Query about last months rent and deposit

amy85

Hi there. Just a quick question. Been renting privately the last 2.5 years. When we moved in we paid a months rent in advance and a months deposit. We told the landlord this evening that we will be moving out at the end of May. We pay rent on the 23rd of every month as this is the date we first moved in.

So the last rent we technically should pay should cover our stay from April 23rd to May 23rd and then we move out. We should get our deposit back then shouldn't we? Because the landlord was saying that if we don't want to pay rent on the 23rd of May , we can count that as our deposit been given back!

What i want to know is, am i right in thinking that our last rent payment should be 23rd April, no rent to be paid on 23rd May, AND then get our deposit back?!

Sorry if this doesn't make sense. Its hard to put into words what i am trying to say. Any advice would be grateful! Thanks !

Esoteric_

amy85 wrote: »

Hi there. Just a quick question. Been renting privately the last 2.5 years. When we moved in we paid a months rent in advance and a months deposit. We told the landlord this evening that we will be moving out at the end of May. We pay rent on the 23rd of every month as this is the date we first moved in.

So the last rent we technically should pay should cover our stay from April 23rd to May 23rd and then we move out. We should get our deposit back then shouldn't we? Because the landlord was saying that if we don't want to pay rent on the 23rd of May , we can count that as our deposit been given back!

What i want to know is, am i right in thinking that our last rent payment should be 23rd April, no rent to be paid on 23rd May, AND then get our deposit back?!

Sorry if this doesn't make sense. Its hard to put into words what i am trying to say. Any advice would be grateful! Thanks !

You're right.

If you pay rent a month in advance (example, you moved in first of January, you pay on the 1st until the 1st of Feb), your last rent should be 23rd of April, to cover you until the 23rd May. I'd say email the landlord reminding him of this, as you should be entitled to your deposit back after paying your last rent on the 23rd April.

amy85

Esoteric_ wrote: »

You're right.

If you pay rent a month in advance (example, you moved in first of January, you pay on the 1st until the 1st of Feb), your last rent should be 23rd of April, to cover you until the 23rd May. I'd say email the landlord reminding him of this, as you should be entitled to your deposit back after paying your last rent on the 23rd April.

That's what i was thinking.I asked some family members afterwards and they said the same thing. I was left so confused after he left the apt. The deposit was 400 euro so wanna make sure i get it back. I think he's forgetting that we pay a month in advance, not for the month gone before us. I'm afraid hes going to challenge me on it when i say it too him, and i'm not going to be able to stand up for myself.

Esoteric_

amy85 wrote: »

That's what i was thinking.I asked some family members afterwards and they said the same thing. I was left so confused after he left the apt. The deposit was 400 euro so wanna make sure i get it back. I think he's forgetting that we pay a month in advance, not for the month gone before us. I'm afraid hes going to challenge me on it when i say it too him, and i'm not going to be able to stand up for myself.

Do you pay in cash or by direct debit? Do you have receipts or a rent book? If you have a bank statement proving payment, or receipts/rent book, you have your proof so can easily stand up for yourself.

Midnight Sundance

amy85 wrote: »

That's what i was thinking.I asked some family members afterwards and they said the same thing. I was left so confused after he left the apt. The deposit was 400 euro so wanna make sure i get it back. I think he's forgetting that we pay a month in advance, not for the month gone before us. I'm afraid hes going to challenge me on it when i say it too him, and i'm not going to be able to stand up for myself.

I'd say he's just forgotten. Write an email to him an give your example. If it was confusing for you, chances are it was confusing for him. I'm
Sure once you explain it he'll be grand. Take plenty of pics of apt when you leave just to be sure.

amy85

I pay by standing order. Well any time he has been in the apt to fix little things he always says we are keeping the place in great condition,which we are! And he said it again this evening when he called in. So i don't think there will be a problem in that regard! Ya he works beside where i live so i will just go say it too him and hopefully get it cleared up. I am moving abroad and need all the money i can get, so just don't want to feel conned out of getting my deposit back. I couldn't think on the spot when he called round, and it was only after he went, and i thought about it properly, that i knew it didn't sound right. Thanks for the advice. I will let you know how it goes.

gurramok

Landlord sounds like a chancer trying to retain your deposit after May 23rd by saying its rent. Do not trust that landlord, this is a reason to withhold last months rent in lieu of deposit. Plus you are going abroad, that will make it difficult chasing your deposit.

djimi

Just for your own sake, did you give your notice in writing? If he is going to try something funny you don't want to give him any ammunition. It sounds like it might just be a mix up on its part though.

amy85

No didn't give it to him in writing. Like i said he works near where i live so just asked him to pop up to the apt when he was finished work and told him then. He seems like a pretty decent person and has always been a nice landlord,never bothering us unless we got in touch with him about something, so i would like to think that he wouldn't try pull a fast one in the end,but i suppose when it comes down to money,people will try anything to save a bit!!

Well he has to call over to the apt again to fix something so hopefully will say it to him then, and hopefully it will just be a mis-understanding between us all.

IF he does challenge what i am saying, is there anyone i can say i am going to speak to it about?

djimi

Put your notice in writing regardless; even if you just type it out and hand it to him when he comes over. Never rely on verbal agreements for anything; if something did happen and you did end up in a dispute then you have absolutely nothing to fall back on.

Hopefully it will sort itself out and prove just to be a misunderstanding. The norm in this country is deposit plus first months rent up front; it would be extremely unusual for any landlord to accept rent in arrears. My guess is that he just got mixed up with his dates.

djimi

amy85 wrote: »

IF he does challenge what i am saying, is there anyone i can say i am going to speak to it about?

