Moving out of an owner-occupied apartment

redz11

Hi,

I am about to hand in my month's notice on an owner-occupied apartment.

I never signed a lease or anything similar, and will actually be giving just over a month's notice, so I'm not screwing him over or anything.

I'm just wondering if there's anything specific to an owner-occupied place that I should be aware of?

He has €600 deposit that I paid when I moved in, and I very much need to get that back immediately when my lease is up, to use as my deposit on the new place.

As far as I'm concerned, I have kept my bedroom and bathroom in very good condition and have barely spent any time in the rest of the apartment. However I did leave a stain on the wall of the bathroom (maybe 3 inches sq?) from hair dye. It's pretty noticeable, and I'm happy to cover the cost of getting this fixed. But I'd like to know, how much is a reasonable amount for him to charge for this? The bathroom walls are painted white.

But, apart from this, if he tried not to give me the rest of my deposit for some reason, what would be my recourse? As far as I know, he's not registered as a landlord.

Thanks in advance!

The_Conductor

First off- the reason he isn't registered as a landlord- is because he isn't one. When you 'rent' a room in an owner occupied residence- you are living with the owner 'under licence', you are not a tenant and he is not a landlord. As such- tenancy law does not apply.

Its not easy to simply paint over a stain on a wall- you tend to have to paint the whole wall to conceal the blemish. This shouldn't be expensive though- 40-50 Euro is more than reasonable.

You really need to give the guy your notice asap- and let him know that you really need your deposit back promptly, as you need it for other accommodation. Communication and remaining on good terms with one another are key here.........

the_syco

redz11 wrote: »

However I did leave a stain on the wall of the bathroom (maybe 3 inches sq?) from hair dye. It's pretty noticeable, and I'm happy to cover the cost of getting this fixed.

Maybe try to fix it yourself? I say this, as he'll probably hold onto your deposit until he fixes the stain, and then deduct the cost, so it'd be best to fix it yourself so you are able to get the deposit straight away.

Google gave me these answers:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070730083659AAB98ee

http://www.ehow.com/how_6223705_remove-hair-dye-stains-wall.html

Aye Bosun

From my experiences of renting with an owner occuiper, they generally keep the deposit until all the house hold bills are cleared. Its' not unreasonable to waiting for the deposit to be returned up to 2 weeks after you have moved out, longer with some.

As someone else advised, speak to him now and ask him all these questions, ask him to confirm in writing also. I can't stress the importants of a paper trail, especially as you cannot use the PRTB.

As for further recourse, well lets hope that doesn't happen, but it's the small claims court that deal with 'owner occuiper' and 'Licensee' disputes.

ronan45

Just be honest with him. Say look mate i did splash a bit of dye on the wall there.
More than likely he will say "ah sure it needs a paint anyway no problem". It will be all good dont worry
main thing is the notice. Be decent with him he will be decent with you