Rent too high, can we move out?

armabelle · 24-02-2016 2:48pm #1

Hey folks

I am writing to ask your advice on an issue my family and I are having in our newly rented apartment. We are finding it very difficult to make our rental payments as the rent is very high and things have not worked out for us financially as we had hoped. We feel that we can't make rental payments anymore and would like to move to a cheaper neighborhood. The problem is that we have just started the tenancy 2 months ago and don't want to lose our deposit. What should we do?

Thank you for your help

Butters1979 · 24-02-2016 2:52pm

It's not the deposit you could lose, you could be liable to the rent for the remainder of the lease. The best thing you can do is talk to your landlord about this. If it's a high demand area or you could get a new tenant for him he may well agree to release you from the lease.

Theboinkmaster · 24-02-2016 2:53pm

You could say it to landlord and see if they understand - they might if they're reasonable and sympathetic and once you move on one day and they have new tenant for next they won't be out of pocket. You could promise them you'll arrange all this - continuity of tenancy.

But this is all dependent on their good graces as you signed a lease that legally they can enforce.

If landlord doesn't play ball all you can do is move on and forfeit your deposit.

Boater123 · 24-02-2016 3:01pm

Every one so far is assuming that you have a fixed term lease. Do you?

If so, you can ask the LL if you can reassign it. If they refuse you permission to do so, you can break the lease.

If they do give permission to reassign, you have to get a new tenant (at your expense ie advertising) that LL is happy with.

If you don't have a fixed term lease, then just give the required notice (less than 6 months is 28 days or used to be any ways).

Might be best to try work it out all out amicably with the LL first to save you going down this route as others have suggested.

armabelle · 24-02-2016 3:13pm

Boater123 wrote: »

Every one so far is assuming that you have a fixed term lease. Do you?

If so, you can ask the LL if you can reassign it. If they refuse you permission to do so, you can break the lease.

If they do give permission to reassign, you have to get a new tenant (at your expense ie advertising) that LL is happy with.

If you don't have a fixed term lease, then just give the required notice (less than 6 months is 28 days or used to be any ways).

Might be best to try work it out all out amicably with the LL first to save you going down this route as others have suggested.

Yes sorry, should have said... it is a one year contract.

So if we find a new tenant then LL should allow us to reassign it or we can legally move out and not lose our deposit?

I didnt want to be long winded in my OP but over and above this, the apartment has given us endless problems since we moved in 6 weeks ago. we have had 5 visits by plumbers, maintenance people for repairs and things breaking down and one was serious as the whole floor had to be replaced. Then the landlord still has not provided us with furniture he promised at the beginning of the tenancy. All these things make us wonder if the sacrifice we are making to live near my wifes work is worth it.

armabelle · 24-02-2016 3:23pm

Butters1979 wrote: »

It's not the deposit you could lose, you could be liable to the rent for the remainder of the lease. The best thing you can do is talk to your landlord about this. If it's a high demand area or you could get a new tenant for him he may well agree to release you from the lease.

ok thanks for helping

Arbiter of Good Taste · 24-02-2016 3:28pm

armabelle wrote: »

Yes sorry, should have said... it is a one year contract.

So if we find a new tenant then LL should allow us to reassign it or we can legally move out and not lose our deposit?

I didnt want to be long winded in my OP but over and above this, the apartment has given us endless problems since we moved in 6 weeks ago. we have had 5 visits by plumbers, maintenance people for repairs and things breaking down and one was serious as the whole floor had to be replaced. Then the landlord still has not provided us with furniture he promised at the beginning of the tenancy. All these things make us wonder if the sacrifice we are making to live near my wifes work is worth it.

Provided the LL has withheld his permission unreasonably. You will need to find suitable tenants which will be easy or difficult depending on the demand in the area.

armabelle · 25-02-2016 9:17am

Arbiter of Good Taste wrote: »

Provided the LL has withheld his permission unreasonably. You will need to find suitable tenants which will be easy or difficult depending on the demand in the area.

Thank you!

