Moving out early...get some or all of deposit back?

compaqlaptop1

My gf and I are planning to move in together. She paid €400 for a deposit when she moved in and last paid rent (also €400) a week ago which covers her for a month. She is planning to give the landlord notice tomorrow. If we found a place during the week and moved in next weekend what kind of money would she be entitled to back?

convert

It depends on whether she signed a lease or is covered by a Part 4 tenancy.

If it's the former, then it depends on if a 'break lease' clause is included in the lease. If not, the landlord is within their right to keep the deposit and seek compensation for the rest of the lease, although she can tell the landlord that she'd find someone else to take her place to continue the lease which covers the rest of the rent due.

If it's a part 4 tenancy, then she needs to give adequate notice regarding moving out. The required notice periods can be found on the PRTB website. The minimum notice required is 28 days, so if your girlfriend doesn't provide adequate notice the landlord can technically keep her deposit.

However, she'll need to discuss the possibilities of moving with her landlord, who may be reasonable and refund her deposit despite the short notice if she finds somebody else to take her place.

Some landlords are decent, others are not. My last landlord was very decent regarding tenants moving out without adequate notice, provided they found somebody else to take their room. That said, I would advise your girlfriend to stay where she is until she can provide the required notice that she is moving out. That way she will avoid any potentially messy situations regarding rent and deposit.

Have a look at the prtb website - prtb.ie - it contains a lot of information which you'll find useful.

silja

Depends on the lease. If she signed a standard one year lease, not only won't she get any money back, she could be held liable for the rest of the year's rent unless she provides a follow-on tenant for her current place. That being said, she should contact the landlord asap, they may be able to work something out.

compaqlaptop1

Ok, well she tells that me that she originally signed a lease when she moved in about 2 and half years ago. It was never renewed so technically there has been no lease for the last year and a half....so any idea of where that leaves her?

astrofool

When a lease lapses, it reverts to a part 4 tenancy, see www.threshold.ie for the notice dates.

Also, check the lease, some leases are rolling leases, which state that a new lease period will start as soon as the old lease period ends.

convert

compaqlaptop1 wrote: »

Ok, well she tells that me that she originally signed a lease when she moved in about 2 and half years ago. It was never renewed so technically there has been no lease for the last year and a half....so any idea of where that leaves her?

Minimum amount of notice which must be given:

Notice that Landlords must give:
Less than 6 months - 28 days notice required
6 or more months but less than 1 year - 35 days
1 year or more but less than 2 years - 42 days
2 years or more but less than 3 years - 56 days
3 years or more but less than 4 years - 84 days
4 or more years - 112 days

The period of notice that the tenant must give for the same periods are as follows:
28 days
35 days
42 days
56 days
56 days
56 days

soruce: prtb website