Holding off paying deposit back

marinchik

Hi All,

I have a bit of situation and would like to hear some opinions on it.

I have recently moved from one studio to another. In the first one it was agreed that I will give her one month notice, but when I moved out I had only given 2 weeks notice but I did pay rent for the other 2 weeks. I have now cleaned spotless the appartent moved out and still haven't got my deposit back. The landlady told me that she will pay me the money only when month notice would expire (which is another 2 weeks) and she can't give it back to me now, she sort of said if she will be able to she will give it back to me earlier.
Is she is right and she can hold off paying me back or would she have to pay the deposit back to me now?

Any thoughts on that please, because to be honest I'm after paying her, then my new landlord the deposit and month rent ahead and I'm a bit broke right now.

Thanks

Atomic Pineapple

I'd presume she can hold off paying it back as technically your still renting the studio and can still use it anytime in them two weeks.

However thats not from an expert thats just what I would suspect.

folan

Im pretty sure this is right, as the lease isnt up, she could give you then money if she wanted, but technically she cant till the contract is over.

Cathmandooo

It's pretty standard to have an overlap where you're owed a deposit from your last lease and have to pay your new deposit and months rent.

Your lease doesn't expire for another 2 weeks and then your former landlady has a 'reasonable period' to check everything out before returning your deposit. You could easily be waiting 5 more weeks before getting it back, you're not entitled to demand it before then really.

Until a system comes in that a third party holds the deposit rather than the landlord then this will probably be always the way things will go.

marinchik

Thanks all,

Unfortunately we didn't sign any contract or lease. My angle is that since I paid the 2 weeks and give 2 weeks notice that make up a month, I don't leave there anymore she expected the place and happy with it, i just can't get the reason why holding it off? But she kinda sounded that she doesn't have money to pay me back tho.....

Cathmandooo

Maybe she's waiting for any unexpected bills to come in? She has to cover herself and is within her rights to do so.

marinchik

No because all the bills were inclusive in my rent, I just paid every month set amount for rent and bills and nothing else, so there will be no unexpected bills....

quozl

Maybe she just doesn't have the money right now? She was expecting to have to pay it in 2 weeks. That was the agreement.

If I were in her situation I'd give you the money if I had it, but I wouldn't cause myself money worries to give it to you 2 weeks early if I didn't have it.

marinchik

How she woulnd't have money, my deposit is my money, and not hers, this money was supposed to be put away and not touched.

Anyway she is starting to do some restoration in the house and apparently she has money for that!

Anyway the reason I'm moving that I had to put up with so much there and would not ever say a word to her just was being nice and that the thankjs a get after. My shower failed working properly like 5 months ago so I had to use shower in the main house, cable TV package cancelled as she thought that was too expensive, but rent was never reduced in line with it, my cooker won't work properly so she asked to use only one of the plates and not other 3, then there was power cuts few times, and the last straw, when she texted me few weeks ago saying that the back garden is off limits cos she has her dogs in it! I never compained about it, just went with the flow I hate getting in disputes but this not paynig my deposit back is really pushing it I think

Regards,

quozl

Talk to threshold if it's annoying you that much. Getting passive aggressive on a web forum will not sort anything.

marinchik

I am not agressive at all, I just wanted to hear some opinions on this and give more details to people so they have clearer idea, thats all, i thought I was in the right, turns out i'm not.

My apologies if I offended anyone;-)

syklops

marinchik wrote: »

How she woulnd't have money, my deposit is my money, and not hers, this money was supposed to be put away and not touched.

Regards,

This is an all too common occurrence. Many landlords seem to think the deposit is free money, and instead of putting it aside to give back end up spending it.

When I was renting alot of people came and went in the house I was in in Dublin. When the first set of people moved in their deposit should have been put aside and given back to them when they left and so on down the line. Instead the firt deposits paid by the first tenants to move into the property disapeared, and when they moved out, the deposit from the person moving in was given to them to repay their depost. This was fine duing the boom when tenants who met each other on the stairs as they moved their stuff, but since the downturn, alot of people are left waiting for their deposits because the landlord is waiting for another person to move in and use their deposit. Of course its basically a pyramid scheme, and if your the last person left in a house, and you move out and no-one moves in, you get no deposit back.

quozl

My apologies.

Like Syklops says, it's likely she didn't put it aside like she should have.

I think it is unlikely she won't give it back to you after the 2 weeks, she probably just doesn't plan her finances properly. If she doesn't give it back then go to the PRTB, http://www.prtb.ie . They'll make her give it back, but it'll take time.

Bob Z

Have you got the keys or has your landlord? If you have maybe you could to hand them back and get the keys

she doesn't have to you give the keys until the end of the notice but Maybe she sees you as a soft touch and is planning on holding onto it? Especially as you have never complained before