I found the following from here:

http://www.prtb.ie/dispute-resolution/disputes/the-three-stages-of-a-tenancy/what-is-assignment-

Where a landlord refuses an assignment of a Tenancy, a tenant can serve a notice of termination on the landlord.

I could be wrong as I have no idea what a part 4 tenancy is but it seems to say that if we find anyone and he refuses, then we have the right to serve a notice of termination regardless of whether he sees the person as fit or unfit. What do you think?

25-02-2016 9:35am

armabelle wrote: »

Thank you!

I found the following from here:

http://www.prtb.ie/dispute-resolution/disputes/the-three-stages-of-a-tenancy/what-is-assignment-

Where a landlord refuses an assignment of a Tenancy, a tenant can serve a notice of termination on the landlord.

This cannot be true surely, its basically a loophole to get out of any lease at any time, leases wouldn't be worth the paper they are written on from a LL perspective.

Speedwell · 25-02-2016 9:39am

Dallas Thoughtless Dealer wrote: »

This cannot be true surely, its basically a loophole to get out of any lease at any time, leases wouldn't be worth the paper they are written on from a LL perspective.

It's as true as the fact that any landlord can claim they plan to make extensive renovations on a place so they can raise the rent they are not entitled to raise on the existing tenants.

armabelle · 25-02-2016 9:51am

Dallas Thoughtless Dealer wrote: »

This cannot be true surely, its basically a loophole to get out of any lease at any time, leases wouldn't be worth the paper they are written on from a LL perspective.

Yes, this is what I thought as well but then I thought that a LL could simply refuse any possible reassignment of the lease just because he can and wants to make life difficult

armabelle · 25-02-2016 9:53am

Speedwell wrote: »

It's as true as the fact that any landlord can claim they plan to make extensive renovations on a place so they can raise the rent they are not entitled to raise on the existing tenants.

Could you explain what you mean please... do you mean that a LL may wish to make renovations towards the end of our tenancy so he can charge more to his new tenants?

April 73 · 25-02-2016 10:00am

armabelle wrote: »

Could you explain what you mean please... do you mean that a LL may wish to make renovations towards the end of our tenancy so he can charge more to his new tenants?

I don't think speedwell is referring specifically to your situation.

Speedwell · 25-02-2016 10:06am

April 73 wrote: »

I don't think speedwell is referring specifically to your situation.

Quite right, nothing to do with you, though if he did choose to do this, it would let you off the hook.

April 73 · 25-02-2016 10:07am

In your situation why not explain the situation to your LL & be honest?
There are several ways it could go...

You agree to find new tenants to take over the lease with the LL's agreement.

You agree to give a months notice & pay for advertising & costs of looking for a new tenant & allow viewings to take place during that last month. The LL may agree to opt for this if he thinks he could up his rent for a completely new tenant. A reasonable LL would consider returning the deposit in this instance if he is not majorally out of pocket from your short stay.

You accept you made a mistake and losing the deposit might be the price of that mistake.

A lot will depend on the rental market where you are. Is demand for rental property strong?

armabelle · 25-02-2016 10:09am

April 73 wrote: »

In your situation why not explain the situation to your LL & be honest?
There are several ways it could go...

You agree to find new tenants to take over the lease with the LL's agreement.

You agree to give a months notice & pay for advertising & costs of looking for a new tenant & allow viewings to take place during that last month. The LL may agree to opt for this if he thinks he could up his rent for a completely new tenant. A reasonable LL would consider returning the deposit in this instance if he is not majorally out of pocket from your short stay.

You accept you made a mistake and losing the deposit might be the price of that mistake.

A lot will depend on the rental market where you are. Is demand for rental property strong?

When you reassign a lease, doesn't the new person take over the contract and the rental amount on it as well? so wouldn't they pay what we are paying?

April 73 · 25-02-2016 10:11am

armabelle wrote: »

When you reassign a lease, doesn't the new person take over the contract and the rental amount on it as well? so wouldn't they pay what we are paying?

