Joint tenants, I leave, my flatmate stays

JMot

A bit more than three years ago I rented a spacious studio in Dublin 1 with a mate of mine with a 12 months joint lease, the lease expired more than two years ago and we have a part 4 tenancy now. I have handed over my termination notice to the landlord a few days ago (moving to a different town) and my mate would like to assign my part of the lease to a friend of his since he cannot afford the full amount of rent on his own.

Now my landlord has not accepted my termination notice and said that if he accepts it he does not want my flatmate to assign my tenancy to another person, he prefers that both of us leave since my flatmate has caused several issues to him over the years (parties while I was out, one of his guests created problems, left his stuff in common areas of the building with other people complaining, had some quarrels with other people in the building which were reported to the landlord). So I have a few questions:

a) can the landlord refuse my termination notice (I provided the right period)?

b) if the answer to (a) is negative, am I free from my tenant responsibilites once my notice period is over?

c) can I get my part of the deposit from the landlord or I should ask my flatmate to give me my half since he wants to stay? The landlord said that being a joint tenancy he does not have to return my half deposit, since there is a single deposit stated in the lease that is the resposibility of both and it is only going to be returned when the studio is free from occupants.

d) can my flatmate be refused to assign my tenancy after I leave and asked to pay the full rent?

davindub

JMot wrote: »

A bit more than three years ago I rented a spacious studio in Dublin 1 with a mate of mine with a 12 months joint lease, the lease expired more than two years ago and we have a part 4 tenancy now. I have handed over my termination notice to the landlord a few days ago (moving to a different town) and my mate would like to assign my part of the lease to a friend of his since he cannot afford the full amount of rent on his own.

Now my landlord has not accepted my termination notice and said that if he accepts it he does not want my flatmate to assign my tenancy to another person, he prefers that both of us leave since my flatmate has caused several issues to him over the years (parties while I was out, one of his guests created problems, left his stuff in common areas of the building with other people complaining, had some quarrels with other people in the building which were reported to the landlord). So I have a few questions:

a) can the landlord refuse my termination notice (I provided the right period)?

b) if the answer to (a) is negative, am I free from my tenant responsibilites once my notice period is over?

c) can I get my part of the deposit from the landlord or I should ask my flatmate to give me my half since he wants to stay? The landlord said that being a joint tenancy he does not have to return my half deposit, since there is a single deposit stated in the lease that is the resposibility of both and it is only going to be returned when the studio is free from occupants.

d) can my flatmate be refused to assign my tenancy after I leave and asked to pay the full rent?

Wrong place to be asking this really.

I'd recommend contacting threshold also FLAC did a nice leaflet that explains the ins and outs without being too legal

https://www.flac.ie/download/pdf/landlord_and_tenant2016.pdf

4ensic15

JMot wrote: »

a) can the landlord refuse my termination notice (I provided the right period)?

No.

JMot wrote: »

b) if the answer to (a) is negative, am I free from my tenant responsibilites once my notice period is over?

Yes.

JMot wrote: »

c) can I get my part of the deposit from the landlord or I should ask my flatmate to give me my half since he wants to stay? The landlord said that being a joint tenancy he does not have to return my half deposit, since there is a single deposit stated in the lease that is the resposibility of both and it is only going to be returned when the studio is free from occupants.

Flatmate should give you half. LL not obliged to.

JMot wrote: »

d) can my flatmate be refused to assign my tenancy after I leave and asked to pay the full rent?

Your flatmate can't assign you tenancy. Only you can.

JMot

4ensic15, thank you very much, very helpful.

I shall try to assign my lease to the friend of my flatmate then (at least I have done my part), I found a form in the threshold website, but I am almost sure I will receive a refusal since the landlord wants my current flatmate out after all the trouble he caused in the past.

I am also worried about my deposit now, since my flatmate is not in a great financial situation. In the lease agreement it is written that the studio is for a two person occupancy, but I guess who decides the people that can occupy the studio is the landlord.

The_Conductor

If the landlord refuses to allow you assign the lease- the tenancy is over and you are free to leave without consequence. However, its a joint tenancy- with your friend- so you're going to have to decide whether this is the path you wish to go down..........

The fact that your landlord wants the other individual out- because they have a history of anti-social behaviour- means you are handing the landlord a get out of jail card.

You are not seeking to assign the lease- you're seeking to assign your interest in the lease- normally assigning a lease implies you want to vacate the lease, and leave. Which is fine. Only its not just you.

Honestly- you and your friend need to get proper legal advice (and by that- I do not mean Threshold and/or RTB- I mean- go, have a meeting with a solicitor who is familiar with tenancy law, and see what grounds your friend has for remaining in the property- given the circumstances you've outlined).

It is not as simple as saying you want to assign your portion of the lease- you do not have a portion in the lease- both you and your friend are jointly and severally responsible for the lease- and are not treated as separate persons on the leasehold- you hold a lease between you.

Assigning the lease- or terminating the tenancy- implies both you and your friend are leaving, and either getting new tenants for the property- or ending the lease, with the assent of the landlord.

Your friend is the sticking point here- however, you have to accept you can't simply walk away from your obligations either.

If the landlord is amenable- you can assign the lease- if not- you get your deposit back in full less deductions for any damage which is obviously in excess of normal wear and tear- and you hand the property back to the landlord.

The 'friend' does not get to treat himself separately- its a joint lease- though it sounds like they might dig their heels in.

You need to get proper (offline) advice.

JMot

Conductor thanks for the additional advice, the issue is that I am not friend with my current flatmate anymore mostly due to the problems he caused over the years and I had to deal with the landlord because of these problems, I found a decent place right outside Dublin (my own room) and I am just glad it is over. I shall write the assignment letter of the interest in my lease to show my flatmate I did what I could for him and then when period of notice is over he is on his own. I do not want to spend any more of my money for the benefit of my flatmate, but I shall tell him to get legal advice.

laxislife7

OP, did you ever come to a resolve for this situation? I am having the same issues. Currently Part 4 and would like to vacate and already have a place lined up. Unfortunately, our apartment goes through IRes and we were required to pay a 2 month deposit upon moving in. So if my current flatmate finds someone to move in, I know they will not be willing to pay a 2 month deposit plus 1 month rent. So the only way to get my deposit would be to end the lease completely, which would unfortunately force my flatmate to find a new apartment.

The_Conductor

laxislife7 wrote: »

OP, did you ever come to a resolve for this situation? I am having the same issues. Currently Part 4 and would like to vacate and already have a place lined up. Unfortunately, our apartment goes through IRes and we were required to pay a 2 month deposit upon moving in. So if my current flatmate finds someone to move in, I know they will not be willing to pay a 2 month deposit plus 1 month rent. So the only way to get my deposit would be to end the lease completely, which would unfortunately force my flatmate to find a new apartment.

Two months deposit + one month's rent in advance- is rapidly becoming the norm- and is far from unique to IRes properties.

If your flat mate's friend intends to move in- they are going to have to meet the requirements of the tenancy- which includes two month's deposit- if they are not in a position or unwilling to meet this requirement- they have no business even being considered as a prospective replacement for you..........

If your current flatmate is insistent on trying to get them in- and they are not willing to meet the requirements- you need to terminate the tenancy- and your flatmate needs to find alternate accommodation...........