Can you end lease, after buying a house?

FionnK86

Morning folks,

Can you end lease, after buying a house?

Context:

1. I moved into my rented accommodation in August 2021 with girlfriend.
2. We signed a 1 year lease and are happy with place.
3. It's looking increasingly likely that we'll be trying to get house around August but probably will not sync. with lease renewal.
4. I think our landlord is happy with us, but if we indicated that we were looking for a house they might start finding issues.
5. If we found a place, I'm guessing it would take at least a month or two to sort paperwork.
6. Would we be 'on the hook' for the remainder of years rent?
7. I appreciate its an inconvenience for the landlord but am I correct that if I give 42 days notice, I'm free to leave?
8. This seems to suggest so https://www.threshold.ie/advice/ending-a-tenancy/ending-your-tenancy/

dennyk

You are under no obligation to sign a new fixed term lease when your current one ends. You've been in the property for over six months, so you have security of tenure under Part 4 of the Residential Tenancies Act and your landlord can only terminate your tenancy for a few specific reasons (and declining to sign a new fixed term lease isn't one of them). Just notify your landlord in writing at least 30 days before your current fixed term ends that you intend to remain in the property. Once your fixed term lease is over, you only need to give the statutory notice to end your tenancy; most likely this will be 42 days if you manage to find and actually close on a house within the next year and change.

If we found a place, I'm guessing it would take at least a month or two to sort paperwork

That would be astonishingly quick. Plan for several months to a year, to be on the safe side. Nothing happens quickly when it comes to buying property.

tvjunki

Have you mortgage approved in principle? This can take from a few weeks up to 6 months in some cases. Then once you find a property and sale agreed this can take from 6 weeks to a few months depending on who owns the house and their situation. They could be in a chain.

Let the landlord know you are looking for a house. You do not need to sign another lease. Put everything in writing. You can do a month to month rental but you need to let your landlord know and hope they are happy with this. Then you have to give the correct or more notice as on Rtbs website.

Pomodoro

Regarding how long it will take to close, see https://www.odowd.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Conveyancing-Guide-2017.pdf

So on average 8-10 weeks if things go well. it can take much longer if there are any issues with title, surveying issues, delays in the seller chain, issues with your life insurance/mortgage protection insurance, awkward vendors, awkward solicitors etc. Unfortunately, until you have the keys in your hand, the deal can fall through, so there is some risk there if you hand in notice in advance of getting the keys. As others have said anyway, your rights as a tenant are pretty good, you just need to give the minimum notice when you choose and that's it.

FionnK86

Thanks folks.

Fian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119129932#Comment_119129932

You have no obligation to inform your landlord that you are looking for a house. Just indicate that you don't want to sign a new lease and are content to continue with your part IV tenancy if they look for you to sign one.

Landlord will not have any difficulty replacing you when you leave in this market.

tvjunki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119136827#Comment_119136827

Op does do not have too mention it but it would be nice to keep the landlord informed as some landlords will understand there may be a delay in the purchase. Nice to give a heads up. May help you in the long run. The landlord may use this as a chance to get out of the market themselves.