
Ya we've been saving the money but of course we're enjoying living rent free at the moment.

Ya i've called dozens of times - text messages, voicemails the lot. I'm not sure if the person is still alive or perhaps very ill but it is still strange not calling around for six months.............?

jubi lee

are you registered with teh PRTB?

how did you arange to pay him rent? cash or into his account?

god9

jubi lee wrote:

are you registered with teh PRTB?

how did you arange to pay him rent? cash or into his account?

Nope not registered with PRTB.

We gave the cash to the rental agency. they say they have no further details except a mobile number for the person.

r3nu4l

god9 wrote:

We gave the cash to the rental agency. they say they have no further details except a mobile number for the person.

That sounds like a complete load of crap to me. Tell them that you are concerned for his welfare and will contact the gardaí. Tell the estate agent that you will pass on their details to the gardaí so that they are fully informed.

That might spur on either a sudden return of memory or some contact from your landlord.

On the other hand, you could try leaving a voicemail with the mobile number that you are concerned for his safety and will contact the gardaí to let them know.

god9

r3nu4l wrote:

That sounds like a complete load of crap to me. Tell them that you are concerned for his welfare and will contact the gardaí. Tell the estate agent that you will pass on their details to the gardaí so that they are fully informed.

That might spur on either a sudden return of memory or some contact from your landlord.

On the other hand, you could try leaving a voicemail with the mobile number that you are concerned for his safety and will contact the gardaí to let them know.

Fair enough. But i hardly feel it is my responsibiliy to spend my time chasing the landlord......?

Paulw

As long as you have the money if/when the landlord comes looking for it, then what is the issue?

Yes, it does seem very very strange, but is there anything you can do?

The_Conductor

While I know its not your concern- I do think that r3nu4l has a point, I would suggest contacting the Gardai and explaining the situation to them. Re: an address- if you contacted Land Registry they should have his address. They may not be willing to divulge it on privacy grounds- but would doubtless be willing to forward a message on your behalf.

Shane

neacy69

Find a new place, move out and split the cash between you and your mates!!

r3nu4l

god9 wrote:

Fair enough. But i hardly feel it is my responsibiliy to spend my time chasing the landlord......?

No, it s not your responsibility but if you are not interested then why did you come here acting all concerned about contacting him? You admit you have already tried and this seems to be your main concern, no?

Or are you just worried about whether you can spend the cash?

antoinolachtnai

Well, this guy has trusted you with a valuable possession, the right thing is to look after his house while he is away, for whatever reason. Put the money in a special bank account and pay for any maintenance expenses out of it.

The land registry will give you his postal address if they have it. I would call the gardai if you're really concerned, but there is no evidence that this guy didn't just decide to keep a low profile for a while.

You don't have to chase your landlord. You are right not to pay over to anyone unless you are completely satisfied that you are paying it over to the right person.

And if he does show up and turns out to be abroad, be sure to retain withholding tax and submit it to the revenue.

raido9

neacy69 wrote:

Find a new place, move out and split the cash between you and your mates!!

I second that!!

How long before squatters rights comes into play?

god9

r3nu4l wrote:

No, it s not your responsibility but if you are not interested then why did you come here acting all concerned about contacting him? You admit you have already tried and this seems to be your main concern, no?

Or are you just worried about whether you can spend the cash?

No I am not concerned really for the landlord - I am just confused and can't think of an explanation. Even in illness/death it doesn't take 6/7 months to sort out finances/property - I find it extremely unusual that nobody has contacted us ?! If I had an 800k house I'd want to keep an eye on it !

The_Conductor

raido9 wrote:

I second that!!

How long before squatters rights comes into play?

If you are talking about the law of adverse possession, its 12 years, I believe (the law changed in 2002 though).

OP- Regardless of whether the landlord has vanished off the face of the planet or not- you should assume that you will have to pay the rent at some point in time and plan accordingly.

god9

smccarrick wrote:

If you are talking about the law of adverse possession, its 12 years, I believe (the law changed in 2002 though).

OP- Regardless of whether the landlord has vanished off the face of the planet or not- you should assume that you will have to pay the rent at some point in time and plan accordingly.

Yes of course - and we have the money.

Altho legally I would be surprised if I am liable to pay anything.

We have no lease and in reality there is no record that we ever lived in the house .

Afuera

god9 wrote:

We have no lease and in reality there is no record that we ever lived in the house .

I thought you said you had to set up everything as nothing was in the landlord's name? Presumably one of you is reponsible for the ESB.

Gran Hermano

god9 wrote:

We have no lease and in reality there is no record that we ever lived in the house .

Time to move me thinks
€12k would cover a nice few weeks holidays in the sun for you and your
housemates whilst you consider your alternatives on daft.ie

KdjaCL

Gran Hermano wrote:

Time to move me thinks
€12k would cover a nice few weeks holidays in the sun for you and your
housemates whilst you consider your alternatives on daft.ie

And when the landlord gets out from his spell for GBH on his last tenant



kdjac

god9

Afuera wrote:

I thought you said you had to set up everything as nothing was in the landlord's name? Presumably one of you is reponsible for the ESB.

good point. ya didn't think about that one. doh !

whizzbang

Set up a rabo direct account and fling it in there each month. You'll earn yourself 5% for leaving it there and you have it available at short notice

that would be 600 euro for the year! at 12k per year. (give or take)

faceman

er as a landlord myself this is most bizarre. if the estate agent hasnt heard from the landlord either then the gardai should be called!

the_syco

god9 wrote:

Fair enough. But i hardly feel it is my responsibiliy to spend my time chasing the landlord......?

You benifit from living rent free.

rudie-

whizzbang wrote:

Set up a rabo direct account and fling it in there each month. You'll earn yourself 5% for leaving it there and you have it available at short notice

that would be 600 euro for the year! at 12k per year. (give or take)

thats a winner right there, that or buy prize bonds with the money, you might stand to make a no loss killing with that rent money.

Ste.phen

I'd go for the savings account myself, at least you're earning interest.
Seriously, contact the gardaí, tell them what you know, they might tell you to PFO, but you'll have done your part, maybe ask the land registry as well.

Once you're a) making sure you have the rent money saved
b) keeping the place in order

you should be fine.

Anti

neacy69 wrote:

Find a new place, move out and split the cash between you and your mates!!

I would agree with this too.

Victor

KdjaCL wrote:

And when the landlord gets out from his spell for GBH on his last tenant

I was thinking that.

Ste.phen

What was the resolution on this? Did the landlord ever turn up?

Sorry to drag up an old thread but this interested me when i saw it and i'm curious as to what happened.

IRISH RAIL

Any rooms going there??

BostonB

I'm curious too