Breaking a lease - It's complicated.

Jotter

We're breaking our lease early, it has a break clause in it so that's fine and above board.

So far we have been ideal tenants:
Paid rent on time
Allowed access to property whenever asked (as I knew Landlord nervous of renting family home)
Have taken care of property so there's not as much as a glass broken.

However I am considering not paying last month rent...

Now before anyone gets up in arms, this is bec we have learned that Landlord is in financial trouble and has mounting debts. Final notices come to house all the time. We then had a debt collector call to the door looking for the Landlord by name.

The Landlord has told me they haven't told bank house is rented. They also haven't registered with PRTB, there was no BER Cert, and I have a text from them asking me not to claim rent relief so I'm making an educated guess that they're not tax compliant.

All of this gives me little hope of ever seeing a deposit. Even if we reported to PRTB, they can't make Landlord pay, you can't get blood from a stone and all that.

If we go down this route what are legal repercussions for us? Are there any given that the Landlord has not upheld any of their responsibilities where the tenancy is concerned?

If the Landlord has our deposit held as they should, then they will have 100 euro extra from us as we paid more then the rent as deposit in the first place.

This is keeping us awake at night so please don't preach to us. We just want to some good advice as we CANNOT afford to lose €1,500 for any reason.

Thanks in advance

MaggotBrain

I would always use deposit for last months rent. Sometimes the LL doesn't even ask, it's assumed. Sometimes the LL complains, then comes over views the property and a deal is struck. And sometimes the LL goes mental, it's at this point you know what future plans the LL had for your money.

Simply ask and go from there.

spaceHopper

What if you tell them you are going and help them find another tenant or at least give them a chance to have back to back tenants so that they don't lose a months rent on the double it would take the sting out of it for them

Mrs OBumble

Just so long as you don't want to use the LL as a reference to get your next place.

The_Morrigan

This is against the charter and we will not allow discussion of clear breaches of the RTA or allow posters seeking/giving advice on how to break the law.