Need to leave rented accommodation but signed a lease...

humbert

Well as the title says, I moved in two months ago and signed a six month lease. It's not the place, it's rather nice for the rent, but one of the guys who was already here is head-wrecking.

[irrelevant rant]
To put it bluntly a class A knacker. What the landlord was thinking when he leased him the room I'll never know. He's miles behind on rent and bills, drinks himself into a noisy drunken stupor every night, plays dance music I didn't think real actual people listened to from the time I get home to 11 or twelve o'clock and talks utter incomprehensible **** to you every time you have to go near the kitchen or sitting room which he never leaves. Oh, he's doing some course which the long term unemployed are paid to do(though he almost never goes near the place) and is getting rent allowance...grrr.
[/irrelevant rant]

Anyway the landlord has given him three months to get his bills paid and after that I'd say he'll have a nightmare of a time trying to get rid of him.

Another three months of this I wont survive, so, am I buggered if the landlord chooses to keep my deposit or is it at the very least common practice to be satisfied with a months notice?

A previous tenant recently gave him a months notice(for much the same reasons) and he accepted it but he'd been here two and a half years.

Any advice would be appreciated, it's a bit of a crap situation.

SarahMc

Normally not only could you be stung for the deposit, but also the remainder of the 6 month lease.

But that is if you hold tenancy of the entire property. I'm not sure of the situation where the property is let out in rooms. I think you should contact Threshold for advice.

humbert

Gah, hadn't even thought of that. I'll ring Threshold tomorrow. Really I'm hoping the landlord will be amenable but I'll like to know where I stand before approaching him.

SarahMc

I'd imagine you are in a strong position as the other guy has been given notice to quit. Let us know what Threshold says.

Victor

SarahMc wrote: »

Normally not only could you be stung for the deposit, but also the remainder of the 6 month lease.

Not anymore. Under the Residential Tenancies Act, you can get a substitute tenant (will probably have to be acceptable to the landlord).

beeno67

Also check if your Tenancy has been registered with PTRB. Many landlords do not do this. If it has not been registered you can basically do as you want, leave as soon as you want and be entitled to a full deposit refund.

Dudess

If you find a replacement yourself and then leave, there won't be any break in rent payments. If there's a problem with the lease, sometimes landlords have to accept that circumstances change. E.g. my parents' tenant got let go by his employer so he has to move to a new area for work.