Leases in Ireland

G-Money

Just wondering what the story is with leases and stuff in Ireland, especially Dublin? Let's say you take out a 1 year lease on an apartment or something but you want to move out before the end of the lease. Can you give them a certain amount of notice and still get your deposit and stuff back?

I used to think leases meant you were tied down to a place and you couldn't move out at all before the lease was up, without incurring financial penalties (paying rent for the rest of the lease, losing deposit, being sued! etc).

I lived abroad for a while and the rule there was you had to give 3 months notice if you wanted to move out. If you gave less than that, you ran the risk of not getting your deposit back.

Just wondering what the situation is in Dublin regarding leases. Can you give notice and move out before the lease is up without financial penalty?

Shadowless

It depends.

You can if you the landlord agrees to let you move out.
You can if you find someone suitable to replace you.

In most cases if you move out and can't find anyone to replace you then you will lose your deposit. Technically the landlord can sue you and you may be required to pay up the remainder of the lease, however this can only happen if the landlord is unable to find anyone to replace you. It's extremely rare and I wouldn't be too worried about it.

It's not a great time for landlords these days so it may be worth your while arguing for a get out clause in the lease. With many places on the market for months they should be more than willing to negotiate.


Edit: Just a quick suggestion. There's far too many stickies in this forum imo. Could there not just be an "important threads" sticky with the relevant links? Didn't wanna start a new thread just for this comment so thought I'd tack it in here.

G-Money

That's a bit mad alright. I don't really mind signing a lease for a year. But what I do mind is signing a lease where I can't get out of it before the year is up. I mean if I damaged the property or didn't give at least one month's notice, I would expect not to get my deposit back. But if I gave them a months notice and left the apartment as I found it, I don't think it's fair that I would lose my deposit, or have to pay out the remaining period of the lease.

The reason I'm concerned about this is that I am moving back to Dublin for work and I want to rent my own place as I'm not really willing to share with people anymore. However my job isn't permanent and I'm concerned that the cost of living and rent may make it hard to survive if I rent my own place. So should it turn out to be too expensive, I'd want to be able to give them a month's notice and move out and not lose my deposit or end up getting sued or having to pay the rent for the rest of the term of the lease. Or even if I just want to move or leave the city or something. I don't want to be tied down to some unbreakable lease.

In my mind if I give them notice and don't damage the property, it's not really my problem if they can't find someone else after I move out. However the law could probably be different.

Shadowless

Tell me about it. The one year lease seems to be all the rage these days. I'm sure it benefits families renting in big houses who don't want to be forced to move at a month's notice but for small 1 or 2 bed apartments it's just another excuse to take your deposit.

As I said above some landlords can be sound about it but I'm moving soon and I'll be haggling for a get out clause. There's never been so many empty units in the country and I intend to take full advantage.

G-Money

I just contacted an estate agent who is advertising an apartment in Dublin and enquired about the lease and they basically told me it would be a 12 month lease and no break of the lease is possible. They said they didn't see why I would want to break the lease if it was my intention to stay there for the full term. That seemed a bit short sighted I thought on their part.

Ste.phen

There are ways to get out of these leases, regardless of what the Letting Agent said, it comes up here a lot. It's all a little wishy-washy though, in that people seem to have different experiences when trying the same tactics...

G-Money

This could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. I'm really opposed to signing a lease that means I can't move out/break it before the 12 months has finished.

Calina

I got a break clause into my last lease. I'd refuse to sign without one.

The_Conductor

grandmaster wrote: »

This could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. I'm really opposed to signing a lease that means I can't move out/break it before the 12 months has finished.

Do as Calina did, and get a break-out clause inserted into the lease. Be prepared to pay a little extra though- as obviously the landlords expenses are higher if he/she has to find new tenants sooner (and has the potential to have their property vacant for a period of time)........

The original reason for the 1 year lease was to discourage students from renting the properties.