Deposit withheld because of short notice?

tokenv

Hey guys, I'm currently renting a room in a shared house and notified the landlord that I'm moving out in 2 weeks.

He's claiming that he can withhold my entire deposit (equivalent to 1 month's rent) because I didn't give him a 1 month notice that I'm moving out.

Keep in mind we never had any contract signed and he never mentioned that he needed a 1 month notice.

Can he do that?

pawnacide

At best he might get away with two weeks plus any deductions for damage etc but from what you say .. renting a room .. I dont think you're covered by the ptrb so your avenues of complaint are limited or non existant but the PTRB do say they treat each case on it's own merits so might be worth a call to Threshold or PTRB.

tokenv

Yes I will call Threshold tomorrow but I wanted some initial thoughts.

convert

Is the landlord living in the house with you, or are you just sharing the house with other tenants and the landlord lives elsewhere? There's a huge difference between the two which is very important.

If it's the latter, then you're more than likely covered under a Part 4 Tenancy, and if you're there for more than 6 months, then you must give the landlord a minimum of 28 days' notice that you're leaving. Further information on the required notice times may be found here: http://www.threshold.ie/page.asp?menu=102&page=269

If you're renting a room in a house where the landlord is living, then you're a licensee rather than a tenant and generally can give a shorter notice to quit.

tokenv

Yes mine is the latter case of shared house.

But it just didn't seem right that the landlord could keep the whole deposit just on that basis.

And in fact he can't. Threshold told me that he can only withhold part of deposit to cover for the time the room stays non-rented but he's got to actively search for other tenants at the same time.

Essentially meaning if he rents the room before my rent-covered time is ending he has to give me back my full deposit.

BostonB

How will you know if he does?

TonyStark

tokenv wrote: »

Yes mine is the latter case of shared house.

But it just didn't seem right that the landlord could keep the whole deposit just on that basis.

And in fact he can't. Threshold told me that he can only withhold part of deposit to cover for the time the room stays non-rented but he's got to actively search for other tenants at the same time.

Essentially meaning if he rents the room before my rent-covered time is ending he has to give me back my full deposit.

What if he doesn't find tenants.. perhaps you should have given him proper notice!

odds_on

tokenv wrote: »

Yes mine is the latter case of shared house.

But it just didn't seem right that the landlord could keep the whole deposit just on that basis.

And in fact he can't. Threshold told me that he can only withhold part of deposit to cover for the time the room stays non-rented but he's got to actively search for other tenants at the same time. Sorry, possibly misunderstood your sentence, here.

Essentially meaning if he rents the room before my rent-covered time is ending he has to give me back my full deposit.

Not quite correct.
The landlord can only retain as much of the deposit as covers the rent for the time the room is vacant and as you are a licensee, I would say that, unlike a tenancy, there is a maximum of a month.

In terms of a licensee notice, a reasonable amount of notice is required - and that is normally taken as the rent period. If you pay weekly, then a week's notice, if monthly then a month's notice. I'm sure, if the landlord asked you to leave giving you just two weeks' notice, then you would not be too happy and would be off the Threshold for advice.

odds_on

Sorry, I think I have misunderstood your last sentence.

My editing of of the last post does not seem to be working as it doesn't display the above sentence.