Possible to get deposit back within lease?

MitchKoobski

Hey guys just looking for some advice on my situation. Living with two friends on a joint lease since 3rd August. Have gotten sick of the house and we want to move out. Reasons come down to:

• Lack of heating, we have two radiators for an old 3 storey house. The only way to get more heating is through portable heaters.
• Landlord is hard to work with, doesnt have a mobile phone, only point of contact is calling the office of his business and asking is he there. We pay the rent in advance and he collects in cash.
• The "kitchen" is basically a bad extension onto the back of the house and is a badly done one at that.

I could go on but I'll get to the point, is there any way we can leave the residence right now (giving the months notice etc) and still get our deposit? Auctioneers advised my housemate to write out a list of issues with the house and give the landlord time to fix them, you you're leaving.

Any suggestions or ideas? I'll give more info if ya need.

athtrasna

Firstly does your lease have a break clause? This is pretty much your only get out as all the problems you list were there from the start. You signed the lease for the property "as is" and should have noted the state of the kitchen and lack of heaters at the time.

Most tenants have no cause to contact their landlord. Other than paying the rent, why have you been trying to contact him?

goat2

you are only there since august, give one month notice, state that house is cold not enough radiators also, you are entitled to your deposit back with that it is within six months since you moved in, so hand in notice in writing and make sure you keep a copy,
seeing you pay cash, does he put it through the books, did he ask for cash or did you just pay that way, because with cash you cannot prove what you paid, also next payment should be made by cheque and state somewhere in check that it is for rental of property also, so then he cannot deny you were staying there, hold on to esb bills also and any letters addressed to that house to you, these are all proof

Solair

If there are problems with the property, the tenant would have plenty of reasons for being in touch with the landlord.

At the end of the day, the landlord is providing a service, much like anything else and if there are major problems he/she or their agent should be contactable by telephone!

Given that Irish tenants are usually paying extortionate rents by international standards, it's not unreasonable for them to expect a decent product!

I find the attitude taken by many Irish landlords to be extremely high-handed 'take it or leave it'.

The house *is* required to have proper heating as per Section 7 of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008. S.I. No. 534 of 2008.

Heating Facilities
7. (1) Every room used, or intended for use, by the tenant of the house as
a habitable room shall contain:6 [534]
(a) a permanently fixed appliance or appliances capable of providing
effective heating,
(b) suitable and adequate facilities for the safe and effective removal of
fumes and other products of combustion to the external air.
(2) The operation of any appliance referred to in sub-article (1)(a) shall be
capable of being independently manageable by the tenant

http://www.environ.ie/en/Legislation/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad,19142,en.pdf


Most Irish residential rental agreements do not have a break clause unless you specifically negotiated one. So, normally unless there is a really serious issue with the property you will not be able to get out of the lease without losing your deposit.

athtrasna

The six months only applies to Part 4 tenancies ie tenancies where there is no lease. If a lease has been signed, they have no right to move out without a break clause.

goat2

athtrasna wrote: »

The six months only applies to Part 4 tenancies ie tenancies where there is no lease. If a lease has been signed, they have no right to move out without a break clause.

dont know where you get that, it does not matter how long the lease has been agreed for, one month notice is his/her way out,

pooch90

No it's not. You can't simply just give a month's notice mid-lease and bugger off if it's a fixed term lease. OP, what type of lease do you have?

MitchKoobski

athtrasna wrote: »

Firstly does your lease have a break clause? This is pretty much your only get out as all the problems you list were there from the start. You signed the lease for the property "as is" and should have noted the state of the kitchen and lack of heaters at the time.

Most tenants have no cause to contact their landlord. Other than paying the rent, why have you been trying to contact him?

The problems developed overtime, the house was given a touch up before we moved it. We pointed out issues before moving in, and they were dealt with.
The kitchen seemed fine moving in, over time we noticed how badly it was just added to the back of the house. Heaters didnt become an issue until the cold snap in November. Response given was "Ah sure MitchKoobski, every house is the same right now!"

MitchKoobski

goat2 wrote: »

you are only there since august, give one month notice, state that house is cold not enough radiators also, you are entitled to your deposit back with that it is within six months since you moved in, so hand in notice in writing and make sure you keep a copy,
seeing you pay cash, does he put it through the books, did he ask for cash or did you just pay that way, because with cash you cannot prove what you paid, also next payment should be made by cheque and state somewhere in check that it is for rental of property also, so then he cannot deny you were staying there, hold on to esb bills also and any letters addressed to that house to you, these are all proof

I have him signing a receipt every month stating how much was paid, when it was paid and what month the payment was for. Have receipt of the deposit also.

goat2

MitchKoobski wrote: »

I have him signing a receipt every month stating how much was paid, when it was paid and what month the payment was for. Have receipt of the deposit also.

good for you, now go give him your months notice in writing, does not matter about fixed or not, you are within your rights, the only thing you will definately, have to do, in this life like the rest of us is die, everything else is optional

MitchKoobski

Auctioneer we found the place with advised writing a formal letter to him listing the problems and giving him a week or two to fix them, after that they seem to think we're entitled to our deposit back. Sounds strange to me, but I always thought if you give a months notice whatever the reason you're entitled to leave, but wont get your depsoit back.

goat2

MitchKoobski wrote: »

Auctioneer we found the place with advised writing a formal letter to him listing the problems and giving him a week or two to fix them, after that they seem to think we're entitled to our deposit back. Sounds strange to me, but I always thought if you give a months notice whatever the reason you're entitled to leave, but wont get your depsoit back.

yes you are entitled to your deposit back, someone is trying to frighten you in these bad times, knowing damn well that you cannot afford to lose this money, they are wrong, and they know they will find it hard to get tenants as there are plenty rentals out there at very good prices, dont be soft with them, stand up for yourself, right is on your side with the one months notice in writing

MitchKoobski

Just looked over the lease agreement.
No break clause.
Years lease, 3rd August 2010 - 2nd August 2011.

Nothing else about leaving the lease.

goat2

MitchKoobski wrote: »

Just looked over the lease agreement.
No break clause.
Years lease, 3rd August 2010 - 2nd August 2011.

Nothing else about leaving the lease.

what do you mean, a no break clause, that there is no clause about breaking, is that it
you are entitled to your dep back when you give one month notice in writing,

silja

goat2 that is incorrect. OP has a fixed term lease, he cannot get out of it by giving a month's notice if he has no other cause. However, the lack of heaters should be enough reason to get out, as per Solair's post.