Concerns about guy I just started to share with

Alpha Wave

Hi guys

Just looking for some advice - any help greatly appreciated.

4 weeks ago myself and my girlfriend commenced a house share in a 2 bedroom apartment with another guy.

Initially listed on Daft for 950 a month, we applied to be told we were unsuccessful as he had given it to someone else.

Chancing my arm, I offered 1000 and too my surprise he accepted and he said he would renege on accepting the other persons offer.

A few days later myself and my partner moved in, paying 1000 cash deposit and 1000 first months rent. We were never given a contract or anything else to sign but we didn't really think anything of it.

3 weeks in and everything seemed fine - he works most days and seemed pleasant enough, keeps himself to himself and we had no issues.

However, one night during the week I was here by myself and there was a knock on the door. I answered and standing there was a girl who claimed to have been the person renting the room before we moved in and she was looking for the other guy. Long story short that despite numerous calls and texts from her, he had yet to return her deposit, ignored all contact from her and blocked her number. He was clearly point blank refusing to refund her. When she moved in she explained she only needed it for 2 months - he was happy with this, insisted on a deposit but ensured it would be refunded - again, he gave her no contract or anything in writing but she took him at his word

Having heard her plight, I agreed to help her get it back - i agreed to text her when he was was here so she could catch him off guard. This never materialised as she was always in work when he was off so I suggested she track him down at his place of work.

She did today, and he made up some cock and bull story about having been under the impression he has already paid her back via bank transfer. She made him squirm and reluctantly he offered her half deposit back and the rest next week, which she refused and threatened him with the cops. Finally he agreed to refund her in full on Monday.


Now me and my partner are concerned as our 2nd months rent is due tomorrow, and he's probably expecting cash. We have no bank details and no contract, and if he's tried to burn her he'd no doubt do the same to us.

What should we do?

Cheers!

athtrasna

Is he the apartment owner?

Alpha Wave

We don't know.

He said he'll take care of any issues or bill queries or anything of that nature but we genuinely have no idea if theres a landlord - he told us there was but that's all we know.

He was also letting the apartment to her for 800 and is now charging us 1000

Just checked on the PRTB and the apartment doesnt appear to be registered either

Gatling

Stupid to get involved been honest you should have just said he's not there and closed the door now you could find yourself the middle of a right mess


"Having heard her plight, I agreed to help her get it back - i agreed to text her when he was was here so she could catch him off guard"

Alpha Wave

But if it's happened to her, what's to say it won't happen to us?

cruais

To be honest with you, I would steer clear of any other involvement with the previous tenant. You have to live and share with this guy and if he suspects any involvement from your end, it will make your living arrangements very awkward.

Re Landlord
Ask him for the contact details of the landlord out straight. If he asks you why, just say that as you are now paying tenants, you feel its good to have the landlords details should any issues arise with your room etc.

Re Rent
Set up a direct debit. This way, everything is monitored and you have a receipt should things go belly up.

I previously rented a room out in my house with no contract or deposit. I got burned and seriously learned my lesson.

Baby01032012

Alpha Wave wrote: »

We don't know.

He said he'll take care of any issues or bill queries or anything of that nature but we genuinely have no idea if theres a landlord - he told us there was but that's all we know.

He was also letting the apartment to her for 800 and is now charging us 1000

Just checked on the PRTB and the apartment doesnt appear to be registered either

Apartments aren't registered, tenancies are. You've just started so it won't be registered yet. Were you asked for PPS no? On what terms did you take the apartment even if verbal? Is it for a fixed term?

Just ask the guy to basic info that you're entitled to. Why start off the relationship by jumping in to defend a stranger for which you don't know the full story.

April 73

You gave a guy €2000 and moved into an apartment with him? There's no contract & you don't know if he owns the property or if there is another landlord?
Even without the tale of the previous tenant, this sounds mad.

You need to ask him what the story with the property is. You don't know if you're a tenant or a licensee or what your rights might be. Do you have a written receipt for the deposit?

You need to start asking questions.

Anongeneric

OP, you did the right thing in relation to the previous tenant, regardless of what people here are saying.

Handing over 2000 cash with no contract was a bad move, but I understand that with the housing market the way it is people do irrational things when under pressure.

