Terminating Lease Early

sudzy

So i have to move out of my house in March, going Limerick beacuse I got offered a job. But my lease is until the summer. What's the story with terminating the lease?
Does the landlord keep my deposit, or do I have to keep pary rent until the end of the lease?

Ste.phen

Technically it could be the latter, your options are:
* Find someone to replace you, this means either a) you're off the hook, or b) the landlord won't allow this, in which case you can terminate the lease early with no penalty
* Keep paying the rent til you were supposed to move out, get your deposit back at the end of the lease
* Tell the landlord you'll need to leave early, and see what they say; they probably won't demand you keep paying to the end of the lease, they're entitled to, but it seems to be rare, a fairer solution for everyone is for you to pay something to cover the landlord's expenses in finding a new tenant

Based on these forums, what'll most likely happen is the landlord will be pissed, say they're keeping the deposit as compensation for you leaving early, and you'll suck it up and move on, but there are other options for you and for the landlord depending on how much you want to force the issue

Jehuty42

sudzy wrote: »

So i have to move out of my house in March, going Limerick beacuse I got offered a job. But my lease is until the summer. What's the story with terminating the lease?
Does the landlord keep my deposit, or do I have to keep pary rent until the end of the lease?

Legally, you are obliged to keep paying rent until the end(or lump sum it). Not sure about deposit.

Practicably, talk to your landlord and see what he says. He might let you off. Just be aware he is 100% legally entitled to the next few months of rent, if he lets you off that it's on a goodwill basis.

sudzy

Yeah, doubt I could find someone else to move in just for two or three more months, it's a shared room aswell which would make it even harder.
Hopefully he's sound about it, cause I really don't have a choice about moving.
Cheers for the expertise!

OS119

sudzy wrote: »

Yeah, doubt I could find someone else to move in just for two or three more months, it's a shared room aswell which would make it even harder.
Hopefully he's sound about it, cause I really don't have a choice about moving.
Cheers for the expertise!

they wouldn't just have to take the last three months of your tenancy, they can start their own tenancy of whatever length they and the LL agree on.

when you say 'shared room' do you mean your private room in a houseshare, or that you actually share a bedroom with another person - and most imporantly, does the LL live in the house? because if he does it changes the game completely and you can leave when you live....

gagiteebo

OS119 wrote: »

they wouldn't just have to take the last three months of your tenancy, they can start their own tenancy of whatever length they and the LL agree on.

when you say 'shared room' do you mean your private room in a houseshare, or that you actually share a bedroom with another person - and most imporantly, does the LL live in the house? because if he does it changes the game completely and you can leave when you live....

Sorry to invade your thread OP but I'm in the same situation myself. My lease is until August but I want to move out at Easter. Basically I spend so much time at my boyfriend's house I am throwing money away here when I could help pay my boyfriend's mortgage. My LL lives in the house and was just curious as to how this changes things? Do I just have to give a month's notice or what are my options?

Thank you

OS119

gagiteebo wrote: »

My LL lives in the house and was just curious as to how this changes things? Do I just have to give a month's notice or what are my options?

Thank you

it should come under the 'rent-a-room' scheme rather than the normal tenancy arrangements - the idea being that R-A-R is much more informal, the LL can kick you out when he likes (because its his home, rather than an investment property thats treated as a business asset with legal and commercial contracts), and correspondingly you can leave when you like. the basis of the whole thing is 'reasonablness' - certainly the going version of 'reasonable' notice for R-A-R seems to be in the two to four weeks range.

talk to your LL, see what he says - he may be happy for you to leave ASAP or may get shirty. if he does get shirty then make a calculation about the cost of staying there for the rest of what the LL wants as the notice period vs the cost of losing your deposit vs the aggro of staying in a house where you've fallen out with the LL.

my own view is that for R-A-R a notice period of four weeks is plentiful, but considerate and a decent asperation for all concerned - but also that in a situation where tenant and LL fall out and neither is happy, the quicker the tenant moves out the better.

cancercowboy

Use the deposit as last months rent. Wait for him to take you to court... won't happen. No judge is going to make you pay for a month you weren't living there.

Ste.phen

cancercowboy wrote: »

Use the deposit as last months rent. Wait for him to take you to court... won't happen. No judge is going to make you pay for a month you weren't living there.

That's not even nearly true, and you shouldn't give that as advice tbh.
It's rare, but the OP has a contract and it is enforceable if the landlord wants to go to the hassle.

