Consequence of breaking 12 month lease

Heffc

Hi there,

My husband and I are having great difficulty finding a short term lease - we have just sold our house and searching for another so need somewhere to rent in the meantime.

We have seen a perfect rental for us but is it a 12 month lease minimum. We've offered to pay a higher rent for more flexibility on the lease but this was declined.

Can anyone advise what the typical consequences of breaking a 12 month lease would be? If we thought the worst consequence was that we would forfeit our deposit, we'd be absolutely fine with that. What we're concerned about it is that if we left, for instance, after 6 months, we would be pursued for the additional 6 months rent in which case we cannot take such a risk. I know there is an option for us to try to find tenants for the part of lease we would not fullfil but this might prove v stressful at a time when we'll hopefully be buying another property.

Any thoughts?

TheChizler

Absolute worst case scenario you lose your deposit, and that's if the landlord is trying to find a new tenant and fails. They have to make a reasonable effort to find a new tenant, they can't just hold on to the deposit. I've never heard of a landlord pursueing a tenant for the full cost of the lease if they're unable to find a replacement. You should give the required notice period though. And to be fair to the landlord as much notice as possible. Ideally you shouldn't start a lease with the intention of breaking it, as the landlord may be relying on that income and you'd be screwing them over if you were to leave.

Polo_Mint

TheChizler wrote: »

Absolute worst case scenario you lose your deposit, and that's if the landlord is trying to find a new tenant and fails. They have to make a reasonable effort to find a new tenant, they can't just hold on to the deposit. I've never heard of a landlord pursueing a tenant for the full cost of the lease if they're unable to find a replacement. You should give the required notice period though. And to be fair to the landlord as much notice as possible. Ideally you shouldn't start a lease with the intention of breaking it, as the landlord may be relying on that income and you'd be screwing them over if you were to leave.

No Absolute worst case is that you will have to the the whole 12 month lease

TheChizler

Polo_Mint wrote: »

No Absolute worst case is that you will have to the the whole 12 month lease

Have the PRTB awarded the remainder of the lease in the past? There is an onus on the landlord to find new tenants.

Mrs OBumble

Take it.

When the time comes, find a reasonable replacement tenant to take over the lease from you. The LL has to accept a reasonable proposal, or allow you to break the lease.

Absolute worst case is that you cannot find any replacement. But that's a gamble I'd be willing to take given how much difficulty you're having finding a place now.

jimmycrackcorm

My SIL did this. Gave the landlord a months notice half way through. The landlord got someone in straight away and kept the deposit so he was happy and they were happy to forego it.

Given the demand for rental properties I couldn't see any practical issues.

TheChizler

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Given the demand for rental properties I couldn't see any practical issues.

This is the thing, the LL will most likely have it up for a couple of days on Daft before it gets snapped up. It might be fair to offer half the cost of the advert be taken from the deposit as you'll be leaving halfway through the lease.

Arbiter of Good Taste

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Given the demand for rental properties I couldn't see any practical issues.

Assuming the OP is renting in a high demand area

Uno my Uno.

Once you sign that lease you are liable to pay the rent for the full 12 months and you are not entitled to break it with any amount of notice. Whilst on a practical level many landlords will just retain your deposit and relet the property they are not obliged to do this and can pursue you for the remainder of lease. If you find a replacement tenant they must accept them if the replacement is suitable.

Ultimately the course of action a landlord might take in such a situation will depend on multiple factors such as the value of the rent and the level of demand for the house and ultimately the attitude of the Landlord. Even a couple of months rent on a 2 or 3 bed house could be €3 ,000 -€4,000 euro, worth pursuing by anyone's tstandards.

That sort of outcome may well be unlikely but it is the risk you would be exposing yourself to and you should consider it carefully before signing a lease that you don't intend to see to the end.

Heffc

that's exactly our thinking Uno, its unlikely but not impossible. Its is a risk and as a couple we're very risk averse.

The property is in south county dublin so high demand, however it is unfurnshed (which suits us perfectly in our situation) but is not something that would suit everyone.

We still haven't made a decision and the property could well be gone by now...