Landlord refusing to give deposit back

Slick666

I’ve lived in a shared house for about 6 years and recently we got notice as the landlord wanted the house back. But he’s refusing to give back the deposit as he said we damaged the house and left stuff in it that he has to get rid of. We rented it through a letting agency and so we are getting all this info from the agency. The house is an old damp cold house and the landlord didn’t paint or do anything to upkeep it in the last 6 + years while I lived there, although we asked him to. There were inspections done by the agency and the only thing they mentioned every time was the mould on the walls which we kept cleaning but it kept coming back. Anything broken ( which is from wear and tear ) we reported to the agency. The curtain pole fell off because it’s damp and rotted. He is the meanest landlord I ever dealth with. In January he left us without heating and hot showers for 6 weeks because the boiler needed changing and he wouldn’t spend the money. In the end he gave us heaters to plug in which then in turn gave us a massive electricity bill. He did give us a new washing machine and dryer a couple of months ago which we thought was great but then the next month we got ou termination of lease so obviously the landlord knew he was kicking us out and the new stuff was for his own use! There’s a lot of crap like this we put up with for years and now he’s refusing our deposits back because of “damage” done by us. We are still waiting for the report with the damage and it’s over a month now we are still waiting. The latest was he said he can’t go to the house because of lockdown to give us the report as the guards turned him back the last time he tried to visit and we have to wait until April now. It’s ridiculous waiting this long!! We contacted RTB and they said to make a formal dispute which we will but has anything like this happened to anyone else before? Sorry for the long post and thanks.

endofrainbow

Have him email you the report with a breakdown of charges

Slick666

endofrainbow wrote: »

Have him email you the report with a breakdown of charges

We can’t contact to him directly as it’s through the agency but we have asked loads of times and they keep fobbing us off, the latest that the landlord can’t get to the house because of lockdown, even though we saw a car in the driveway. Frustrating.

theteal

Just get the ball rolling on your RTB case

Slick666

theteal wrote: »

Just get the ball rolling on your RTB case

Ya true, that’s the best thing to do. Such a hassle but what can you do.

ted1

He needs to provide you with a receipt after 6 years slot of stuff would be down to wear and tear.

Just open a case with the RTB.
How much notice did he give? When did you move out?

Slick666

ted1 wrote: »

He needs to provide you with a receipt after 6 years slot of stuff would be down to wear and tear.

Just open a case with the RTB.
How much notice did he give? When did you move out?

He gave us 6 months notice which is fair I suppose. We moved out on the 12th Feb and we got our notice mid December. Also just to note 2 of us were not working and were in receipt of rent allowance and the covid payment. Did the government put in laws that the landlord couldn’t terminate leases during covid when people were on rent allowance or did I dream that?

ted1

Slick666 wrote: »

He gave us 6 months notice which is fair I suppose. We moved out on the 12th Feb and we got our notice mid December. Also just to note 2 of us were not working and were in receipt of rent allowance and the covid payment. Did the government put in laws that the landlord couldn’t terminate leases during covid when people were on rent allowance or did I dream that?

It’s not about fairness, 180 it is the legally required period.
There is also a ban on evictions. Best to talk to the RTB

Slick666

ted1 wrote: »

It’s not about fairness, 180 it is the legally required period.
There is also a ban on evictions. Best to talk to the RTB

A ban on evictions or termination of leases? Ya il talk to the RTB

Just another thing, we were trying to think what he had to remove from the house that was ours and the only thing we could think of was a couch. We asked him to replace the old one as it was sagging and broke and gave me back pain which I had to go to the doctor for. He refused anyways so we bought a second hand one online. We put his old one in the garage and left the one we bought in the living room when moving out. So we are presuming he will need to get rid of the one we bought which he will prob charge us for getting rid of it. There was also a couple of bags of food in the freezer and some tubberware in the press, and very small other bits and pieces such as shopping bags etc. It would hardly cost him €2,000 to get rid of those!!!

Baby01032012

He’s chancing his arm. He has no basis for withholding your deposit. Just chancing taking your depsit for himself. Advise agency you will be taking case to rtb that might make them move...maybe advise them you are reporting them to the psra as well.

bellylint

Dont most agencies hold the deposit?

Baby01032012

bellylint wrote: »

Dont most agencies hold the deposit?

No they don’t. They pay deposit and first months rent if that’s what they received less their letting fee to the landlord.

Slick666

Baby01032012 wrote: »

No they don’t. They pay deposit and first months rent if that’s what they received less their letting fee to the landlord.

Ya we have told agency we are reporting him etc but they are still stalling. It beggars belief. We gave him until yesterday to put our deposit in my bank account ( he didn’t ) and Tuesday for our report ( which we prob won’t get either ). So we said we are then going to PRTB after Tuesday.

