Problems with renting a house.

dillo2k10

Hi,
I'm asking this question for a friend.

She moved into a house last year and signed a one year contract. She was aware that there was a separate property built at the rear of the house. What she didn't know was that this separate property was running from her Electricity supply. She complained to the landlord and he said they the seperate house would pay 40% of the ESB bill. She said that it wasn't enough because she would only be at the house in the night and would use very little electricity. The landlord never done anything about it and the people from the other property have only paid about €200 last month and it was the first time he paid. He still owes a lot more. But once again the landlord isn't doing anything.

The radiator in the kitchen broke, and he refused to get it fixed and said that it would cost too much so he would just give her a plug in heater. She said no, because it would cost way too much on electricity for her. He still hasn't fixed the radiator or gave her another heater.

The pipes downstairs recently broke and when she uses the shower water leaks all over the kitchen. He hasn't done anything about it.

The house was not painted or wallpapered when she moved in. She had the house decorated herself as he refused. She has been paying to have hes bushes trimmed and garden weeded as he wouldn't.

She is paying a lot more that the current value of the home. He is refusing to drop the rent or fix any problems. So she is moving out. She has a new house available immediately. But the landlord is telling her that if she doesn't give 30 days notice she won't be getting her deposit back. Her daughter wrote on the wall in the house and he is saying that if she doesn't have it painted he would be keeping the cost from her deposit, even though she was the one that painted it in the first place.

Is there anything that she can do about this?

convert

She should contact Threshold first thing on Monday morning to seek their advice. Is the landlord registered with the PRTB, does she know? The landlord is required to register her tenancy with them. The fact that the landlord wouldn't repair any problems should help her if she decides to lodge a complaint with the PRTB.

Do you know if she retained any receipts for the paint, etc.? That way she can show that she painted the house, and it may also help her case, if she decides to take one.

Maybe if she mentions that she's going to contact the PRTB the landlord may change his tune?!

dillo2k10

convert wrote: »

She should contact Threshold first thing on Monday morning to seek their advice. Is the landlord registered with the PRTB, does she know? The landlord is required to register her tenancy with them. The fact that the landlord wouldn't repair any problems should help her if she decides to lodge a complaint with the PRTB.

Do you know if she retained any receipts for the paint, etc.? That way she can show that she painted the house, and it may also help her case, if she decides to take one.

Maybe if she mentions that she's going to contact the PRTB the landlord may change his tune?!

I just checked and he is not registered. Neither is the second house that he has built. So that's two of his property's that he is renting that are not registered and I know that he is renting this house for a few years now.

The agent knows that she painted it herself and he even advised her to move out one the agreement was up.

What would happen to him if he was reported? With the way this guy is behaving I doubt he is paying all of his tax either.

But is the landlord entitled to 30 days notice, even with all of the problems?

Victor

Did she sign a lease? What does the lease say about giving notice?

If the lease is silent on giving notice and is a fixed lease for 1 year, then its possible she doesn't need to give notice, but she should talk to Threshold.

Strictly speaking, the electricity thing is theft. She would be within her rights to turn off the electricity at the meter (don't do this if she has stuff in the fridge / freezer).

dillo2k10

Victor wrote: »

Did she sign a lease? What does the lease say about giving notice?

If the lease is silent on giving notice and is a fixed lease for 1 year, then its possible she doesn't need to give notice, but she should talk to Threshold.

Strictly speaking, the electricity thing is theft. She would be within her rights to turn off the electricity at the meter (don't do this if she has stuff in the fridge / freezer).

Yes she signed a one year lease. Im not sure what it says about notice, but she is going to check later on.

There is one switch in her house that will turn off his supply. Could she do this and refuse to turn it back on until he pays up or the landlord agrees to return the deposit and allow her to leave?

dillo2k10

She is due to pay him €1050 rent on Monday. What is the worst that could happen if she didn't pay it, left the house and told him to keep the deposit. She pays rent 1 month in Advanced. So she wouldn't be leaving with rent owed that she has already used up?

edellc

I was told by a solicitor that Irish rental leases aren't worth the paper they are wrote on so in that regard if she is gone before Monday without leaving a forwarding address what can he do realistically

you will be told on here that if she doesn't fulfil terms of lease then she can be brought to court for remainder of lease rent but if you don't have an address for someone then how can you receive a solicitors letter?? also under the data protection act no info can be given to a third party about you so even if LL tried that through her bank if she pays DD no info will be given, neither can social welfare pass on info about you so not sure how a LL would come after you for remainder of rent of lease

sounds to me like she got a ****ty LL she is better off out of there maybe if he ends up out of pocket he may learn not to treat people with such disregard

also it seems to me that he may have broken the lease anyway with the upkeep of the property not happening as for the how debarkle of the electricity supply what planet is he from why would anyone have such a set up

make sure she learns from the bad rental experience so next time the renter beware

dillo2k10

edellc wrote: »

I was told by a solicitor that Irish rental leases aren't worth the paper they are wrote on so in that regard if she is gone before Monday without leaving a forwarding address what can he do realistically

you will be told on here that if she doesn't fulfil terms of lease then she can be brought to court for remainder of lease rent but if you don't have an address for someone then how can you receive a solicitors letter?? also under the data protection act no info can be given to a third party about you so even if LL tried that through her bank if she pays DD no info will be given, neither can social welfare pass on info about you so not sure how a LL would come after you for remainder of rent of lease

sounds to me like she got a ****ty LL she is better off out of there maybe if he ends up out of pocket he may learn not to treat people with such disregard

also it seems to me that he may have broken the lease anyway with the upkeep of the property not happening as for the how debarkle of the electricity supply what planet is he from why would anyone have such a set up

make sure she learns from the bad rental experience so next time the renter beware

Well from what I can see from looking around online there is nothing at all that he can do because he isn't registered. Even if he was, they dont force the tenant to pay, just recommend.

She will certainly be more cautious with her next landlord.

She is obviously not the first tenant to have this problem as the last tenant left as soon as his lease was up according to the neighbours.

She did fulfil the duration of the lease just not giving adequate notice. She already has a house lined up and the new landlord knows whats happening and said that she doesn't need a reference from current landlord.

dillo2k10

dillo2k10 wrote: »

Well from what I can see from looking around online there is nothing at all that he can do because he isn't registered. Even if he was, they dont force the tenant to pay, just recommend.

She will certainly be more cautious with her next landlord.

She is obviously not the first tenant to have this problem as the last tenant left as soon as his lease was up according to the neighbours.

She did fulfil the duration of the lease just not giving adequate notice. She already has a house lined up and the new landlord knows whats happening and said that she doesn't need a reference from current landlord.

My aunt was renting a house and the agent was telling her that he was checking up on the house every 3 months and that everything was perfect. She decided to visit the house just after he did his inspection to find the house in bits and was told that they havnt seen the agent since they moved in.

They are useless and when there is a problem they take forever to get back to you.