Death in an apartment - lease

MIN2511

Hello,

My friend's bf died in their apartment yesterday.

She wants out of the lease; the thing is we don't know if the landlord would give her back her deposit.

And I can't find anything online.

Any help would be greatly appreciated


M

Coriolanus

My sympathies to your friend.
I don't think however that there's much on the legal end of things that she can avail of.

Victor

Two things:

In the immediate term, I suspect she may not want to be there, certainly not there alone. Is there somewhere she can stay?

When things have settled down and decisions need to be made (a) it will depend on whose name was in the lease and what the lease terms are (b) I imagine most landlords would be understanding regarding wanting to leave.

MIN2511

Thank you for the replies

She's staying the night with me, and I've arranged temporary accomodation for her until she moves.

I guess there's nothing we can do, just hope the landlord will reimburse the full or most of the deposit.

Oh god, your poor friend. Any landlord with an ounce of decency would allow your friend to come to an arrangement of early termination of the lease. Don't think legally she has any grounds for it though. Hope she's ok OP.

Andrew33

I don't mean to be harsh but, her partner died yesterday and she's worried about her deposit?

Andrew33

Andrew33 wrote: »

I don't mean to be harsh but, her partner died and all she's worried about is her deposit?

Maybe she's worried about covering funeral costs
Don't make assumptions, they're often wrong.

January

Andrew33 wrote: »

I don't mean to be harsh but, her partner died yesterday and she's worried about her deposit?

Or maybe it's not her worrying specifically but her friends worrying for her and asking for advice in advance.

Coriolanus

Andrew33 wrote: »

I don't mean to be harsh but, her partner died yesterday and she's worried about her deposit?

We had a death in the family last year. You'd be surprised at the silly things my mother was worrying over. We kind of came to the conclusion that her mind was playing a game of "Think of anything but..."

antoinolachtnai

Ultimately it's a business transaction like any other, like booking a holiday or theatre tickets. The provider has set resources aside to provide this and needs to get paid.

This doesn't mean he or she isn't sympathetic. I am sure they will do what they can but they are entitled to be paid for the service that has been contracted for.

It is really best to inform the landlord what has happened and then figure out the next steps in a week or two.

MIN2511

Andrew33 wrote: »

I don't mean to be harsh but, her partner died yesterday and she's worried about her deposit?

Just to clarify; they have no savings.
Money is tight, the deposit is 1.5 months rent which would go a long way.

odds_on

Very important as to what type of lease there is - Fixed Term or Part 4.
With a Fixed Term lease if the only name on the lease was the bf, then the landlord may have a problem collecting the rent! And may decide to cut his losses, terminate the lease by mutual agreement (not sure mutual with whom if only one name on the lease!) and try to re-let the property. If he is unsuccessful in re-letting then he is entitled to keep the deposit.
However, if there are two peoples names on the lease, them the other person will be liable for all expenses.

Also, who paid the deposit - the bf or the gf or both? I'm not sure if the landlord could pay the deposit to the gf if the deposit was the bf's: it may have to go into his estate if it is returnable.

A Part 4 lease just requires that a written Notice of Termination, with the correct notice period (possibly 28 days but may be 35 days or more in this case) be given or sent to the landlord and you can move out with your deposit.

First of all, have a chat with the landlord - under the circumstances he may be willing to terminate the contract and return the deposit but legally he would still be able to keep the deposit to cover for his void.

Good luck.

antoinolachtnai

The following is all the legalese, not what is actually likely to happen.

If there are two names on the lease, or the lease is in the name of the deceased, the landlord can't really pay back the deposit without certainty that he is paying it to the right person. In practice, this could mean that he can hold out on paying out until the whole legal situation is sorted out with executors and probate and so on. This is not certain and you would need legal advice on it, but it is certainly likely. The cost of taking action on this would be prohibitive and not really worth it.

This is why there is no point in looking for some sort of legal solution to this. It will only make things worse.

If the survivor really needs to count every penny, best way to go forward is to come to an agreement vacate as quickly as possible to allow reletting. You need to gently renegotiate with landlord to get best possible outcome. At the end of the day, the landlord just wants to get the apartment re-let with a new tenant.

That said, I would keep the landlord informed, but let things settle down a bit before moving everything out.

spockety

MIN2511 wrote: »

Hello,
My friend's bf died in their apartment yesterday.
She wants out of the lease; the thing is we don't know if the landlord would give her back her deposit.
And I can't find anything online.
Any help would be greatly appreciated
M

Sorry for her loss.

The best thing to do is discuss it with the landlord, he/she may be very sympathetic.

The death in the apartment in and of itself does not affect a lease or any of the tenant's legal obligations, however some situations go beyond a contract and it may be possible to get some flexibility.

Key point - talk to the landlord.

oflahero

A flatmate died in a shared house I was living in a few years ago. It happened pretty near the end of the lease, and was so a pretty decent catalyst for the rest of us not renewing.

The landlady, on being informed, made no bones about her desire for the full rent due, as his name hadn't been on the lease (he'd moved in to replace someone else a few months previous.) The lease says you owe 1000, you lot must pay 1000, no middle ground. Technically correct, but mean as all get out. The rest of us quietly stumped up, in order that it not cause any further trouble to his grieving family. But it left a very bitter taste and has coloured my attitude to the landlord v tenant relationship ever since.

D3PO

spockety wrote: »

Sorry for her loss.

The best thing to do is discuss it with the landlord, he/she may be very sympathetic.

The death in the apartment in and of itself does not affect a lease or any of the tenant's legal obligations, however some situations go beyond a contract and it may be possible to get some flexibility.

Key point - talk to the landlord.

Bang on the money would have posted the exact same myself