4 days into 1 year rental agreement - can I break contract?

chargerman

Hi guys, I moved into a rental property 4 days ago. Now that I am living here, it is notfor me and I am not happy here. The landlord pays for heat but the flat is always cold. I dread the thoughts of living here long term, there is a load of smaller issues that annoy me.
When I moved in (4days ago), I signed a 12 month lease, saying if I left earlier I would loose deposit and would have to pay rent until a suitable tennant is found.
Does anyone know my rights? The rent is very expensive (which I didnt mind) but now that I am here, i'm unhappy. Is there a cooling off period or anything?

D3PO

tough luck you have no cooling off period. You cant break the lease, if you leave beforehand you are still lible for the rent if the landlord so chooses to chase you for it. Most likely he will take your deposit and that will be the end of it

jd83

Why don't you try addressing these issues with your landlord before deciding to move.

chargerman

I told the landlord that an area of the flat is cold, there is no heat getting yo it, she gave me a plug in heater. Could I request to assign or sublet and get out of it that way?

Kristopherus

chargerman wrote: »

I told the landlord that an area of the flat is cold, there is no heat getting yo it, she gave me a plug in heater. Could I request to assign or sublet and get out of it that way?

Are you responsible for the electricity bill? If so, tell the LL to take back that heater pronto, as it gobbles units. Insist on full repairs being carried out to get the heating working 100%.

Scortho

chargerman wrote: »

I told the landlord that an area of the flat is cold, there is no heat getting yo it, she gave me a plug in heater. Could I request to assign or sublet and get out of it that way?

You can reassign the lease, but only with the landlords permission and you have to find the tenants.

And there is no cooling off period either

housetypeb

Did you get a BER cert when you moved in? It's now illegal for a landlord to rent a property without supplying a BER,which MIGHT give you leverage/grounds to break your lease.

Aye Bosun

You can reassign your lease and if your landlord refuses to allow you to reassign the lease, you can legally break that lease then. There is legislation somewhere for it, just can't think of it right now (it's early on a Monday morning after all) but if you search for reassigning a lease on boards.ie you'll find plenty of info and advise. The subject has come up numerous times.

djimi

If youre 4 days into a lease then your first course of action should be to talk to the landlord. They have no legal obligation to oblige you, however you never know what they might say. Offer them the current months rent plus expenses for readvertising and see if they would be willing to see if they can get someone else in by the end of the month. Its worth a shot before you go down the route of looking to reassign the lease.

Rasmus

Does the LL pay for your electricity?

chargerman

Rasmus wrote: »

Does the LL pay for your electricity?

Thanks for replys, I pay my own esb

zef

If the flat was advertised as 'includes free heating' but you find the temp less than ambient perhaps you might have some leverage there.
If I were you I'd measure the temp around the flat in the morning & evening and present this evidence to the landlord.