In the last 10 years ( girls lived there before me for about 4 years ) he only bought 1 bed and 1 mattress and fixed the boiler, then in the last 2 months bought the washer and dryer for himself. I remember asking the girl that I wanted a new bed and she wouldn’t let me ask the landlord in case we rocked the boat, like wtf!! She seemed afraid of him for some reason. The bed was broken! When I became head tenant then we asked for a new bed and got one from bargain basement lol, prob cost €100!!! Plus anything broken we reported to the agency straightaway. There’s nothing in that house broken that isn’t reported and anything broken is by wear and tear ( damp rotten curtain pole, plug hole in en suite broken, heating broken as boiler is broken ).

We looked after the garden ourselves and before we moved out we got a gardener to fix it up ( it cost us €500, it said in the lease we had to do the garden ourselves thought.) So we did everything we had to do correctly etc and now it’s just such a kick in the face that he’s refusing the deposits back ya know. It’s not even about the money now, it’s the principle!!!

jimmycrackcorm

I hope you took videos and photos before you left in case he claims something is broken or otherwise damaged and you'll need proof

1874

Slick666 wrote: »

Ya true, that’s the best thing to do. Such a hassle but what can you do.

If all communication is through the Agent, how do you know the landlord is the one withholding the deposit?
In fact, how do you anything that has occurred is down to the landlord?

If all your dealings are with the agent/agency your problems might be there,
plus, I was under the impression if taking an RTB case, that you took it against the agent if dealing with them.
Who did you pay the initial rent or deposit to? and what is the agent saying or are they avoiding answering?
Contact the RTB and see what their opinion is on it, I think the agent is the problem here, and I think they are the first point of call in regards to enquiries and complaints.
Even if they aren't at fault,think they are the first point of contact for complaints (as unfortunate as it is for them if they arent the problem, they should know better and handle the situation).
I'd make noise in a written record (email) to the agent that you are going to take an RTB case against them (following getting an opinion from the RTB), you might find the problem has evaporated, the landlord may never even have heard of this or any previous problems.

Baby01032012

Above post - agent acts on behalf of the landlord. Case is against landlord with agent named as agent. Rtb registration will show landlord and will show agent if there is an agent. Don’t understand point of your post.

1874

OP see whatvthe RTB says, if the landlord has no communication from the agent (who it sounds deals with all communications and collection of rent?) then I believe they are in many cases the first and only point of contact, did the agents even give you the landlords details or are they on the lease?

Id even say you could send the agent an email in advance that you are making enquiries with the rtb regarding witholding of the deposit, or you could play your cards closer, ask them what the deductions are for and why? under the current circumstances, has anyone even been to inspect the property? and if not how can they even know? or do they have details of what the prior condition was like, there are good landlords out there, I used to be one, Im sure there are some.good agents, but have heaed and came across questionabke practices. Bad landlords and agents need to be rooted out and need to be taken to task.

1. The above poster is an estate agent, or has said so in the past. Do do your own due diligence, ask the RTB over the phone yourself, at the same time, ask the agent what the deductions are for specifically, as it would suggest an inspection has already been carried out, if not then what are the grounds for retaining deposit?
As a former landlord, Id never have suggested not agreeing to an inspection, but in this instance if they havent dine one, Id hold off until they answer your questions.

if you are gone already, you might be dealing with the landlord, agent or both in a follow up rtb case.

Dav010

1874 wrote: »

If all communication is through the Agent, how do you know the landlord is the one withholding the deposit?
In fact, how do you anything that has occurred is down to the landlord?

If all your dealings are with the agent/agency your problems might be there,
plus, I was under the impression if taking an RTB case, that you took it against the agent if dealing with them.
Who did you pay the initial rent or deposit to? and what is the agent saying or are they avoiding answering?
Contact the RTB and see what their opinion is on it, I think the agent is the problem here, and I think they are the first point of call in regards to enquiries and complaints.
Even if they aren't at fault,think they are the first point of contact for complaints (as unfortunate as it is for them if they arent the problem, they should know better and handle the situation).
I'd make noise in a written record (email) to the agent that you are going to take an RTB case against them (following getting an opinion from the RTB), you might find the problem has evaporated, the landlord may never even have heard of this or any previous problems.