Don't rely too much on advice in here. Speak to Prtb and maybe Thresshold who would have experience of these types of things, but do so on the QT
until you clarify your position.

Stay in contact with the previous tenant too. She has seen you open the door of the apartment and could, if needs be in the future, possibly be relied as a witness to same.

If he has done it to her, and it very much looks like that is the case, then he will almost certainly do the same to you.

Document as much as you can. Whatever day your handing over rent, come up with an excuse to text him that "I have the rent money and will give it to you this evening, but could we set up a bankdraft for this sort of thing, I don't really like walking around with 1000 cash on me".

Play dumb with him to get as much evidence as possible.

Alpha Wave

I've text him requesting bank details so I can set up a bankdraft.

I've also asked for a contract or some landlord info as I require proof of address to open a credit union account.

I'll let you guys know what he says

Thanks again

Baby01032012

Alpha Wave wrote: »

I've text him there now requesting bank details so I can set up a bankdraft.

I've also asked for a contract or some landlord info as I require proof of address to open a credit union account.

I'll let you guys know what he says

Thanks again

You've texted the guy you live with at 6 in the morning? Would it not have been more sensible to have a casual word with him when you see him in the apartment at a reasonable time???

Alpha Wave

I text him last night after he text me asking about the rent due today

I see why you might have thought I did it this very moment : )

The_Conductor

By the way- if he an owner occupier- and you're sharing the apartment with him- he does not have to register the tenancy, and you're not entitled to a lease- you're living with him 'under license'..........

Don't automatically assume just because the property isn't on the RTB website- that he is doing things under the table etc- its entirely possible that it is all above board.

Currently you can earn up to 12k on the rent-a-room scheme- tax free- from the 1st of Jan- this increases to 14k per annum........

riclad

Pay by cheque, so you have a record of transaction, ask for a receipt.
this is payment for rent date x to date y.
He only has to give you a few weeks notice.you are a licensee not a tenant.
i would not pay any landlord rent unless i had a contract rent is x amount per week,deposit is x amount .DO you even know his name.

newacc2015

riclad wrote: »

Pay by cheque, so you have a record of transaction, ask for a receipt.
this is payment for rent date x to date y.
He only has to give you a few weeks notice.you are a licensee not a tenant.
i would not pay any landlord rent unless i had a contract rent is x amount per week,deposit is x amount .DO you even know his name.

You are making contracting points in this comment. You are telling OP he is a licensee and not a tenant. Then you are saying they should have a contract? Licensee cant have a contracts, well they can but they arent worth the paper they are written on as they arent legally binding as they arent tenants. They arent protected by any tenancy laws

riclad

you could maybe go to the small claims court , if he rips you off,in some way.
if you have a document and a receipt for the deposit , and receipt for rent paid, dated .do not pay in cash .
you are not a tenant .
he should sign the receipt.

RossieMan

Riclad, you post advise in different section of boards, but it's always half assed and impossible to understand.

Can you post a bit clearer?

Harvey Normal

The_Conductor wrote: »

By the way- if he an owner occupier- and you're sharing the apartment with him- he does not have to register the tenancy, and you're not entitled to a lease- you're living with him 'under license'..........

Don't automatically assume just because the property isn't on the RTB website- that he is doing things under the table etc- its entirely possible that it is all above board.

Currently you can earn up to 12k on the rent-a-room scheme- tax free- from the 1st of Jan- this increases to 14k per annum........

There's no live in landlord here.

athtrasna

Harvey Normal wrote: »

There's no live in landlord here.

The landlord doesn't have to live in, a head tenant can avail of the rent a room scheme too

MouseTail

737max wrote: »

Once rented from a wagon who was claiming to be subletting and I had to go to the land registry to find out that she was letting the property out with the property being financed by a residential as opposed to a BTL mortgage.

So what? You can rent your house out on a residential mortgage. How did you find out what type of mortgage your LL had?

Harvey Normal

athtrasna wrote: »

The landlord doesn't have to live in, a head tenant can avail of the rent a room scheme too

Really? How can he if he's not receiving the rent?

Harvey Normal

MouseTail wrote: »

So what? You can rent your house out on a residential mortgage. How did you find out what type of mortgage your LL had?

Not on all mortgages you can't.

