Landlord keeping deposit

pew · 24-05-2019 7:57am #1

Hi,

I'm moving out of my rented room in a shared house. I've informed my landlord. However now he is telling me I'm breaking my contract by leaving before August.

I fear he will keep the deposit, it wouldn't be the first time he did something like this. He has had numerous of tenants bring him to court over this.

Is there anything I can do?

RossieMan · 24-05-2019 8:01am

Did you sign a lease? Was it for a fixed term? Does he live there? Does your lease have a break clause?

ted1 · 24-05-2019 8:12am

pew wrote: »

Hi,

I'm moving out of my rented room in a shared house. I've informed my landlord. However now he is telling me I'm breaking my contract by leaving before August.

I fear he will keep the deposit, it wouldn't be the first time he did something like this. He has had numerous of tenants bring him to court over this.

Is there anything I can do?

Yes, you could honour your legal contract or reassign the lease by finding another tenant to replace you.

In this case you are in the wrong not the landlord

pew · 24-05-2019 8:21am

RossieMan wrote: »

Did you sign a lease? Was it for a fixed term? Does he live there? Does your lease have a break clause?

Yes I did. The lease says to give 4 weeks notice. It's for a year that is renewed each year. He doesn't live there.

pew · 24-05-2019 8:22am

ted1 wrote: »

Yes, you could honour your legal contract or reassign the lease by finding another tenant to replace you.

In this case you are in the wrong not the landlord

In the lease it says I'm not allowed to reassign or sublet the room to anyone.

amcalester · 24-05-2019 8:22am

pew wrote: »

Yes I did. The lease says to give 4 weeks notice. It's for a year that is renewed each year. He doesn't live there.

When was it last renewed and does it say notice can be given at any time?

Have you given 4 weeks notice?

RossieMan · 24-05-2019 8:23am

pew wrote:

Yes I did. The lease says to give 4 weeks notice. It's for a year that is renewed each year. He doesn't live there.

Is it 4 weeks notice after the expiry of the lease? I think you're out of luck here. You can ask to reassign the lease, bit the landlord will most likely make this very awkward.

pew · 24-05-2019 8:23am

amcalester wrote: »

When was it last renewed and does it say notice can be given at any time?

Have you given 4 weeks notice?

It just says to give 4 weeks, that's all it says.

Yes I have given 4 weeks.

Dav010 · 24-05-2019 8:24am

pew wrote: »

Yes I did. The lease says to give 4 weeks notice. It's for a year that is renewed each year. He doesn't live there.

If you are in a fixed term lease, you are responsible for the rent up until the end of the lease term, unless you assign the lease (get someone to take your place). The four weeks notice comes at the end of the fixed term, not 4 months before.

If you assign the lease and the landlord refuses the assignment, then you get to leave the fixed term early.

pew · 24-05-2019 8:26am

RossieMan wrote: »

Is it 4 weeks notice after the expiry of the lease? I think you're out of luck here. You can ask to reassign the lease, bit the landlord will most likely make this very awkward.

I think he is going to make this awkward. Which is a shame because we've had a really good relationship.

Well thanks for the info everyone, much appreciated

TheChizler · 24-05-2019 8:27am

pew wrote: »

Yes I did. The lease says to give 4 weeks notice. It's for a year that is renewed each year. He doesn't live there.

When did you last start a new lease and when was it due to expire? How many months did the deposit cover? He can only take a much of the deposit to cover the time the place is unoccupied and costs incurred and he has a duty to mitigate these. If your are breaking the lease early he should have no problem finding someone to move in before the end of the term, unless you're really close to the end.

Dav010 · 24-05-2019 8:29am

pew wrote: »

I think he is going to make this awkward. Which is a shame because we've had a really good relationship.

Well thanks for the info everyone, much appreciated

He is not making things awkward if he is abiding by the RTA. Fixed term leases are a double edged sword, they protect you from having your tenancy terminated during the term of the lease, but you must abide by the term of the tenancy.

RossieMan · 24-05-2019 8:59am

Dav010 wrote:

He is not making things awkward if he is abiding by the RTA. Fixed term leases are a double edged sword, they protect you from having your tenancy terminated during the term of the lease, but you must abide by the term of the tenancy.

He is if he doesn't allow reassignment.

Things can change in a person's life, if the OP can get a suitable person what difference will it make?

Gumbo · 24-05-2019 9:00am

pew wrote: »

I think he is going to make this awkward.

By making you abide by the lease that you signed up to?
Seriously, if this was a LL breaching the lease, you'd be down their neck too.

Dav010 · 24-05-2019 9:01am

RossieMan wrote: »

He is if he doesn't allow reassignment.

Things can change in a person's life, if the OP can get a suitable person what difference will it make?

To exit a fixed term early, op still has to assign, he/she might know in advance that it will be rejected. A bit of lateral thinking should make the solution obvious.

RossieMan · 24-05-2019 9:02am

Dav010 wrote:

To exit a fixed term early, op still has to assign, he/she might know in advance that it will be rejected. A bit of lateral thinking should make the solution obvious.

It states in the lease that they cannot reassign the lease. Not sure what you want the OP to do in this regard.

amcalester · 24-05-2019 9:21am

RossieMan wrote: »

It states in the lease that they cannot reassign the lease. Not sure what you want the OP to do in this regard.

Pretty sure the RTA allows assigning a lease so this clause is unenforceable.

OP should go through the process of finding a replacement, present everything to the landlord and if refused the RTB will award him his deposit back.

