Landlord Issues

DavidMcGinn

Hi, we (3 students) moved into our rented accommodation in mid-August on a four and a half month lease, expiring 31/12/2011. We don't have a formal lease agreement with our landlord as it's only short-term but we've a page signed by the landlord agreeing to give back our deposit of €1450 if the house is given back in good condition.
Recently we warped the floorboards in one room and now have to replace the whole floor. Our landlord wants to get this done quickly but is after getting a ridiculous quote for floorboards. Instead of taking the cost of replacing the floor out of our deposit, she's looking for more money.
We don't feel confident with this as we're unsure of the likelihood we'll get our deposit back because she keeps blaming us for breaking things that were already broken/not our fault. ie she claims we moved the fixed bathtub and broke the seal causing a leak into the room below??
Our final rent payment (1/2 month) is due on the 16th of December.
What should we do?
Cheers,
David

Femmesage

DavidMcGinn wrote: »

Hi, we (3 students) moved into our rented accommodation in mid-August on a four and a half month lease, expiring 31/12/2011. We don't have a formal lease agreement with our landlord as it's only short-term but we've a page signed by the landlord agreeing to give back our deposit of €1450 if the house is given back in good condition.
Recently we warped the floorboards in one room and now have to replace the whole floor. Our landlord wants to get this done quickly but is after getting a ridiculous quote for floorboards. Instead of taking the cost of replacing the floor out of our deposit, she's looking for more money.
We don't feel confident with this as we're unsure of the likelihood we'll get our deposit back because she keeps blaming us for breaking things that were already broken/not our fault. ie she claims we moved the fixed bathtub and broke the seal causing a leak into the room below??
Our final rent payment (1/2 month) is due on the 16th of December.
What should we do?
Cheers,
David

Hi David.
If you get on to the tennants board ( think its PTRB, but just google it) they will set you straight. If your landlord isn't registered with them (all law abiding landlords have to be) then they will set him straight!
Best of luck.

Bigcheeze

Shouldn't something like this be covered by the building insurance?

If the house burned to the ground, would the landlord expect 200k to rebuild it ?

SRAadvisor

DavidMcGinn wrote: »

Hi, we (3 students) moved into our rented accommodation in mid-August on a four and a half month lease, expiring 31/12/2011. We don't have a formal lease agreement with our landlord as it's only short-term but we've a page signed by the landlord agreeing to give back our deposit of €1450 if the house is given back in good condition.
Recently we warped the floorboards in one room and now have to replace the whole floor. Our landlord wants to get this done quickly but is after getting a ridiculous quote for floorboards. Instead of taking the cost of replacing the floor out of our deposit, she's looking for more money.
We don't feel confident with this as we're unsure of the likelihood we'll get our deposit back because she keeps blaming us for breaking things that were already broken/not our fault. ie she claims we moved the fixed bathtub and broke the seal causing a leak into the room below??
Our final rent payment (1/2 month) is due on the 16th of December.
What should we do?
Cheers,
David

Hi Dave,

yours is an all too common situation. the landlord is perfectly entitled to ask for money from ye and not to take it out of the deposit. if she did take it out and then found out after you left that ye had done aload of damage what could she do then with no deposit.

However, i get the feeling from you that you think you will not get your deposit back anyway, whether you give her money now or not.

the first thing you should do is get your own quote for the floor. she has an obligation to take the most reasonable quote.

secondly i wonder should you admit to warping the floor, its sounds too late to deny it now from what you've said but that seems like a very unusual type of damage. it usually stems from water damage by way of a leak (which presumably you didnt cause). if there is a leak she should be fixing that to maintain minimum standards of the house (which you are entitled to) and her insurance obligations.

bigcheeze is rite right that a landlord must maintain house insurance (not content tho) on a rented property. however, you havent a hope of her drawing any of this down if she thinks its your fault. that is what ur deposit is for. and if the damage you have caused does exceed the amount of the deposit she can keep the deposit and look for the rest off you.

check the prtb public register (online) for your address. if your landlord hasnt registered the property she may be less likely to take a case against you for any money that she is owed after you leave. but then again she very well might.

next step, get an independant quote. or ask her to agree that you get the floor fixed yourselves. if this is a cheaper option and she can reasonably believe that whoever you get to fix the floor will do a good job then she should accept this.

as for not paying your rent, its simply never a good idea and you will not be looked on favourably by the prtb. if she is gonna take a case you'll end up paying later anyway.

wenever you move into a property make a list of broken items and take photos. get the list signed by landlord, this type of thing happens all to often. altho it does show that your landlord didnt bother chasing the last tenants for money to fix the items. or she did keep their deposit to cover some items but it wasnt enough to cover all. again your call not to pay your rent.

best of luck and let us know how you get on
studentrentingadvice.ie

the_syco

DavidMcGinn wrote: »

Recently we warped the floorboards in one room and now have to replace the whole floor.

Please explain to me how you warped the floor, as it sounds like bullsh|t.

D3PO

SRAadvisor wrote: »

Hi
the first thing you should do is get your own quote for the floor. she has an obligation to take the most reasonable quote.

Thats complete and utter bullsh*t the landlord has no obligation to take the cheapest quote.

They are entitled to get the work done by a reputable company to remediy the damage done. They cant et an unreasonable quote but they certainly do not have to go with the cheapest.

as for the landlords ask they are completely within their rights to ask for the money to pay for these repais as if they use the deposit and you do more damage they are then in a position where they are or may not be covered. It is standard practice.

as for the other things they are accusing you of breaking. Did you get an inventory of contents when you moved in which described the condition of these contesnts ? If not more fool you and its your word versus theirs.

In a PRTB dispute in regards to this Id imagine they would find the in landlords favour if he / she showed pictures of the damage and you had nothing to dispute it bar your word. I could be wrong but you certainly havent done yourselves any favours.

Ray Palmer

the_syco wrote: »

Please explain to me how you warped the floor, as it sounds like bullsh|t.

Water will warp a lament floor and when you lift that up you can find much more damage.

OP

Yes the LL can ask for more money besides the deposit. You pay for damage as you do it not wait for the deposit to be used up. A bath is fixed but actually takes about 10 minutes to take out. People messing around can damage a seal. It should be sealed in more than one way so unlikely your fault without intent. Although full bath and two people moving about can cause problems.;)

Replacement like for like is how costs go. Reasonable costs doesn't really come into it. 3 quotes and the average not the cheapest price is the best you can get. LL has to agree workers. It is easy to get a quote from guy not paying his tax. The PRTB online is very unreliable to find out if LL registered. If she is not there don't assume she is not registered. Better ringing them to find out.

Get her to list what damage she thinks you have done in writing and respond to them in writing.

Withholding rent won't help any case you bring to the PRTB so it is not recommend but will be by people here due to inexperience of the system. If you freely admit you damage the floor it won't look good that you then withheld rent.

Some LL will blame tenats for all damage that is a result of poor workmanship as they know no better. I would probably not blame tenants for a broken seal nor a leak but that is without seeing what she says is damage.