No lease - living with landlord

badview

Hi all

Just a quick question, I am renting a room in a house along with my landlord, I have no lease signed, I now need to move out on short notice, my question is will I lose my deposit??

Thanks

The_Morrigan

As you're not a tenant, the answer to this lies entirely with your landlord. Their decision will be final and you cannot go to the PRTB to argue your case.

badview

thanks for the reply, I have checked the registry of tenants on the ptrb website, and dont see any reference to my house.. Have I any rights in this situation, I have not done anything that would result in me losing my debosit as in damage to the property or the likes...

thanks again

The_Morrigan

badview wrote: »

thanks for the reply, I have checked the registry of tenants on the ptrb website, and dont see any reference to my house.. Have I any rights in this situation, I have not done anything that would result in me losing my debosit as in damage to the property or the likes...

thanks again

You're not a tenant, you're a licencee. Your Landlord is not required to register the tenancy with the PRTB. You are not covered under tenancy law therefore you have no legal rights.

keith16

But he's renting a room? How does that not make him a tenant?

Ken.

Read this http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/sharing_accommodation_with_your_landlord.html

Rules

As you are living in your landlord's home, you do not have a standard tenancy agreement. Instead, you have a 'licensee agreement' with your landlord. This means that you are in the property by the landlord’s consent or invitation. As a result, you cannot avail of the type of protection that tenants are entitled to under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004.

The position is the same if you are living with a spouse, child or parent of a landlord and you do not have a tenancy agreement or written lease.

As you do not have the same rights as someone whose tenancy comes under the landlord and tenant legislation, you should be aware of the following:

Your landlord is not obliged to provide you with a rent book or a statement of rent paid
He does not have to ensure that your accommodation meets any minimum physical standards
Any notice you may get of the termination of the tenancy is at the discretion of your landlord (although he is obliged to give reasonable notice, the specifics of this notice may vary)
Your landlord is not obliged to register the tenancy with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB)
You cannot use the dispute resolution service of the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) if a disagreement arises between you and your landlord
You are not protected by the Equal Status Acts 2000-2012, which prohibit discrimination on grounds of gender, civil status, family status, age, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and membership of the Traveller community

The_Morrigan

keith16 wrote: »

But he's renting a room? How does that not make him a tenant?

Because legally he is a guest of the owner of the house. Tenancy only applies when the owner doesn't live in the same property as those renting rooms.

badview

Thanks for the replys lads, never knew this when I moved in to be honest... Landlord is grand, but i hav no choice but to move out due to being moved wit work...

I just have to hope for the best so is what I'm taking from the responses so far???

kjbsrah1

Have you any reason to think the landlord / home owner will not pay you your deposit? Generally speaking, if you give as much notice as you possibly can the LL should have no issue. Did you have any verbal agreement when you moved in? I am a LL (albeit a first time one at the moment) but i have 20 years of being a licencee in various accomodation, and have found that that as long as i am honest with the LL then i have not had any issues. LIkewise if any of my licencees found that their circumstances changed and had to move at short notice, i don't see why i would nee to be an ass about it - after all, treat people with respect and hopefully it will be returned. Thats my moto anyway. That said, you don't have any ground to stand on if your LL with holds your deposit.... Good luck. Fingers crossed your LL is one of the many decent ones out there..

badview

Ya thanks for that, I do believe that he is a good one, and once I explain my situation he should understand.. I do feel bad considering I'm only giving him short notice, but it can't be helped...

Very nervous about the conversation now!!!

Mrs OBumble

Sometimes short notice is better.

When I was a head tenant, I actually preferred if people went quickly - and only ever asked them to pay for the time they were actually there.

I never felt comfortable looking for replacements while the existing tenants where there, so a months notice just meant a month to stew about having to find a replacement, during which time I didn't want to start advertising.

the world wonders

The_Morrigan wrote: »

You're not a tenant, you're a licencee. Your Landlord is not required to register the tenancy with the PRTB. You are not covered under tenancy law therefore you have no legal rights.

It is incorrect to say that the OP has "no legal rights". They still have all the normal contract law rights, they just don't have the extra special legal protections that tenants get under the Residential Tenancies Act.

You could still go to the Small Claims Court if your deposit is not returned:

Type of claims dealt with
...
(d) a claim for the non-return of a rent deposit for certain kinds of rented properties. For example, a holiday home or a room / flat in a premises where the owner also lives provided that a claim does not exceed €2,000.

If there is no written agreement then the court will have to decide what the terms of the implied contract were -- they may decide that no notice period was required, or they may decide that the notice period is the frequency with which rent was paid. Either way all you stand to lose is the €25 application fee.

The_Morrigan

the world wonders wrote: »

It is incorrect to say that the OP has "no legal rights". They still have all the normal contract law rights, they just don't have the extra special legal protections that tenants get under the Residential Tenancies Act.

You could still go to the Small Claims Court if your deposit is not returned:If there is no written agreement then the court will have to decide what the terms of the implied contract were -- they may decide that no notice period was required, or they may decide that the notice period is the frequency with which rent was paid. Either way all you stand to lose is the €25 application fee.

Tenancy law is really only within the remit of this forum, not contract law.