Problems with Landlord. No lease.

dottybows

Hi all,

I have been renting a room in a 5 bedroom house (two other rooms rented and one used occasionally by the landlord himself) for the past two years.

I have paid a deposit of €325 before I moved in. I do not have anything in writing (lease, receipt of deposit, rent book).

I am moving out at the end of this month because I am having a baby next month and I'm moving in with my partner.



Last year the immersion wasn't working and the landlord didn't get it fixed for an entire month, so I deducted €50 off the rent. After a bit of arguing he accepted this.

So now in December the heating downstairs (kitchen, living room) stopped working. This was just a few days before Christmas. I asked the landlord to get a plumber and replied saying he tried to get one, but couldn't and I should try a guy up the road. I did, but he wasn't home both times. So I went to Argos and bought a heater. It is now March and it still isn't fixed.

Also, the state of the couch in the living room is absolutely disgraceful. The pillows literally sink into the bottom of the frame and the staples are sticking out (I cut my leg and Jeans on it once) We have asked him to replace it in January, but he still hasn't lifted a finger saying he didn't get around to it yet.

Ok, I'll try and wrap this up as it is getting way too long.

So I withheld the February rent until last week in the hope of getting him to sort it all out and I told him that I am not happy paying the full rent as I can't even use the living room because the heating isn't working and the couch is crap. He told me to move out if I didn't like it and that he wants the full rent. I also told him I don't agree with having to pay for the UPC (tv) if I can't sit down in the living room to watch tv because its too cold and I can't sit on the couch. He just said it doesn't work like that and that I need to pay him.
I have to say I am very emotional at this time due to the obvious hormones so I buckled and paid the February rent because I was afraid of getting kicked out at 8 months pregnant.

Now he is saying that he wants the march rent this week. As I already said I have paid a deposit but have no way of proving that. No receipt, nothing. I don't trust him one bit and am afraid that he will not give me back my deposit once I move.
So can I tell him to use the deposit as the last months rent? I really cannot afford to lose that money.