Advice re: rental deposit

JaMarcusHustle

Hey guys, quick question for you all as I’m looking for a bit of advice re: rental situation.

Our current lease is up in the 16th of December and we’re looking to move. We viewed an apartment last night and were told that we were successful, which is great. The listing originally said move in date was 30th November, which was fine with us, we were happy to have the 2 week overlap for moving. However last night we were told that it’s now likely to be the 18th, but that won’t be confirmed until next week. Not great timing, but okay, we could probably agree something with our current landlord to stay on extra week. No big deal.

The reason the date was pushed back is that the current tenant is in the process of buying a property, and it’s almost complete but that it’s just “with the solicitors” now to finish up. He expects to move out on the 18th. That immediately set alarm bells ringing as from reading this forum, I know “with the solicitors” can be a massive black hole at times so I’m not naive enough to think that the 18th is the definite move in date.

The landlord has now asked us to pay the deposit to secure the apartment but I’m a bit reluctant to without a definite move in date, and without a lease signed (there’s no lease to sign until the move in date is confirmed I would have thought?) Though I can understand her side, being that she doesn’t want us to pull out of the deal, I’m just wondering what your thoughts would be on the situation? Would paying a % of the deposit now and getting a receipt, and then paying remainder upon signing the lease once the move in date is decided be the way forward? If so, what happens if it turns out the move in date is not what we expected, and we want to look elsewhere? Would we be entitled to our deposit back?

Is there anything else I'm not considering here?

Thanks for any info.

allibastor

It seems she is looking to have her cake and eat it too.

I would ask for a contract to be signed before you give over anything. Have the contract signed with the date of moving in, otherwise don't give her anything.

messrs

if something is 'with the solictors' these things generally take time. What happens if you pay the deposit and then there is delays with the solicitor and the vendors or what happens if the sale falls through? where does that leave you then? Sorry OP not trying to be negative here, but if it was me I wouldn't be happy paying deposit upfront in that sort of situation.

Caliden

The arrangement the landlord has with the current tenant has nothing to do with you and it's a gesture of good will.

As others have said, get the lease signed and ensure that the tenant knows you're moving in on the 18th and what the current tenant does after that point is their problem.

I think it's a case of the landlord being too nice in this situation and the tenant is trying to get cheap temporary accommodation while closing on a property.

Arbiter of Good Taste

If the other tenant wanted flexibility, they should have paid up to the end of December. If they didn't give themselves that flexibility, why should you be inconvenienced?

I would not be handing over any money until I had a signed contract with a specific move in date.

handlemaster

No contract no money simple

El_Duderino 09

Totally agree with the posters above. No contract No money. If you're move in date is the 18th, the current tenant's move out date needs to be before that (16th or 17th). The LL seems to be trying to accommodate everyone but there needs to be time between them moving out and you moving in. Otherwise they will move out in a rush and probably not clean the place properly, the landlord won't have a chance to inspect it properly you will move in in a rush and the itinerary won't be done properly.

Also be ware if the LL is trying to accommodate everyone. It's nice to be nice but you need to know that if the current tenant's deal falls through and they cry to the LL that they have nowhere to live, she won't push back the move in date on you

JaMarcusHustle

Thanks for the advice people. Currently discussing it with the Landlord.

I guess another question I have would be - our current lease finishes on the 16th December (thus, we are paying our last months rent in the next couple of days that would cover 16th November - 16th December). If it turned out that we were unable to move to the new apartment until - for example - the 7th January - would we have to pay the full months rent covering 16th December - 16th January or would we be only liable for 16th December - 7th January, assuming we gave proper notice (and if so, how much is this notice?). Or is this really at our landlord's discretion?

Michael D Not Higgins

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

Thanks for the advice people. Currently discussing it with the Landlord.

I guess another question I have would be - our current lease finishes on the 16th December (thus, we are paying our last months rent in the next couple of days that would cover 16th November - 16th December). If it turned out that we were unable to move to the new apartment until - for example - the 7th January - would we have to pay the full months rent covering 16th December - 16th January or would we be only liable for 16th December - 7th January, assuming we gave proper notice (and if so, how much is this notice?). Or is this really at our landlord's discretion?

Talk to the landlord. Are you only there one year? You can go onto a part IV tenancy agreement without signing another lease, although you have to give 6 weeks notice of termination (can shorten it with agreement from the landlord). Really it's down to the landlord's discretion.