Pkiernan

cancercowboy wrote: »

Use the deposit as last months rent. Wait for him to take you to court... won't happen. No judge is going to make you pay for a month you weren't living there.

This is what dirtbag scum tenants do. You are also suggesting to the tenant that he break the terms of his lease which could get him into financial difficulties if the LL decides to pursue the OP. You should grow up.


OP: talk with your LL. He does not automatically get to charge you until the end of the lease. You are entitlied to try to find someone to move in in your place. Additionally the LL has to try to find someone to fill your spot, and if he can this mitigates your responsibility to pay.

In reality if you leave early (breaking your contract) you should expect to lose your deposit and most likely nothing else.

sudzy

Im also kinda worried that if leave early and there's no one in to replace me, that my LL might try to cover his losses by making the other tenants pay my share.

OS119

sudzy wrote: »

Im also kinda worried that if leave early and there's no one in to replace me, that my LL might try to cover his losses by making the other tenants pay my share.

only if you have a shared tenancy with one lease document signed by all the tenants, rather than individual tenancies.

more importantly, if the LL lives in the house with you, the 'lease' is little more than toilet paper - regardless of what your LL says, your presence in the house is covered by the rent-a-room scheme, not normal tenancy law/contracts. under the R-A-R scheme you just have to give 'reasonable' notice, and the accepted version of 'reasonable' is between two and four weeks, mainly depending on whether you pay monthly or weekly.

Ste.phen

OS119 wrote: »

only if you have a shared tenancy with one lease document signed by all the tenants, rather than individual tenancies.

more importantly, if the LL lives in the house with you, the 'lease' is little more than toilet paper - regardless of what your LL says, your presence in the house is covered by the rent-a-room scheme, not normal tenancy law/contracts. under the R-A-R scheme you just have to give 'reasonable' notice, and the accepted version of 'reasonable' is between two and four weeks, mainly depending on whether you pay monthly or weekly.

If he signed a contract, the terms of the contract apply, that's sort of why people sign contracts. Because, as you say, in the absense of a contract and where it's a houseshare with the house's owner, you have almost no rights. (or obligations to stay a certain period)

jh79

Has the landlord got a BER cert? if not the contract is null and void and can be broken ie you can leave with full deposit.

Also possible big fine for landlord if reported

sudzy

So all houses for rent need a BER?

Pkiernan

jh79 wrote: »

Has the landlord got a BER cert? if not the contract is null and void and can be broken ie you can leave with full deposit.

NOT TRUE - and advice that can get the tenant in trouble

Please provide proof of what you are saying.


[QUOTE=jh79;70002976Also possible big fine for landlord if reported.[/QUOTE]

True

If there is no BER the OP can report the LL, however it will not legally relieve him of his duty to adhere to the contract he signed.

There is a lot of bad advice being thrown around in this thread.

jh79

Yeah all houses / apt for rent need a BER cert. It doesn't matter what rating they get as long as they provide one. The following link talks about BER certs and leasing issues.

http://www.landlordsolutions.ie/news/no-ber-certificate-may-mean-no-enforceable-contract-with-your-tenant/

Pkiernan the link above is where i got that advice, by the same token have you a link to prove that the contract must be honoured?

The fact that the landlord doesn't have the BER cert gives the tennant an extra bargaining chip. If the tennant leaves on bad terms they might report the landlord.

jh79

Pkiernan wrote: »

This is what dirtbag scum tenants do. You are also suggesting to the tenant that he break the terms of his lease which could get him into financial difficulties if the LL decides to pursue the OP. You should grow up.


OP: talk with your LL. He does not automatically get to charge you until the end of the lease. You are entitlied to try to find someone to move in in your place. Additionally the LL has to try to find someone to fill your spot, and if he can this mitigates your responsibility to pay.

In reality if you leave early (breaking your contract) you should expect to lose your deposit and most likely nothing else.

I think Pkiernan may be a landlord. Not sure if my advice is correct about BER certs and leases but I provided the link so its up to ye to decide. In this case using the BER issue to get out of the lease might be morally wrong but most landlords wouldn't think twice about scerwing you over and most people who rented while at college or during the boom would find it hard to feel sorry for a landlord.

cancercowboy

Ste.phen wrote: »

Technically it could be the latter, your options are:
* Find someone to replace you, this means either a) you're off the hook, or b) the landlord won't allow this, in which case you can terminate the lease early with no penalty
* Keep paying the rent til you were supposed to move out, get your deposit back at the end of the lease
* Tell the landlord you'll need to leave early, and see what they say; they probably won't demand you keep paying to the end of the lease, they're entitled to, but it seems to be rare, a fairer solution for everyone is for you to pay something to cover the landlord's expenses in finding a new tenant

Based on these forums, what'll most likely happen is the landlord will be pissed, say they're keeping the deposit as compensation for you leaving early, and you'll suck it up and move on, but there are other options for you and for the landlord depending on how much you want to force the issue

I agree with this, however there is another way of going about it.