Yes, if the lease is reassigned that is the case.

lawred2 · 25-02-2016 10:25am

armabelle wrote: »

Hey folks

I am writing to ask your advice on an issue my family and I are having in our newly rented apartment. We are finding it very difficult to make our rental payments as the rent is very high and things have not worked out for us financially as we had hoped. We feel that we can't make rental payments anymore and would like to move to a cheaper neighborhood. The problem is that we have just started the tenancy 2 months ago and don't want to lose our deposit. What should we do?

Thank you for your help

You signed a lease. You could plead your case with the landlord. But the least you're likely to lose here is your deposit.

Speedwell · 25-02-2016 10:27am

Since there are so many significant things wrong with the property, suppose the OP suggest in negotiations with the LL that the LL exercise the clause permitting the LL to break the lease for renovations? It is at least possible the LL didn't realize that the place needed such extensive work anyway.

dori_dormer · 25-02-2016 10:27am

I think when reassigning you have to make a decent effort to get good tenants. If it's a 5 bed house in dublin and you tell him this one guy on rent allowance with 20 dogs will take it, who can't afford the rent, then it won't be acceptable. So if he first advertised for a professional couple with no kids or pets, for a 2 bed and you show him acceptable offers that he declines then you can terminate the lease.

lawred2 · 25-02-2016 10:31am

armabelle wrote: »

Thank you!

I found the following from here:

http://www.prtb.ie/dispute-resolution/disputes/the-three-stages-of-a-tenancy/what-is-assignment-

Where a landlord refuses an assignment of a Tenancy, a tenant can serve a notice of termination on the landlord.

I could be wrong as I have no idea what a part 4 tenancy is but it seems to say that if we find anyone and he refuses, then we have the right to serve a notice of termination regardless of whether he sees the person as fit or unfit. What do you think?

That's mad. What if the landlord has genuine concerns over the prospective replacement tenants?

I'm not a landlord by the way

April 73 · 25-02-2016 10:37am

The landlord is entitled to mitigate his losses where a fixed term tenancy is ended by the tenant according to this...
http://www.prtb.ie/dispute-resolution/disputes/the-three-stages-of-a-tenancy/checklist-for-tenant-serving-a-valid-notice-of-termination

The best way forward for the OP is to try to reach agreement with the LL and hope that they can both mitigate their potential losses. The only way to do this is to have the discussion in a reasonable manner as early as possible & try to reach a mutual agreement that avoids cases going to the PRTB.

foggy_lad · 25-02-2016 10:54am

Boater123 wrote: »

Every one so far is assuming that you have a fixed term lease. Do you?

If so, you can ask the LL if you can reassign it. If they refuse you permission to do so, you can break the lease.

If they do give permission to reassign, you have to get a new tenant (at your expense ie advertising) that LL is happy with.

If you don't have a fixed term lease, then just give the required notice (less than 6 months is 28 days or used to be any ways).

Might be best to try work it out all out amicably with the LL first to save you going down this route as others have suggested.

If you find a new tenant that any reasonable person would be happy with then your landlord can't reasonably refuse your request to reassign the lease. deposit etc must be given back in such a situation.

armabelle wrote: »

Yes, this is what I thought as well but then I thought that a LL could simply refuse any possible reassignment of the lease just because he can and wants to make life difficult

No, a Landlord can refuse to accept the new tenant but then the previous tenant is free to give minimum notice and leave without any penalty and any crap such as with-holding the deposit may rightly result in fines from the PRTB.

lawred2 wrote: »

That's mad. What if the landlord has genuine concerns over the prospective replacement tenants?

I'm not a landlord by the way

They are free to seek out replacement tenants at their own cost if they wish.

MarkAnthony · 25-02-2016 10:58am

What's all this rubbish about the minimum loss of a deposit?

The very MAXIMUM the OP should lose is the deposit. OP simply speak to your landlord. I'm a landlord myself and if tenants approached me in a reasonable way I'd bend over backwards to allow them to move out. The alternative is they don't move out!

Ask if the LL wants you to find tenants (your right) or simply negotiate a partial payment of the deposit to cover expenses.

