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Tenants looking to get deposit back-Issues with Rental Property

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  • 25-01-2013 8:24pm
    #1
    CarryOnKay
    Registered Users Posts: 1 ✭


    Hello,

    So my roommate and I (both American) signed a handwritten lease in September 2012. The lease is for a year but all it says is that the landlord took a deposit and that we would be renting for a year. Since signing that lease we have decided we want to find a new place to rent. Our reasons are but not limited to:

    • We were told that there was no flooding, the kitchen has flooded numerous times with no discount on rent (pictures) and the problem has not been fixed
    • Mold in house, continuous sickness
    • We weren’t given proper notice for workers to come through to trim the trees in his backyard. Workers also were told to come through our house to fix the glass railing that broke on the landlords balcony and landed in our back garden, access was denied.
    • The glass railing shattered on New Years Eve, the glass wasn’t picked up until 25/1/13 and still hasn't been fully cleaned up.
    • We were told that we would maybe hear his tv at night but that’s about it. Sound pollution from up above is much greater than represented. We constantly hear whats going on upstairs to the point where we can hear word for word conversations.

    There have been other issues as well. We are a basement apartment that is technically owned by the father-in-law of the man who manages us and lives above us.

    Do we have grounds to get our deposit back?


    Thanks so much for any help
    Tagged:


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    #2
    quietsailor
    Registered Users Posts: 1,428 ✭✭✭quietsailor


    You should always get your deposit back unless you've damaged the property - fair wear and tear is NOT damage - however, this landlord sounds like a chancer so I'd say the chances are you won't get the deposit back, or at best you'll only get some of it back.

    If that happens you'll have to take a case to the PRTB, this board has a considerable backlog, up to 18 months I think, so you will not get a ruling quickly, even after a ruling if the landlord refuses to pay the money you cannot force them to, you have to take them to court.

    The option a lot of people are writing about on boards in other threads is not to pay the final months rent, this is illegal and if the landlord takes you to the PRTB you could have costs, it depends on whether you think the landlord is the type to take you to court for your money. I would advise you to be very careful thinking of using this option, a lot of the people posting on other threads make it sound like its an easy thing to do but it immediately sets the PRTB against you if you do this.


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    #3
    StillWaters
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,799 ✭✭✭StillWaters


    Quietsailor, you are ignoring the fact the OP is looking to break their fixed term lease. This can mean not only the loss of the deposit, but also being pursued for the remaining rent due until Sept 2013.


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    #4
    fasttalkerchat
    Registered Users Posts: 5,652 ✭✭✭fasttalkerchat


    StillWaters wrote: »
    Quietsailor, you are ignoring the fact the OP is looking to break their fixed term lease. This can mean not only the loss of the deposit, but also being pursued for the remaining rent due until Sept 2013.

    Agreed. Tell them you are not happy with what has happened and give them 2 weeks to sort all issues before you will contact the PTRB. You could ask for a mutual termination which the LL may agree to if he doesn't want you going to the PTRB/revenue.


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    #5
    the_syco
    Registered Users Posts: 37,299 ✭✭✭✭the_syco


    CarryOnKay wrote: »
    Mold in house, continuous sickness
    What steps have you done to get rid of said mould?


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    #6
    quietsailor
    Registered Users Posts: 1,428 ✭✭✭quietsailor


    StillWaters wrote: »
    Quietsailor, you are ignoring the fact the OP is looking to break their fixed term lease. This can mean not only the loss of the deposit, but also being pursued for the remaining rent due until Sept 2013.

    I was tired and missed that bit in the original post, I've gone back and re-read it now

    Yes they are looking to leave the lease early, however there were several major (from a PRTB point of view) issues already
    1. Repeated flooding - the LL must have done nothing to prevent re-occurances after the 1st flooding
    2. Unauthorised entry by the LL or his agents
    3. Safety - broken glass from the LL's property was not cleaned up for 3 working weeks
    They can also seek to re-assign the lease to someone else and if they find a new tenant they are entitled to their full deposit, less excessive wear and tear, back.

    I'm a LL myself and I'd be sh***ing myself if these people brought a PRTB case against me, on the safety and ubauthorised entry issues alone that LL simply has no counter arguement


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    #7
    StillWaters
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,799 ✭✭✭StillWaters


    quietsailor wrote: »

    I was tired and missed that bit in the original post, I've gone back and re-read it now

    Yes they are looking to leave the lease early, however there were several major (from a PRTB point of view) issues already
    1. Repeated flooding - the LL must have done nothing to prevent re-occurances after the 1st flooding
    2. Unauthorised entry by the LL or his agents
    3. Safety - broken glass from the LL's property was not cleaned up for 3 working weeks
    They can also seek to re-assign the lease to someone else and if they find a new tenant they are entitled to their full deposit, less excessive wear and tear, back.

    I'm a LL myself and I'd be sh***ing myself if these people brought a PRTB case against me, on the safety and ubauthorised entry issues alone that LL simply has no counter arguement
    I wouldn't be so quick to advise, we don't know what caused the flooding, or if any attempts were made to fix the issue. The repair people for the glass were denied access by the tenant.

    This doesn't look to be a clear cut case to me. Negotiation might be the better route here rather than PRTB, but we don't know the full facts.


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    #8
    thesiren
    Registered Users Posts: 92 ✭✭thesiren


    quietsailor wrote: »
    I'm a LL myself and I'd be sh***ing myself if these people brought a PRTB case against me, on the safety and ubauthorised entry issues alone that LL simply has no counter arguement

    Agreed, the tenants in this have the 'power' because the landlord could be totally pulled up on all of these issues.
    I think that you should make it clear to him that you are aware that you have very good grounds for a case against him with the PRTB and that you want your deposit back so that you can leave because his treatment of you is unacceptable.


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    #9
    quietsailor
    Registered Users Posts: 1,428 ✭✭✭quietsailor


    StillWaters wrote: »
    I wouldn't be so quick to advise, we don't know what caused the flooding, or if any attempts were made to fix the issue. The repair people for the glass were denied access by the tenant.

    This doesn't look to be a clear cut case to me. Negotiation might be the better route here rather than PRTB, but we don't know the full facts.


    Unauthorised entry is still one of the major no-nos from a PRTB point of view - quiet enjoyment of your property is the phrase that comes to mind


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