Paying deposit to tenant leaving?

clownface95

Hey!

So i had to move to dublin for work and i managed to find a room to rent. I have one question! The person i am replaying is asking me to pay him a deposit and the one months rent. He said he already has Aprils rent paid ( I am moving in at the beginning of April) . When i asked him what how will i get my deposit back he said you will get it off whoever is going to replace you when you move out? Is that normal practice?

Need advice ASAP

GingerLily

It is normal for a house share but I would talk to the landlord first before handing over cash.

Cash_Q

Why has this person paid the rent for April? Sounds a bit suspicious.

I have heard of the deposit thing before in house shares but check with the other tenants and landlord first

clownface95

He said he paid it because it was due ( he is moving to a new place). To be honest i have asked a few questions about it during the day but i think it is genuine.

Cash_Q

clownface95 wrote:

He said he paid it because it was due ( he is moving to a new place). To be honest i have asked a few questions about it during the day but i think it is genuine.

When did he pay it/when was it due?was his move very sudden? If I knew I was leaving at the end of the month I wouldn't pay for the next month it doesn't make sense...unless the rent is paid from mid-month to mid-month?

Hoboo

Not a chance. Your agreement is with the landlord and no one else.

clownface95

I asked for the landlords number but he told me that most of the communication goes through another guy that lives in the house he the lease. Guys do ye think I should go ahead with it ? I’m stuck for accommodation and I start work Tuesday. I no it does sound kinda fishy that he paid for another months rent when he is suppose to be moving out.

Hoboo

It sounds like complete BS. Nobody pays a months rent that isn't due.

Who advertised the place?

AlphabetCards

Avoid this OP, plenty more places. This sounds like a bad situation to land yourself in.

Hoboo

No one in their right mind would hand over a months deposit and refund a month to someone who's about to head off into the sunset, after being denied the landlords phone number? WTF like?

clownface95

Yes thinking about it now it’s very suspicious? I’ve only rented once before and that was with a letting agency.

manonboard

Talk to the landlord and confirm it. It may be above board, but you dont want to end up in a situation where he is getting his deposit from land lord, and also your one (as payment for maybe he feels he should not have payed the rent for the month he is not going to be living there). I can easily imagine the tenant saying "well i paid for the april rent, so this covers me for that, since you are living there now".

It makes no difference if "most" of the communication goes through one of the other people. When you ask for the contact details of your landlord. You should be given them. If someone wants to help, they can offer, but for money discrepancies, its completely normal to speak to the landlord since you are assuming outcomes of deposits the landlord is holding.

Do not put yourself in a stuck position of believing someone about money.

Bubbaclaus

As a person that has house shared a lot it all seems pretty standard to me. Most people would have paid April rent already as it's due in advance. (next banking day is 3 April which would be late rent). So not sure why people are questioning that.

clownface95

The guy wanted me to wire the money today. He was moving out today, I haven’t even met the person I am replacing. Only chatting him on Facebook.

10pennymixup

clownface95 wrote: »

The guy wanted me to wire the money today. He was moving out today, I haven’t even met the person I am replacing. Only chatting him on Facebook.

Ding Ding Ding Ding DIng

That's the sound of warning bells

Cash_Q

clownface95 wrote:

The guy wanted me to wire the money today. He was moving out today, I haven’t even met the person I am replacing. Only chatting him on Facebook.

What do the other tenants say about all this?

clownface95

Very briefly. You see when I seen the house I was happy and I presumed the next day I would get bank details from he landlord for paying rent etc. I did not predict this scenario. I basically need confirmation about the information I have been provided with, I have asked for the landlords number but I was told communication usually goes through the guy with the lease.

omega666

When I house shared it was quite common that the person moving in would pay the months deposit to the person they were replacing.

Never heard of paying a months rent to the person being replaced though.

OP, talk to the house mate who is living there and that currently deals with the landlord. Confirm with him that the persons that's leavings story is true and take it from there.

Madscientist30

Is there a chance that the landlord doesnt actually know you are moving in? It may be that the leaseholder is doing some subletting?

Wabbit Ears

Literally everything about this screams scam.

clownface95

I decided to message him and tell him I wasn’t interested. Just didn’t feel right about it. Thanks for all the advice

wirelessdude01

Madscientist30 wrote:

Is there a chance that the landlord doesnt actually know you are moving in? It may be that the leaseholder is doing some subletting?

This is probably what is happening.

Deposits exchanged between the new and old room renter is pretty much standard in houseshares. The rent while not as common is not unheard of. The last house share I moved out mid month and the person moving in gave me half a months rent and the deposit as I'd already paid the months rent to the LL.

Hoboo

Peyton Wrong Ticket wrote: »

Deposits exchanged between the new and old room renter is pretty much standard in houseshares. The rent while not as common is not unheard of. The last house share I moved out mid month and the person moving in gave me half a months rent and the deposit as I'd already paid the months rent to the LL.

Dont disagree, but handing money to someone and no contact with the landlord, in fact refusal of their number? Think the OP did the sensible thing.

clownface95

It just didn’t sit right with me. It’s a large amount of money to wire to someone over one thousand euro without even meeting the person. Also not having the landlord confirm that the lad paid for April’s rent.

Hoboo

clownface95 wrote: »

It just didn’t sit right with me. It’s a large amount of money to wire to someone over one thousand euro without even meeting the person. Also not having the landlord confirm that the lad paid for April’s rent.

What do they take you for, a clown?

clownface95

Hoboo wrote: »

What do they take you for, a clown?

lol

Hack12

Stsy away as you will have no legal rights as a tenant unless on the lease. This sounds like subletting and the landlord may not know. Subletting is generally a condition prohibited in a lease and can trigger a lease to be terminated leaving you out of pocket.

Hoboo

Hoboo wrote: »

Dont disagree, but handing money to someone and no contact with the landlord, in fact refusal of their number? Think the OP did the sensible thing.

Agreed I would want to have spoken to the LL or at least the lead housemate if he is collecting the rent and paying the LL.

CollyFlower

Did you really arrange all this over FB? Did you not get to see the room/ house?

clownface95

Majority of the rooms for rent are posited on private group pages on Facebook. Yes I went to see the room.