As April has rightly pointed out it's about potential loss mitigation.

andekwarhola · 25-02-2016 11:02am

We're landlords too and if the property was in demand, would have no problem letting tenants leave in such circumstances but would definitely want to retain at least part of the deposit to cover costs depending on when a new tenant was in situ. No way would we look for anything more, though.

Definitely worth chatting to the landlord.

25-02-2016 11:36am

The more you read the more of a joke of how biased towards tenants the rules are in this country.

Basically a tenant is not bound by a lease at all, they can just reassign it. But if a LL wants to break it to get different tenants he can't unless they have wrecked the place or something.

Speedwell · 25-02-2016 11:38am

Dallas Thoughtless Dealer wrote: »

The more you read the more of a joke of how biased towards tenants the rules are in this country.

Basically a tenant is not bound by a lease at all, they can just reassign it. But if a LL wants to break it to get different tenants he can't unless they have wrecked the place or something.

And exactly why would you want to keep a tenant who cannot pay the rent if they are willing to leave and let you get a new tenant who can?

25-02-2016 11:43am

Speedwell wrote: »

And exactly why would you want to keep a tenant who cannot pay the rent if they are willing to leave and let you get a new tenant who can?

That's just one example of the 100 different reason people might want to break their lease, a lease is a contract and shouldn't have such an easy loophole unless the LL can also put break clauses in the lease which the PRTB won't over rule.

What if the LL isn't happy with the new tenants, the LL has done the work to find someone (he thought was) suitable did the work to confirm they were potentially good etc etc. This is possibly a reason you could argue is fair enough if they can't pay but read other threads people signing leases and then deciding to take another job somewhere else, couples breaking up and wanting to get away from each other etc these reason should be tough luck.

Look at the other thread just opened a person wants to buy a house to live in but the current tenants have a long lease, the owner should be able to break that lease and move in. But of course they aren't allowed while if the tenants decided they wanted to break it there would be no issue. Joke of a system.

Michael D Not Higgins · 25-02-2016 11:50am

foggy_lad wrote: »

No, a Landlord can refuse to accept the new tenant but then the previous tenant is free to give minimum notice and leave without any penalty and any crap such as with-holding the deposit may rightly result in fines from the PRTB.

Not sure that's true. The RTA allows the tenant to serve notice if the landlord refuses consent to assignment. That's only the first step of the process. It's silent on the criteria for replacement of the tenant and rightly so as it allows common sense to be applied and the landlord can then have a say on suitability of any proposed assignee.

Speedwell · 25-02-2016 11:53am

Dallas Thoughtless Dealer wrote: »

Look at the other thread just opened a person wants to buy a house to live in but the current tenants have a long lease, the owner should be able to break that lease and move in. But of course they aren't allowed while if the tenants decided they wanted to break it there would be no issue. Joke of a system.

If this is the thread I'm thinking of, the "current tenants" are a letting agency, and the house is currently vacant.

Michael D Not Higgins · 25-02-2016 11:56am

Dallas Thoughtless Dealer wrote: »

The more you read the more of a joke of how biased towards tenants the rules are in this country.

Basically a tenant is not bound by a lease at all, they can just reassign it. But if a LL wants to break it to get different tenants he can't unless they have wrecked the place or something.

With a successful assignment, there's no financial loss to the landlord. I don't see what the problem with that is.

25-02-2016 11:58am

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

With a successful assignment, there's no financial loss to the landlord. I don't see what the problem with that is.

Just the unfairness of how a tenant is not really bound by a lease and has an easy get out clause while its basically impossible for a LL to break a lease, even without a lease its very difficult for a LL to move on tenants.

Michael D Not Higgins · 25-02-2016 12:00pm

Dallas Thoughtless Dealer wrote: »

Just the unfairness of how a tenant is not really bound by a lease and has an easy get out clause while its basically impossible for a LL to break a lease, even without a lease its very difficult for a LL to move on tenants.

The law is written to protect people's homes and the financial interest of the landlord. I don't see the problem with the way it is laid out.