Mrs OBumble

Harvey Normal wrote: »

Really? How can he if he's not receiving the rent?

Quite possibly, the owner is getting his/her rent from the guy who has the lease, who is the OP's landlord. The guy who has the lease is paying some himself, and some from the OP.

Harvey Normal

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Quite possibly, the owner is getting his/her rent from the guy who has the lease, who is the OP's landlord. The guy who has the lease is paying some himself, and some from the OP.

That's not applicable under the rent a room scheme though is it? It's not a tax break.

Baby01032012

Harvey Normal wrote: »

That's not applicable under the rent a room scheme though is it? It's not a tax break.

It is applicable under the rent a room scheme in that the person claiming the relief doesn't have to own the property, only live there.

ED E

RossieMan wrote: »

Riclad, you post advise in different section of boards, but it's always half assed and impossible to understand.

Can you post a bit clearer?

I have him on ignore, his drivel on comp&tech sounded like a chatbot. Advise you do same.

Harvey Normal

Baby01032012 wrote: »

It is applicable under the rent a room scheme in that the person claiming the relief doesn't have to own the property, only live there.

Interesting. Why didn't I know that a few years ago.

TheAnalyst_

He's probably paying about 200 euro a month rent having found some suckers to rent out the other room for a grand.

Idbatterim

he could well have rented the place out a few years ago for way cheaper than it would go for now and is not being charged market rent by the landlord. But he is charging new housemates the market rent.

He's probably paying about 200 euro a month rent having found some suckers to rent out the other room for a grand

. yeah perfectly possible, simply luck of the draw... hes prepared to live with a couple for a start, many wouldn't be prepared to do that. Especially in an apartment... Op would you not have gone for a house? you could have probably gotten a double room for E600 ish in decent area. Then again, with rental market the way it is and the fact that you are a couple, it might not have been an option...

tomofson

You may want to find out the exact reason why the girl left, maybe there is more to him than meets the eye. Most likely not but just a suggestion you might want to figure him out completely as soon as possible.

Ayuntamiento

This whole situation is so weird. It sounded like something straight out of an episode of Scooby Doo on reading the original post, right down to the part where you plot against the evil landlord with your new mysterious friend who unexpectedly knocked on your door one night
All i'll say is that you and your girlfriend are a couple who are looking for a house-share. Did you notice the amount of ads who specify 'no couples'. It's usually right there next to 'no pets' and 'no smokers'. You've done well finding somebody who'll accept you as a couple. Look after yourselves. The ex-tenant needs to address her grievances by using the legal channels available to her.

Lux23

They are paying a grand to rent a double room, that is hardly doing well for themselves.

Ayuntamiento

Lux23 wrote: »

They are paying a grand to rent a double room, that is hardly doing well for themselves.

If they hadn't gotten this room-share then their alternative would have been renting a one bed apt by themselves.
That's what we had to do as a couple and we pay €1,500 per month to do so. So i'd say they're doing really well to have that €500 extra in their pocket every month. They'd still be sharing the same bedroom in their own one bed flat.

I'll take your point about the rental market in general being ridiculously overpriced.

conf101

Ayuntamiento wrote: »

If they hadn't gotten this room-share then their alternative would have been renting a one bed apt by themselves.
That's what we had to do as a couple and we pay €1,500 per month to do so. So i'd say they're doing really well to have that €500 extra in their pocket every month. They'd still be sharing the same bedroom in their own one bed flat.

I'll take your point about the rental market in general being ridiculously overpriced.

Do you mind me asking where you're renting? There are lots of areas in Dublin where you could easily get a 2-bed for that price.

Ayuntamiento

A very nice area very close to the city center! It's expensive but it suits both of our commutes and it's a really nice home. Also the lack of second bedroom discourages unwanted house-guests

the_syco

Alpha Wave wrote: »

Chancing my arm, I offered 1000 and too my surprise he accepted and he said he would renege on accepting the other persons offer.

Alpha Wave wrote: »

He was also letting the apartment to her for 800 and is now charging us 1000

I find it amusing that you have an issue with paying a thousand, when you yourself offered that amount.

A Happy Death

the_syco wrote: »

I find it amusing that you have an issue with paying a thousand, when you yourself offered that amount.

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