You have a deposit with him. I assume it is equal to one month's rent. Don't pay the last month's rent. When he inquires about why it's late apologise and state that you can't pay (You can't pay because you'll need to be paying rent elsewhere obviously). Explain that you don't expect to stay in the property rent free and that you'll be happy to leave at the end of the month if that's what he wants.

Undoubtedly, he will agree (as eviction proceedings are lengthy and a pain in the hole) that you should leave and will instruct you to do so... when he asks you to leave you're free of your lease.

cancercowboy

jh79 wrote: »

I think Pkiernan may be a landlord. Not sure if my advice is correct about BER certs and leases but I provided the link so its up to ye to decide. In this case using the BER issue to get out of the lease might be morally wrong but most landlords wouldn't think twice about scerwing you over and most people who rented while at college or during the boom would find it hard to feel sorry for a landlord.

Ha ha jh79 WINS!

gagiteebo

Sorry for hijacking thread again!

Well I have just given my landlord a month's notice to move out, he lives there so a month is a reasonable time. Another issue has arisen.

The reason I gave him my notice is because my boyfriend stayed on Sunday night. This is the first time he has stayed as I usually stay at his house, in fact I am rarely at this house. Anyway got a text from my landlord Monday saying 'I only agreed to you using my home'. He saw my boyfriend's car when he was going to work. He never said to me when I was moving in that it was unacceptable to have overnight guests otherwise I would not have moved in.

My rent went out on Jan 1st and he now won't give me my deposit. What can I do about this? My rent has always been there on time, I am rarely there and cause no hassle when I am. He did not ask me to move out after seeing my boyfriend's car, I told him I was not happy with this and gave my notice. I have kept all texts etc

Also when I told him I was giving my notice he did not reply and I have not seen or heard from him since.

Thanks guys.

sudzy

Well my landlords a solicitor so I think he would have the upper hand if somebody would be going to court... Highly doubt it'll come to that. If he says I hav to pay the rent till the end of the contract, then I'll just tell him that he can have the deposit to pay for the last month.

Doesn't look like I have much of a choice other than that. I'll be chattin to him after the weekend, so i'll let ya know how it goes down... If ye are interested.

not even wrong

gagiteebo wrote: »

Well I have just given my landlord a month's notice to move out, he lives there so a month is a reasonable time.
...

My rent went out on Jan 1st and he now won't give me my deposit. What can I do about this?

You're a licensee not a tenant so the PRTB won't help you. Your only option is to let the last month's rent be the deposit.

gagiteebo

not even wrong wrote: »

You're a licensee not a tenant so the PRTB won't help you. Your only option is to let the last month's rent be the deposit.

This will be my last month here, I'm moving out at the end of January and my rent for January has already gone in to his account so my deposit can't cover that.

Do I have any rights at all? Is the lease worth anything seeing as he lives here too?

Giblet

You could try find someone to replace you and get their deposit?

listermint

gagiteebo wrote: »

Sorry for hijacking thread again!

Well I have just given my landlord a month's notice to move out, he lives there so a month is a reasonable time. Another issue has arisen.

The reason I gave him my notice is because my boyfriend stayed on Sunday night. This is the first time he has stayed as I usually stay at his house, in fact I am rarely at this house. Anyway got a text from my landlord Monday saying 'I only agreed to you using my home'. He saw my boyfriend's car when he was going to work. He never said to me when I was moving in that it was unacceptable to have overnight guests otherwise I would not have moved in.

My rent went out on Jan 1st and he now won't give me my deposit. What can I do about this? My rent has always been there on time, I am rarely there and cause no hassle when I am. He did not ask me to move out after seeing my boyfriend's car, I told him I was not happy with this and gave my notice. I have kept all texts etc

Also when I told him I was giving my notice he did not reply and I have not seen or heard from him since.

Thanks guys.

Contact Threshold, they will give you better advice. Plausibility that landlord is using this as an excuse to effectively steal your deposit, or maybe fancied you and didnt want you significant other staying. Either way it should be clear in your original lease agreement if guests are allowed.