You also mentioned what if the landlord isn't happy with the tenant. Well, if they're breaking the terms of the lease they can be issued a notice of termination and if not, why is the landlord unhappy?

25-02-2016 12:07pm

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

The law is written to protect people's homes and the financial interest of the landlord. I don't see the problem with the way it is laid out.

You also mentioned what if the landlord isn't happy with the tenant. Well, if they're breaking the terms of the lease they can be issued a notice of termination and if not, why is the landlord unhappy?

Maybe they want to move in themselves or move in someone they know while the lease is active or want to sell the house vacant.

What ever about any other reasons it should definitely be possible to have a break clause for selling or moving in same is in part 4.

Michael D Not Higgins · 25-02-2016 12:20pm

Dallas Thoughtless Dealer wrote: »

Maybe they want to move in themselves or move in someone they know while the lease is active or want to sell the house vacant.

What ever about any other reasons it should definitely be possible to have a break clause for selling or moving in same is in part 4.

There's nothing preventing a landlord from writing such a clause into a lease.

MarkAnthony · 25-02-2016 5:05pm

Dallas Thoughtless Dealer wrote: »

Maybe they want to move in themselves or move in someone they know while the lease is active or want to sell the house vacant.

What ever about any other reasons it should definitely be possible to have a break clause for selling or moving in same is in part 4.

Are you serious? I'm genuinely asking. You think it's right that someone should be able to evict someone because they'd prefer someone else in the property?

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

There's nothing preventing a landlord from writing such a clause into a lease.

The RTA would prevent such clauses having effect.

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

You also mentioned what if the landlord isn't happy with the tenant. Well, if they're breaking the terms of the lease they can be issued a notice of termination and if not, why is the landlord unhappy?

LL's not being happy with the tenant and not being able to get shot of them is entirely of the LL's own making. I don't issue fixed term tenancies for exactly that reason. The Part IV tenancy allows both parties 6 months with minimal notice.

Please note I don't disagree with you, I'm simply quoting you as a segway

Michael D Not Higgins · 25-02-2016 5:09pm

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Are you serious? I'm genuinely asking. You think it's right that someone should be able to evict someone because they'd prefer someone else in the property?

The RTA would prevent such clauses having effect.

LL's not being happy with the tenant and not being able to get shot of them is entirely of the LL's own making. I don't issue fixed term tenancies for exactly that reason. The Part IV tenancy allows both parties 6 months with minimal notice.

Please note I don't disagree with you, I'm simply quoting you as a segway

The RTA allows Part 4 tenancies to be broken for sales or for the landlord or relative moving in. I don't know of any clause that would prevent a break clause in a fixed term lease to allow this to be enacted by means of notice on the Part 4 tenancy.

Similarly, writing a break clause to come into effect before a Part 4 tenancy comes into being could also be done.

MarkAnthony · 25-02-2016 5:17pm

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

The RTA allows Part 4 tenancies to be broken for sales or for the landlord or relative moving in.

Quite right.

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

I don't know of any clause that would prevent a break clause in a fixed term lease to allow this to be enacted by means of notice on the Part 4 tenancy.

I'm not sure what the thrust of your argument is here. Part IV starts after 6 months notwithstanding the fixed term lease. I believe there are also some formalities to adhere to on the tenant's side.

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

Similarly, writing a break clause to come into effect before a Part 4 tenancy comes into being could also be done.

This would be moot. The LL/Tenant can simply give 28 days notice. I'd be very dubious of the validity of a fixed term lease that would allow only the LL to terminate in light of the alternative options. I've no case law, or indeed the will to go and find any on same so I'm happy to simply agree to disagree here.

Michael D Not Higgins · 25-02-2016 7:34pm

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Quite right.

I'm not sure what the thrust of your argument is here. Part IV starts after 6 months notwithstanding the fixed term lease. I believe there are also some formalities to adhere to on the tenant's side.

