Dispute with landlord

paraguay99

I went to look at a room yesterday. The room looked decent enough and the price was ok so I paid the landlord one months rent and a deposit. He gave me the keys to the room and house and I went off to the shop to buy some food. Mistake number 1 - I never got a reciept from him for the money I gave him.

Came back to the room and decided to move the bed to the other side of the room to create more space. As soon as I moved it I noticed the wall was in a terrible condition and there was some fungus growing on it. It had been hidden by the bed and the wardrobe. I rang the landlord and told him I had decided to not take the room due to the terrible condition of this wall which I didn't see before. He said he would paint the wall tomorrow and fix it up. I told him I just didn't want to stay in the room as a result of this and if I had seen it I wouldn't have given him the money. I was adamant about getting the money back. He then said that he wasn't going to be in Dublin until Friday and told me to ring him then. I pointed out that he just said he would be up tomorrow to paint it and he said that he meant that he would send someone up to paint it.

I told him I wanted the money within 2 hours or I would be going to the guards to explain the situation (was I wrong here?). He was adamant that he wouldn't give me the money and would meet me on Friday.

I went to the guards.

I took pictures beforehand and showed them to the guards and just went in and asked them what they thought I should do. They were very helpful and took his details and actually tried to ring him twice but he had turned his phone off. They advised me to wait until Friday and see if he is going to give me the money back and if he doesn't to then take it further.

I sent him a text explaining that I had been to the guards and they had tried to call him and that I would call him on Friday to get the money back.

Now, how do you think I handled this situation? I think it was pretty obvious that he had purposely hidden the bad state of the wall. I am so stupid for not getting a reciept for the money I gave him though but I do have a set of keys that he gave me so that may prove that I paid him something.

My plan is to wait until Friday and call him. I think he will have had the wall fixed by then and will try to keep the money I've given him. I still want to move out though so what should I do? I haven't stayed in the house at all and explained that to him.

convert

Have you spoken to threshold (threshold.ie) about your options? They'd be in the best position to advise you.

In future, make sure you check the whole house or apartment in detail before you hand over a deposit/rent, as it's your responsibility to ensure it meets your standards, and that there's no mould. However, the existence of the mould may intimate there's an underlying problem which may need to be checked out. Again, contact threshold or citizens' advice regarding your situation.

Penguino

Might be an idea to bring someone with you when you are meeting the Landlord, just incase it gets nasty.

Azureus

+1 Penguinos advice, landlords can get nasty and from turning off the phone etc he doesnt sound the most reasonable.

You shouldnt have handed over the money before giving the place a thorough inspection, but if it was intentionally well hidden you probably have some leeway. Did you give your landlord cash? Always get a reciept for cash!! Although im sure you know that now. I always try and do bank tranfers etc so its tracable although I know some want money upfront.

ted1

is it just mould. Have you photos? You may be over reacting.

Azureus

Mould can often be a sign of dampness, no.1 thing to avoid in a new place imo.
Plus if youve just signed up to somewhere that you dont feel comfortable living in, best to sort it out asap than end up breaking your leae and losing your deposit for sure.

Plus in the OP he states he took pictures and took them to the guards...

edellc

ted1 wrote: »

is it just mould. Have you photos? You may be over reacting.

what planet are you on if you are paying to live in a rented property it should be habitable having mould beside your bed is not habitable
maybe you'd like to live in such conditions but 99.9% of renters dont
mould can cause serious health issues

ted1

alot of time it's just due to poor air circulation. i live in a good clean house and frequently get some mould arounf the window. this is due to the warm insde hittin gth cold window turning in to water and builiding up on th ewalls around it. i wipe it down, open the vent to allow soem circulation adn the problem is gone.

BostonB

ted1 wrote: »

alot of time it's just due to poor air circulation. i live in a good clean house and frequently get some mould arounf the window. this is due to the warm insde hittin gth cold window turning in to water and builiding up on th ewalls around it. i wipe it down, open the vent to allow soem circulation adn the problem is gone.

Thats true.

But on a wall, especially low down I would guess, its unlikely to be lack of circulation.