Can we break a rental lease because there's a homeless camp outside?

JackieChang

We just moved into a new place.

When we were viewing the place some random lad came out of the bush across the road. I asked the landlord about the random bush person and they said they didn't know.

Seemed a bit dodgy but he literally could have been anyone. Some neighbor or whatever putting compost deep into the bush. I ignored it.

Anyway we ( missus and I ) accepted the house, and last night was our first night here.

This morning the bush lad knocked on my door and asked me for my eircode. I didnt give it to him.

20 mins after that there were 5 people literally falling around the place outside the house by the bushes and fighting each other.

They were the old alco type. No teeth and sunken jaws. The type you'd see screaming at each other broad daylight on a busy street. One of them tried to start a fight with some Polish lad tending to his car.

9.30am, with cans in their hands.

I'm a big fan of day cans but they couldn't even stand up at 9.30am on Monday. Like they were falling straight onto the ground.

It seems I moved into a homeless drunken encampment. I also saw one of them drag an inflatable mattress out of the bush.

My question is:

Could I completely cancel my tenancy right now and get my deposit back?

Peregrinus

Because you've discovered you don't like the neighbourhood? No.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058302566/can-we-break-a-rental-lease-because-theres-a-homeless-camp-outside

I assume that this is in a pat of the country where homelessness is a known issue. Might be hard to make a case that this was not as per offered.

Peregrinus

I don't think it matters whether there's a high or low level of homelessness in the area. The landlord's obligation is to afford the tenant quiet possession of the premises. The landlord has no more control over what goes on in the neighbourhood around the premises than the tenant does, and is not responsible for it. Prospective tenants generally inspect a premises before renting it, and do their research. Part of that process involves making a decision about whether the neighbourhood is a neighbourhood in which they wish to live.

[It might be different if the landlord made some express representation about the neighbourhood to induce the tenant to enter into the letting that turned out to be false. ("The roads and services are in charge of the local authority! There's an excellent school five minutes' walk away! A fast bus to the centre of town passes the end of the road every ten minutes!") That might give some grounds for seeking a remedy including, if the misrepresentation was fundamental enough, termination of the lease. But there's nothing like that here.]

ghostfacekilla

Turn them into your own private army.

Legally I don't know. But morally, I'd imagine it's the landlord's responsibility more than a tenant's to not buy property there than it is to not rent it. They're keeping the prices in the area artificially higher by buying and tricking people into renting it for that money.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120771019#Comment_120771019

We don't know when the landlord acquired the property, or whether there was a homeless camp there at the time.

RichardAnd

I very much doubt that you can do anything at all unless the homeless person in question is living on the premises. The landlord can't control what happens in the surrounding area. Homelessness is not something that will in improve in the years to come, unfortunately.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120771019#Comment_120771019

I suspect this was posted firmly with tongue in cheek, it would be challenging to find relatively affordable property in parts of Dublin which doesn’t have some social/homeless problem.

Unfortunately op the property owner can’t control, nor is responsible for the actions of others outside the boundary of their property, so you may have to take a hit if you leave the rental early.

MacDanger

If you really want to leave, offer to the LL that you reassign the tenancy i.e. you get someone to take over your tenancy agreement (Subletting and Assignment | Residential Tenancies Board (rtb.ie)).

If the LL refuses, you can break the lease: Tenants ending a fixed term tenancy | Residential Tenancies Board (rtb.ie)

It's very hard to find a place though so maybe give it a while and see

Mrs OBumble

Get on to a local Councillor about having the area beautified.

herbalplants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058302566/can-we-break-a-rental-lease-because-theres-a-homeless-camp-outside

I would get out if I was you even at a cost to you. This is not how you want to live. Still ask for your deposit back. Tell landlord your wife doesn't feel safe.

CreadanLady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120772636#Comment_120772636

And what is that? Beautified? And how is that going to remove the scum?

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120774089#Comment_120774089

Giving the bushes a serious haircut will likely encourage the current inhabitants to look for a new more secluded place to hang out.

Ozvaldo

Didnt check the area before you jumped the boat -ridiculous

DownByTheGarden

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120786840#Comment_120786840

I never check for people living in the bushes where i intend to move to be fair. They would be hard to spot unless you are there when they come out of the bushes.

Though Malahide beach is starting to look like Venice beach now.

herbalplants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120787663#Comment_120787663

Omg yes shocking but Malahide beach totally looks a bit like Venice beach, can't get over the amount of tents.

L1011

Are you not too busy breaking up with your missus as per this morning?

Don't create any further threads here until you've learned not to troll.