Advice on deposit and RTB

MPFGLB

I own a house in Ireland but live abroad

My mother rented the house out and after expenses and taxes kept the profit..this was agreed by both of us as I didn't want the hazzle of renting and would have the house one day if I returned to Ireland.

From mid 2016 to end of 2023 she rented to one person. She was registered with RTB for this tenancy

However she gave the guy a very good deal of almost half the market value

The rent was not put up in the 7.5 years he lived at the property

. The guy gave her a full months deposit which is on the RTB board registration. However she kept no other documentation , no lease agreement , no receipts of the deposit only the RTB registration exists

Queue the problem

He left the property at the end of Dec 2023 and she has not returned his deposit . He is calling me threathening me with RTB unless his deposit is returned. I have urged my mother to just give it to him and have done with him

But part of her agreement with him was he got the house for very low rent if he maintained the property and left it as he got it. She also asked him to forward mail from the property as she lives 40 miles away. This was verbally agreed

She verbally agreed with him that he was the sole occupant and no pets were allowed but during the tenacy he initally sublet one room for about 6 months to some man, he then moved his girfriend in about 4 years ago. He also kept a dog. My mother also provided him with a new garden shed to work in that cost about 1000 euros, new applicance when he requested, etc. She very rarely visited the property but she trusted him to keep to their agreement. He didn't forward important mail as agreed . She had a frienddship type realtionship with him. I told her numerous times that she needed to enforce agreements, keep documentation and raise the rent but she didnt. (The housee is now in a RCZ but the rent is so low it is almost not worth renting it and I can only put it up 2%)

Anyway I have taken over now from afar and when I assess the house it looks like he didnt keep it well. he didnt for instance open the windows ever in the bedrooms and they rusted shut and there was mould on the walls which I got treated . He left behind rotting wood blockes in the yard that i had to pay to have removed. He left behind an old TV that I have to get rid of also ( I live abroad). He didnt give any real notice about moving out. He said he was going in a short time but stayed longer. He even took his final electric meter reading about 3 weeks before he left…I knew nothing of all of this until after the fact as I wasnt involved

I dont want to be in a dispute with him and if up to me would give him the deposit …But I dont have his deposit and I am not paying out of my pocket. I am caught in the middle

Anyway I want some advice on what we could legitmally keep back on the deposit. My mother is taking it all personally and feels taken advantage of as she gave him such a good deal and now feels like a fool. If she could keep back some of the deposit she might feel less of a fool ? I have had only phone interaction with him and I agree that he did not hold up his side of the bargain as she says they agreed

But we are where we are and my name is on the RTB tenancy as I am the owner and I need a solution

What will the RTB say I wonder ? Could we take money off the deposit for the issues I highlighted above ? What can we prove without written documentation. How strong is his case for a full return of his deposit with RTB ?

How's about his girlfreind living there and the dog ? As there is no lease what about this issue ? Is it too late to present these issues to RTB if he reports us to them? My mother didnt take any action at the time they first came to her attention

I suggest my mother keep back maybe 200 euros and have done with him but he wants the whole amount back

Any advice to solve the issue asap or any information on an experience like this would be gratefully received ..thanks

dennyk

You can retain the amount of the deposit that is necessary to pay for the cost of damages that your tenant caused beyond ordinary wear and tear. You could retain the cost of disposing of the wood and the TV and that would probably be upheld. The windows and mould are a bit more iffy; mould and damp is usually on the landlord to remedy unless the tenant actively did something to cause it (e.g. blocking up existing vents, drying clothes on a rack indoors without a dehumidifier, causing a flood by overflowing the bathtub or sink or whatnot and failing to notify the landlord or properly remedy the situation themselves, etc) and you have proof of that. The fact that the bedroom lacks adequate ventilation and has either damp or water ingress severe enough to cause rust on the windows and mould on the walls is really the fault of the property owner, and retaining a deposit to cover the cost of remedying those might not be upheld.

Retaining part of the deposit to cover the rent due during the statutory notice period if he failed to give the required notice to end the tenancy would be permissible, assuming you were unable to find a new tenant during what would have been his notice period.

As for the tenant taking in a licensee, moving in their partner, and having a pet, if there was no written tenancy agreement prohibiting those things, you have no recourse whatsoever. It doesn't sound like any of those things caused any harm to your property in any case.

In the end, you really have to decide whether the cost of the things you could retain part of his deposit for is really worth the hassle if he does decide to go to the RTB. Effectively paying the guy a few hundred euro to just go away quietly might be an easier solution in the end.

ted1

you can with hold what you have receipts for providing they are outside normal wear and tear.

spaceHopper

You can put the rent up 14% or 2% per year. You can keep any reasonable expense from the deposit once you have receipts. So if you paid a cleaner, you can deduct it, if you cleaned it yourself you can't.

Stop stressing about it, worst case the RTB tell you to give him back his deposit, how are you worse off.

I'd tell them you incurred x costs and show receipts , like unpaid electracy x. Cost of removal of rubbish, damage caused by dog, unpaid rent x. He's a total chancer and will probably drop it. I'd block his number and forget about them.

He's gone so time to sell up.