This would be moot. The LL/Tenant can simply give 28 days notice. I'd be very dubious of the validity of a fixed term lease that would allow only the LL to terminate in light of the alternative options. I've no case law, or indeed the will to go and find any on same so I'm happy to simply agree to disagree here.

The thrust of my argument is that fixed term leases don't normally have break clauses so there's no mechanism to give Part 4 notice while it's in effect without a break clause.

The problem is there's no real precedent. It's not a standard clause in Irish leases so it doesn't happen. In reality, the landlord wants guaranteed rent so gives a lease that locks someone in for a fixed period.

Having a break clause would have to be written to allow the tenant to invoke it too so it would give the landlord uncertainty on how long the tenant would actually commit to the tenancy.

Marcusm · 25-02-2016 7:44pm

Dallas Thoughtless Dealer wrote: »

The more you read the more of a joke of how biased towards tenants the rules are in this country.

Basically a tenant is not bound by a lease at all, they can just reassign it. But if a LL wants to break it to get different tenants he can't unless they have wrecked the place or something.

It's more theoretical than actual; how many adverts have you seen for proposed lease reassignments?

There seems to be a confluence of issues here; the landlord, if using an agent, will be down a month's rent for the letting fee. However, he doesn't seem to be covering himself in glory if the OP's comments about the amount of maintenance required and lack of provision of promised furniture. Sounds like they'd be best off getting away from each other before it reaches a head of steam and neither back down.

Fol20 · 25-02-2016 9:05pm

Speedwell wrote: »

It's as true as the fact that any landlord can claim they plan to make extensive renovations on a place so they can raise the rent they are not entitled to raise on the existing tenants.

I thought its different if a tenant signed a fixed term contract vs part 4.. I thought under a contract, the landlord would have to roof them in a hotel etc until the work is completed, likewise, i thought a tenant is bound by the contract and would forfeit the deposit along with any more legal repercussions?

skallywag · 26-02-2016 12:27pm

OP, I can only assume that something unexpected has happened in the last 2 months since ye moved in which now puts you in a position that no longer makes the rent affordable to you.

In such circumstances the vast majority of landlords that I know would have sympathy, but you will also need to meet them halfway. If you are willing to stay on until the landlord can find new a new tenant, and if you do everything you can to facilitate a smooth handover, then I see no reason why you will lose your deposit, unless of course there has been damage, etc. With the rental market being what it currently is I would imagine that finding a new tenant may not be too problematic.

That said, you also need to have in mind that you signed a one year lease and the onus is on you to honour it.

armabelle · 26-02-2016 1:20pm

skallywag wrote: »

OP, I can only assume that something unexpected has happened in the last 2 months since ye moved in which now puts you in a position that no longer makes the rent affordable to you.

In such circumstances the vast majority of landlords that I know would have sympathy, but you will also need to meet them halfway. If you are willing to stay on until the landlord can find new a new tenant, and if you do everything you can to facilitate a smooth handover, then I see no reason why you will lose your deposit, unless of course there has been damage, etc. With the rental market being what it currently is I would imagine that finding a new tenant may not be too problematic.

That said, you also need to have in mind that you signed a one year lease and the onus is on you to honour it.

Although it may have sounded like it, it is not because something sudden happened but rather a number of different things since we moved in that are making us feel like the rent is too high for the kind of place we are living in and the mishaps. To be specific:

1. We should have a fully furnished apartment by now but we don't and the LL still has not and will not commit to telling us when we will have the furniture. This has led to arguments and issues that make us regret moving in which is a horrible feeling
2. We are paying much more for electricity and gas than was estimated by the LL since we moved in
3. The apartment has had 5 maintenance issues one of which made living here a bit difficult for a few days
4. There are two new maintenance issues that I haven't even reported yet
5. My wife, on whose income we depend for now, is earning a lot less than she will be by the end of next month (hopefully) because she is being "emergency taxed" and loses 41% of her income. She never knew about this when we moved in or when she began working here.

