He refuses to give back deposit. HELP!!!

Plug

Hello all, there was 5 of us in a house, we all gave him a deposit of €300 each, last week we gave him a few days notice and moved out. Now he says we have to give him 4 weeks notice. So he said he's keeping our deposits, can he do this?
Please help as this is really pissing us off bug time:mad:
Cheers.

Sleipnir

Well yeah, you broke the lease, didn't give him enough notice so he's out of pocket.
I would have thought so anyway.

Plug

Is he intitled by law?

MagicMarker

Did you sign a lease?

Generally you give a months notice if you want to move out. He probably depends on your rent, it's pretty shít to only give him a few days notice.

How would you like it if your employer gave you a few days notice and then fúcked off?

m@cc@

Check your lease contract (please tell me you signed a lease!)

Plug

didn't sign anything.
There were series reasons why we left it in a hurry anyway like the condition of it and gas leakage problems.
5 people in a 3 bedroomed house..

forbairt

from www.threshold.ie

Duration of Tenancy Notice by Landlord

* Less than 6 months 28 days
* 6 or more months but less than 1 year 35 days
* 1 year or more but less than 2 years 42 days
* 2 years or more but less than 3 years 56 days
* 3 years or more but less than 4 years 84 days
* 4 or more years 112 days

Tenants must supply the landlord with the equivalent period of notice when they wish to leave the tenacy except after 2 years the tenant has to serve 56 days notice of termination and this period does not increase until the end of the tenancy.


From the sounds of it you gave absolutely no notice to the landlord. They are therefore going to be out of pocket. If you had a lease signed for a year and it was at the end of that time then you'd be entitled to your deposit back without notice as its the landlords responsibility to check if you want to stay on.

Sorry to say it but I'd say you won't be getting anything back.

forbairt

Plug wrote: »

didn't sign anything.
There were series reasons why we left it in a hurry anyway like the condition of it and gas leakage problems.
5 people in a 3 bedroomed house..

Did you notify the landlord of these problems ? Did he attempt to get them fixed ?

Plug

yeah so all he did was lower the rent slightly. I will get this back.

MagicMarker

Plug wrote: »

yeah so all he did was lower the rent slightly. I will get this back.

Err, no you won't.

Plug

Err, oh yes I will;)

MagicMarker

Plug wrote: »

Err, oh yes I will;)

I see, and how will you do that?

Plug

No comment.

m@cc@

Plug wrote: »

yeah so all he did was lower the rent slightly. I will get this back.

Then you should have contacted the council. Bailing out with a few days notice is the last thing you should have done. Next time you move into a property, get a contact. Did you get a receipt for the deposit? Did you take photos of the property before you left?

forbairt

Contact Threshold.ie

only a few days notice is fairly shi**y tbh (I rent so I'm saying this from tenants point of view)

He's probably out a months rent
1: has to place an advert ...
2: Has to probably have cleaners in
3: has to have people come view it as its a house and given current climate he's kinda well within his rights to keep your deposit. Its going to take him a week or two or three to find people if not more.

But as I said contact threshold and see what they have to say about it. After all we're only going to be giving "personal" advice for the most part on here.
And if there is an actual gas leak ? that he's failed to fix that sounds rather dangerous

KadMunky

ah yes, a pissing contest. That will really resolve things between you and yer landlord. As I understand it you left because of problems in the house and gas leakage. You did notify the landlord (in writing?), and his response was to slightly lower the rent. Did you agree to lower the rent in lieu? also you didn't sign a lease? Landlords are there to make money, in these times they prob have to pay off a second mortgage so it can be very annoying when people just up and go. Its stressful being a landlord-believe it or not. You have to worry constantly about the house, the condition its kept in, tenants and neighbours. Being stubborn and argumentive just reinforces the landlords idea that you are more work than you are worth. When you left the house with only a few days notice, was it necessary to leave so suddenly? If not then how did you expect to get yer deposit back?
I genuinely feel sorry for you and yer predicament but ya kind of brought it on on yerself. Sorry

Plug

Is it illegal what he's doing, he has a gas boiler in one of the lads room. Also he has turned the sitting room and living room into bedrooms.

m@cc@

Plug wrote: »

Is it illegal what he's doing, he has a gas boiler in one of the lads room. Also he has turned the sitting room and living room into bedrooms.

Was this done after you moved in and signed a contract?

Plug

when i moved in there was 5 lads there and a boiler in one of the lads room, thats only bollox acting, i wouldn't mind but it was a sh!t house.

m@cc@

Plug wrote: »

when i moved in there was 5 lads there and a boiler in one of the lads room, thats only bollox acting, i wouldn't mind but it was a sh!t house.

Then you knew the conditions when you moved in. You can't just up and leave and expect to get a deposit back.

KadMunky

m@cc@ wrote: »

Then you knew the conditions when you moved in. You can't just up and leave and expect to get a deposit back.

Exactly. Also what he has done might be illegal, but nearly all landlords turn the living room into a bedroom. Having a gas boiler in habitable room/bedroom is illegal, and is a matter for the council.

MagicMarker

Plug wrote: »

when i moved in there was 5 lads there and a boiler in one of the lads room, thats only bollox acting, i wouldn't mind but it was a sh!t house.

Why did you move in then?

Seriously, some common sense is needed, not moving into houses you're not happy with is a good start.

Plug

so we could take drugs, drink and party without having to worry about the dirt and condition of house as it was also in a state before we got it!

The_Conductor

A deposit is in lieu of damage over and above normal wear and tear that might occur to a property.

Legally you have to give a prescribed amount of notice- irrespective of whether you have a lease or not. This is specified in the 2006 Residential Tenancies Act, and depends on how long you have been resident in the property.

Legally- a property must adhere to minimum environmental and safety standards. Failure to adhere to minimum standards can result in extreme cases to the property being condemned.

There are several things askew here. By rights a complaint should be lodged with the PRTB (and if appropriate with the Environmental Health Officer of the local council). By taking unilateral action and leaving the property- you are in the wrong. By refusing to refund your deposit the landlord is in the wrong. Two wrongs do not a right make however.

Its a mess- you were wholly in the right- up until you abondoned the property, without reasonable notice. I'd still lob in a complaint to the PRTB if I were you- and I'd advise getting the EHO involved.

S.

UnderpantsGnome

Plug wrote: »

so we could take drugs, drink and party without having to worry about the dirt and condition of house as it was also in a state before we got it!

Don't forget to let us know where you end up moving to. Good parties, I assume?

The_Conductor

On that note- thread closed.