Would your dispute not be with the property owner, seen as he/she/they are the LL, not the EA?

maestroamado

Slick666 wrote: »

I’ve lived in a shared house for about 6 years and recently we got notice as the landlord wanted the house back. But he’s refusing to give back the deposit as he said we damaged the house and left stuff in it that he has to get rid of. We rented it through a letting agency and so we are getting all this info from the agency. The house is an old damp cold house and the landlord didn’t paint or do anything to upkeep it in the last 6 + years while I lived there, although we asked him to. There were inspections done by the agency and the only thing they mentioned every time was the mould on the walls which we kept cleaning but it kept coming back. Anything broken ( which is from wear and tear ) we reported to the agency. The curtain pole fell off because it’s damp and rotted. He is the meanest landlord I ever dealth with. In January he left us without heating and hot showers for 6 weeks because the boiler needed changing and he wouldn’t spend the money. In the end he gave us heaters to plug in which then in turn gave us a massive electricity bill. He did give us a new washing machine and dryer a couple of months ago which we thought was great but then the next month we got ou termination of lease so obviously the landlord knew he was kicking us out and the new stuff was for his own use! There’s a lot of crap like this we put up with for years and now he’s refusing our deposits back because of “damage” done by us. We are still waiting for the report with the damage and it’s over a month now we are still waiting. The latest was he said he can’t go to the house because of lockdown to give us the report as the guards turned him back the last time he tried to visit and we have to wait until April now. It’s ridiculous waiting this long!! We contacted RTB and they said to make a formal dispute which we will but has anything like this happened to anyone else before? Sorry for the long post and thanks.

I did not read the other posts so this may have already been said.
Write him/her a nice registered letter and advise him you will be happy to vacate the property when deposit refunded...
Not getting you out will make the problem the landlords and will have to get legal advise for you to leave...
I expect that should do it...

1874

OP, dont mind people coming on here trying to muddy the waters, basically do your own due diligence.
Contact the RTB, see what they say.
If the Agent is/was your primary point of contact or your only point of contact, ie they did not or refused (by omission or ignoring requests) to give you the landlords details, see what the RTB say, as otherwise how do you progress your complaint.
It sounds like they were collecting the rent?
Are they licenced?

If they refuse to provide the correct details, Id be taking them to the RTB/or at least report them to their professional body.

If they are not liable/responsible and have no hand in the problem, then they should have no issue with handing you the responsible persons details.
Was the property even registered? if not, no one can even turn up to defend a case.

A professional/legitimate agent would help a landlord ensure they have fulfilled all the legal requirements. Its up to the landlord to make sure everything is done, but if you are just getting fobbed off by the agent, then it's difficult for you to know what the full story is.
The agent or landlord may be stiffing you,
If you have not left, Id be reluctant to allow an inspection if all your questions havent been answered or if there was no initial proof that the condition had deteriorated or changed.
A good landlord or agent would have the sense to do that, because a tenant will be less likely to disprove claim by agent/landlord that they caused deterioration, it would be reasonable for the agent or landlord to have to prove that it was the case, by showing the starting condition, even then if numerous people had stayed at the property over time, then its laziness for the agent or landlord not to be fully involved and up to speed who is coming and going and what the condition is at each point in time and to keep accurate records and not just the start/end and then foist the blame.
That said it makes sense for anyone to take pictures of the starting condition, easy to do. I sued to take a picture of each room from different angles, each wall and major items in a room and I had no qualms doing this with the tenant and sending them copies, the tenant and I both knew what the starting condition was.

IF there wasnt an inspection before the refusal to return the deposit, then Id be questioning how the deduction was established or costed.
Id say its relevant if the agent was managing the property, (rather than just finding tenants for the landlord) which it sounds like they were, otherwise, the first and last you'd have heard of them was 6 years ago when you started renting the place.

beauf

You don't need a long winded sagas.

Talk to the RTB and open a case with them. For the deposits and illegal eviction.

There's nothing more to it than that.

slystallone

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/116574356#Comment_116574356

How did you get on in the finish. I am trying to contact Landlord also for an RTB dispute, but only landlords name is on contract, not a contact number so its hard to get things moving. Like you, the rental is through an agency who won't give us their phone number and are checking if they can give it to the RTB as are concerned over potential GDPR issue.

wench

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118894909#Comment_118894909

The agents are muppets. The Landlord is legally obliged to give you their contact details, even if they're using an agency.

https://www.rtb.ie/beginning-a-tenancy/moving-in

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118895336#Comment_118895336

Did you read the link you posted?

Contact details

The landlord should provide the tenant with their contact details or the contact details of any agent working on their behalf.

wench

I did

If dealing with an agent, a tenant is entitled to the full name and contact details of the landlord(s) under the Housing Rent Book Regulations Act 1993.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118895615#Comment_118895615

Your first link was the RTB site relating to a tenancy agreement, the second relates only to the rent book. Do tenants get rent books these days with digital payments? I thought they were more associated with recording payments handed to LLs, but I do see that they are supposed to be a legal requirement so you are technically correct. But I would still go by the RTB site, as they are the ones who would be deliberating on any dispute.