Also, I guess we could afford to pay the rent but with very little income left over for food etc. It might be tolerable if there werent all the issues and if we had a properly furnished apartment

Fol20 · 26-02-2016 1:40pm

armabelle wrote: »

Although it may have sounded like it, it is not because something sudden happened but rather a number of different things since we moved in that are making us feel like the rent is too high for the kind of place we are living in and the mishaps. To be specific:

1. We should have a fully furnished apartment by now but we don't and the LL still has not and will not commit to telling us when we will have the furniture. This has led to arguments and issues that make us regret moving in which is a horrible feeling
2. We are paying much more for electricity and gas than was estimated by the LL since we moved in
3. The apartment has had 5 maintenance issues one of which made living here a bit difficult for a few days
4. There are two new maintenance issues that I haven't even reported yet
5. My wife, on whose income we depend for now, is earning a lot less than she will be by the end of next month (hopefully) because she is being "emergency taxed" and loses 41% of her income. She never knew about this when we moved in or when she began working here.

Also, I guess we could afford to pay the rent but with very little income left over for food etc. It might be tolerable if there werent all the issues and if we had a properly furnished apartment

1) Usually this means the furniture and everything you saw when you first moved in. Do you not have any couches etc or what?
2)tbh, this is not his fault plus electricity and gas is all dependant on the person. My gas and electricity has gone up since i moved in with my gf as she feels like the house is cold with the usage i have it set to while at the same time, im walking around in a t shirt.
3)Depending on the issues and how big you make them out to be, there is always some issues when people first move in.
4)same as above, although how picky are you?
5)emergency tax is normal if you started a new job. You just need to get your tax affairs in order to get it sorted asap for example i started a new job a few months ago and notified the tax office straight away to avoid the emergency tax.

From what you mentioned, you were ill prepared when you moved in, and this isnt the LL fault.

Speedwell · 26-02-2016 1:49pm

Fol20 wrote: »

1) Usually this means the furniture and everything you saw when you first moved in. Do you not have any couches etc or what?
2)tbh, this is not his fault plus electricity and gas is all dependant on the person. My gas and electricity has gone up since i moved in with my gf as she feels like the house is cold with the usage i have it set to while at the same time, im walking around in a t shirt.
3)Depending on the issues and how big you make them out to be, there is always some issues when people first move in.
4)same as above, although how picky are you?
5)emergency tax is normal if you started a new job. You just need to get your tax affairs in order to get it sorted asap for example i started a new job a few months ago and notified the tax office straight away to avoid the emergency tax.

From what you mentioned, you were ill prepared when you moved in, and this isnt the LL fault.

That's not really fair.

When my husband (a lifelong Irish resident) brought me over from America and we set up housekeeping together, it took over three months for our household goods to be delivered. Our house came furnished, but we and the letting agent had to fight with the landlord to remove filthy and broken furniture so we could bring in our own beds at least. That wasn't our fault. Our gas and electricity are less than we expected, but that is because we have an ethical letting agent who doesn't try to fudge facts to interest potential tenants. We had a few serious maintenance issues when we moved in and reported them promptly (we can't believe the house was inhabited for years with those problems going on, things like using dryer vent hose for blackwater drainage and a cooker with a dangerous electrical fault); the house is basically in good enough shape that we did not need to have more work done for months (I am sorry the OP's home was so neglected). Neither my husband nor I had ever been subjected to emergency tax before, and I've never lived in Ireland before, so we would not have known either, and we would have been in trouble if I hadn't had emergency savings to fall back on.

It sounds to me like the OP is a responsible tenant in a situation not unlike ours, except that they are working with less reliable and ethical people than we are.

Fol20 · 26-02-2016 1:58pm

Speedwell wrote: »

That's not really fair.

When my husband (a lifelong Irish resident) brought me over from America and we set up housekeeping together, it took over three months for our household goods to be delivered. Our house came furnished, but we and the letting agent had to fight with the landlord to remove filthy and broken furniture so we could bring in our own beds at least. That wasn't our fault. Our gas and electricity are less than we expected, but that is because we have an ethical letting agent who doesn't try to fudge facts to interest potential tenants. We had a few serious maintenance issues when we moved in and reported them promptly (we can't believe the house was inhabited for years with those problems going on, things like using dryer vent hose for blackwater drainage and a cooker with a dangerous electrical fault); the house is basically in good enough shape that we did not need to have more work done for months (I am sorry the OP's home was so neglected). Neither my husband nor I had ever been subjected to emergency tax before, and I've never lived in Ireland before, so we would not have known either, and we would have been in trouble if I hadn't had emergency savings to fall back on.

