Head-tenant won't return deposit

Magic Monkey

My gf is sharing a twin bedroom in a 3 bed apartment. When she moved in she signed the lease for 12 months, and it was verbally agreed upon with the head-tenant and the landlady from the beginning that she was only staying for 6 months. The 6 months is up at the end of this month, and she's going to leave the country to return home. She reminded the head tenant (who has the other bedroom) before christmas about her departure, and to renew the ad for the room. But the head-tenant says she won't refund her deposit until the gf finds a tenant to fill her place.

Is this reasonable grounds to refuse return of the deposit? Is the existing tenant obliged to find a replacement for themselves, and the deposit put up as forefit? Should she find a tenant by the end of the month, well and good, but should she not, how reasonably is it to assume she'll get her deposit back seeing as she'll be out of the country?

Because the weird thing about it is, when she moved in, she paid the deposit to the girl that moved out, as that girl had already paid it to the previous tenant, and so on and so on - it started this way as one guy was originally renting the twin room for himself; he paid the landlady the deposit directly, but when he moved out he didn't take the deposit back from the landlady, instead he got it off 2 girls that moved in to replace him. But when the girl my gf is sharing her room with now moved in initially, the girl she replaced had left and hadn't got her deposit back. The head-tenant initially said it was because she didn't give one month's notice, but then changed her reason and now claims it was because she couldn't find someone to replace herself. So even when my gf's current room-mate moved in, the head-tenant kept her the previous girl's deposit. Is there any way I can prevent this happening with my gf should it come to this, even pursuing the matter myself once she's left the country?

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated!

MysticalSoul

As she signed the Lease for 12 months, she can say goodbye to her deposit I'm afraid. Even if it was agreed that she would only be staying 6 months verbally, it is what is on the Lease that counts in the eyes of the law.

Victor

Magic Monkey wrote: »

When she moved in she signed the lease for 12 months, and it was verbally agreed upon with the head-tenant and the landlady from the beginning that she was only staying for 6 months.

If she was only going to stay 6 months, she shouldn't have signed a 12-month lease.

It is for her to find / nominate a replacement acceptable to the landlord / other residents for the balance of the 12 months.

matrim

From my experience that's a fairly typical scenario in house shares.

You rent the room, then when you are ready to move out you get someone else in. They pay you the deposit and if they move in during the month, any rent you're owed for the time you're not there and they are.

I've only had a problem with that once, and that's where the other guy in the house didn't like anyone that viewed the place. But we eventually ended with a solution that he continued looking for a person and he paid me the deposit back himself and then got it back from the new guy.

It's not that hard to put an add on daft and hold a some viewings. Once the other guy sees that you're making the effort he should hopefully be ok with coming to some agreement if there are any issues getting someone in.

Magic Monkey

Ok, thanks for the advice