Dav010 · 24-05-2019 9:29am

RossieMan wrote: »

It states in the lease that they cannot reassign the lease. Not sure what you want the OP to do in this regard.

What the RTB requires, either pay the fixed term, or assign the lease. Again, if the op knows the LL will not allow assignment, it should be easy to work out what needs to be done to satisfy the RTB and get deposit back.

wirelessdude01 · 24-05-2019 10:18am

Guessing this is another student who signed a 12minth contract but wants to break it at the end of the college year.

JJJackal · 24-05-2019 10:48am

pew wrote: »

I think he is going to make this awkward. Which is a shame because we've had a really good relationship.

Well thanks for the info everyone, much appreciated

I am not convinced the landlord is being awkward. He has to find a new tenant now

voluntary · 24-05-2019 10:53am

Never heard about 'fixed term' contracts while sharing a house. It's usually 2-4 weeks notice to be fair, people sharing homes often don't go well with each other, can't force them to live together no matter what! The landlord here is unreasonable in me mind.

JJJackal · 24-05-2019 10:54am

voluntary wrote: »

Never heard about 'fixed term' contracts while sharing a house. It's usually 2-4 weeks notice to be fair, people sharing homes often don't go well with each other, can't force them to live together no matter what! The landlord here is unreasonable in me mind.

But if its not illegal ( I dont know the law in this area so I have no idea) is he unreasonable?

voluntary · 24-05-2019 10:58am

JJJackal wrote: »

But if its not illegal ( I dont know the law in this area so I have no idea) is he unreasonable?

A common sense and customs. I lived in shared accomodation for years. It's not like renting the whole apartment or a house. If someone wants to leave, it's fair to expect him to give some notice in order to find new tenants, but it's not fair to expect him to stay on fixed term.

Don't forget we're talking about shared accomodation.

JJJackal · 24-05-2019 11:01am

voluntary wrote: »

A common sense and customs. I lived in shared accomodation for years. It's not like renting the whole apartment or a house. If someone wants to leave, it's fair to expect him to give some notice in order to find new tenants, but it's not fair to expect him to stay on fixed term.

Don't forget we're talking about shared accomodation.

I know the landlords stance is frustrating and most landlords would not adopt this position. And arguably it could be easier to get the departing tenant to find a new tenant.

However, common sense would also involve fulfilling the terms of your contract. Plus contract trumps common sense and customs

voluntary · 24-05-2019 11:17am

Even threshold advices that when shared accomodation do not work out the best solution is to terminate the contract. It's a common sense and normal practice. Fixed term shared accomodation contract is simply unreasonable. There are ways to deal with such landlords, but I'm not going to write anything else. I was banned for stupid things like that before.

https://www.threshold.ie/advice/seeking-private-rented-accommodation/sharing-with-your-landlordrenting-from-a-tenant/

Shared situations do not always work out and if this is the case it may be best to terminate the tenancy and find more suitable alternative accommodation.

[Deleted User] · 24-05-2019 11:21am

RossieMan wrote: »

He is if he doesn't allow reassignment.

Things can change in a person's life, if the OP can get a suitable person what difference will it make?

It’s idiotic that a tenant can end a fixed term lease yet a LL can’t, maybe his life changes and he wants the tenant out?

A fixed term lease should bind a tenant for the term, no way around it, no assignment etc. it’s one of the many many rules totally skewed in tenants favour.

That being said s LL is foolish to have s fixed term contract in place even from day one as all it does is give a tenant more rights and does nothing for the LL.

Samuel T. Cogley · 24-05-2019 11:28am

He can't just keep the deposit. He needs to mitigate his loss and keep only the damage suffered. If the OP will facilitate viewings this should be minimal.

Dav010 · 24-05-2019 11:46am

voluntary wrote: »

A common sense and customs. I lived in shared accomodation for years. It's not like renting the whole apartment or a house. If someone wants to leave, it's fair to expect him to give some notice in order to find new tenants, but it's not fair to expect him to stay on fixed term.

Don't forget we're talking about shared accomodation.

The RTA is there to protect both tenants and landlords in cases like this. Some LL might argue that it would be common sense and reasonable to remove a tenant during a fixed term, but the RTA says it isn’t. You can’t rely on the RTA to help you, then ignore it when it suits.

Dav010 · 24-05-2019 11:47am

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

He can't just keep the deposit. He needs to mitigate his loss and keep only the damage suffered. If the OP will facilitate viewings this should be minimal.

Depends on the amount of deposit, if it is one month, then by the time you advertise and interview applicants, most of that will be gone.

RossieMan · 24-05-2019 11:49am

Are you a landlord dav? Your posts seem very bias towards the landlord point of view.

kirving · 24-05-2019 11:56am

Dillon Zealous U-turn wrote: »

It’s idiotic that a tenant can end a fixed term lease yet a LL can’t, maybe his life changes and he wants the tenant out?

Laws are generally designed to protect the more vulnerable. If the tenant ends the lease early, the LL can keep the deposit, meaning that they should have enough time to find a new tenant and not be out of pocket.

If the LL ends the lease early, someone could end up homeless.

Dillon Zealous U-turn wrote: »

fixed term lease should bind a tenant for the term, no way around it, no assignment etc. it’s one of the many many rules totally skewed in tenants favour.

What's your argument against assignment? That's like saying your shouldn't be allowed to sell your car until you've completed your PCP term. That is obviously nonsensical. You give the car back, pay the gap between finance/actual (in other words the tenants deposit) and everyone moves on.

Landlord keeping deposit

Comments