It sounds to me like the OP is a responsible tenant in a situation not unlike ours, except that they are working with less reliable and ethical people than we are.

Yea if you dont like the furniture or bedding, you talk to the agent before you move in to see what can be done on these. If he agrees to repair or remove them, fair enough, it should be done. On the other hand if you sign contracts and then talk about it. Then he doesn't have to agree to it. I for example refuse to move furniture from my places as its more hassle and money. The tenant can house my furniture at their expense if they want.

Electricity faults and stuff along those lines may not be seen when inspected by potential tenants so safety issues like that should be fixed asap by any decent landlord

Fol20 · 26-02-2016 2:17pm

<MOD SNIP >

All i said is that if you want furniture replaced or moved, talk about it before you move in. Some ll's might not mind moving furniture while other will outright refuse. Never assume anything, always ask what is and isnt acceptable before you move in. At least that way both parties should be up front and have a decent relationship. On the otherhand if you expect a certain status quo without confirming it, thats your own fault.

yqtwqxqm · 27-02-2016 2:19am

Reassign the lease and pay the landlord any expenses you have caused him, job done.
PRTB fee of €90 or so comes to mind. He has to pay that for you and then your replacement.
If you dont reassign, give him notice and pay expenses out of your deposit. then he probably will have higher expenses though.

utmbuilder · 27-02-2016 4:05am

Butters1979 wrote: »

It's not the deposit you could lose, you could be liable to the rent for the remainder of the lease. The best thing you can do is talk to your landlord about this. If it's a high demand area or you could get a new tenant for him he may well agree to release you from the lease.

lol no one has ever been prosecuted to fulfill a private lease agreement outside commerical law , why are you trying to scare this poor person.

armabelle · 27-02-2016 9:18am

Speedwell wrote: »

That's not really fair.

When my husband (a lifelong Irish resident) brought me over from America and we set up housekeeping together, it took over three months for our household goods to be delivered. Our house came furnished, but we and the letting agent had to fight with the landlord to remove filthy and broken furniture so we could bring in our own beds at least. That wasn't our fault. Our gas and electricity are less than we expected, but that is because we have an ethical letting agent who doesn't try to fudge facts to interest potential tenants. We had a few serious maintenance issues when we moved in and reported them promptly (we can't believe the house was inhabited for years with those problems going on, things like using dryer vent hose for blackwater drainage and a cooker with a dangerous electrical fault); the house is basically in good enough shape that we did not need to have more work done for months (I am sorry the OP's home was so neglected). Neither my husband nor I had ever been subjected to emergency tax before, and I've never lived in Ireland before, so we would not have known either, and we would have been in trouble if I hadn't had emergency savings to fall back on.

It sounds to me like the OP is a responsible tenant in a situation not unlike ours, except that they are working with less reliable and ethical people than we are.

Thanks and sorry to hear about all that.... it really is a downer when things like this happen.

In our case - and this is actually really ironic - the apartment was renovated before we moved in !!! The problem is that the work was obviously done very poorly and sometimes when you take a car to the mechanic it comes back with more problems than when you go in if you know what I mean. The LL seems like he was going for the cheapest renovation possible as we think he is having financial difficulty. Not sure why since he is charging 1700 euros a month for 55 square meter apartment.

handlemaster · 27-02-2016 11:54am

Its funny the OP said first that he couldnt afford the rent two months into a one year contract. Then turns it onto the fault been the LL s as a plumber has been to the property 5 times etc. .. I have yet to see a tenant post and take full responsibility for their actions. .. always a dig at the LL somewhere ...

Rent too high, can we move out?

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