You can raise a dispute with the PRTB. At a guess though you would probably need to have a receipt or something in writing that can show that you paid your first months rent up front. If it comes to that, contact Threshold who will be able to assist you.

amy85

djimi wrote: »

Put your notice in writing regardless; even if you just type it out and hand it to him when he comes over. Never rely on verbal agreements for anything; if something did happen and you did end up in a dispute then you have absolutely nothing to fall back on.

Hopefully it will sort itself out and prove just to be a misunderstanding. The norm in this country is deposit plus first months rent up front; it would be extremely unusual for any landlord to accept rent in arrears. My guess is that he just got mixed up with his dates.

Thanks for that! I will let ye know anyways. Hopefully will turn out ok! Thanks again for the advice! I will feel more prepared now this time when i speak to him

Koptain Liverpool

He probably got mixed up - he said he was willing to take your deposit as your last rent on May 23. Contact him and tell him that you always paid the rent on the 23rd of each month until the 23rd of the next.

Then tell him that as he suggested he can use your deposit for the last months rent butthat is to be paid on April 23rd not May 23rd. So just cancel your standing order and don't pay any rent on April 23rd.

djimi

If he is allowing you to use your deposit as your last months rent the cynical side of me would also be looking to get that put in writing... That would be up to you though as to how much you trust him not to try anything funny.

Zulu

gurramok wrote: »

Landlord sounds like a chancer trying to retain your deposit after May 23rd by saying its rent. Do not trust that landlord, this is a reason to withhold last months rent in lieu of deposit....

Well that escalated quickly. Leaving the illegal nature of the advice you are giving aside, perhaps the LL has made an honest mistake?

OP, contact the LL directly, & talk them through your thinking (which is correct). Explain to them that you pay rent in advance, so by paying on the 23rd of April you are covered upto the 23rd of May. Depending on your lease, the 23rd of May may not actually be covered. (perhaps it's to midnight the 22nd)

Long story short, only you know the LL, but give honest mistakes a chance before escalating.

Ray Palmer

gurramok wrote: »

Landlord sounds like a chancer trying to retain your deposit after May 23rd by saying its rent. Do not trust that landlord, this is a reason to withhold last months rent in lieu of deposit. Plus you are going abroad, that will make it difficult chasing your deposit.

Yes always jump to a conclusion when even the OP was confused, once you become a LL you are automatically trained in the ways of deception and theft.

Suggesting something illegal seems completely reasonable.

Just talk to the LL easy to make a mistake.

amy85

Zulu wrote: »

Well that escalated quickly. Leaving the illegal nature of the advice you are giving aside, perhaps the LL has made an honest mistake?

OP, contact the LL directly, & talk them through your thinking (which is correct). Explain to them that you pay rent in advance, so by paying on the 23rd of April you are covered upto the 23rd of May. Depending on your lease, the 23rd of May may not actually be covered. (perhaps it's to midnight the 22nd)

Long story short, only you know the LL, but give honest mistakes a chance before escalating.

oh god yes i know. I definitely wouldn't say he is a chancer, like i said in previous posts, he has always been a good landlord, i see him around a lot of the time as he works near by and he always stops to say hello and ask how were getting on and if theres any probs in apt etc etc. So i would say its just a miss understanding (and i could have just took him up wrong aswell).

amy85

Koptain Liverpool wrote: »

He probably got mixed up - he said he was willing to take your deposit as your last rent on May 23. Contact him and tell him that you always paid the rent on the 23rd of each month until the 23rd of the next.

Then tell him that as he suggested he can use your deposit for the last months rent butthat is to be paid on April 23rd not May 23rd. So just cancel your standing order and don't pay any rent on April 23rd.

Yup this is quite possibly what he might have been trying to say, and i could have took it up wrong! Will just ask him and clear up the mistake!

murphaph

amy85 wrote: »

oh god yes i know. I definitely wouldn't say he is a chancer, like i said in previous posts, he has always been a good landlord, i see him around a lot of the time as he works near by and he always stops to say hello and ask how were getting on and if theres any probs in apt etc etc. So i would say its just a miss understanding (and i could have just took him up wrong aswell).

In gurramok's eyes ALL landlords are chancers. Ignore his advice and work with your landlord (who sounds like a decent man to me). He likely just got dates mixed up if he offered what he offered (because he doesn't have to offer that)

gurramok

murphaph wrote: »

In gurramok's eyes ALL landlords are chancers. Ignore his advice and work with your landlord (who sounds like a decent man to me). He likely just got dates mixed up if he offered what he offered (because he doesn't have to offer that)

No, some landlords are chancers, the description of this one nudges one to be very cautious. Hopefully the LL will not shaft the tenant and is genuine.

Some are giving this LL alot of the benefit of doubt using the LL being friendly line. Remember the landlord is not your friend, its a business transaction.

murphaph

gurramok wrote: »

No, some landlords are chancers, the description of this one nudges one to be very cautious. Hopefully the LL will not shaft the tenant and is genuine.

Some are giving this LL alot of the benefit of doubt using the LL being friendly line. Remember the landlord is not your friend, its a business transaction.

The op didn't just say he was friendly (which is hardly a crime!) but also that he always fixed anything that needed fixing. He just sounds decent to me.

djimi

murphaph wrote: »

The op didn't just say he was friendly (which is hardly a crime!) but also that he always fixed anything that needed fixing. He just sounds decent to me.

Indeed. There are plenty of stories from posters with dodgy sounding landlords; the OP however does not portray this guy in the same light, which suggests to me anyway that the benefit of the doubt should be given that its a honest mistake rather than a landlord who is up to something shifty.

Ray Palmer

gurramok wrote: »

No, some landlords are chancers, the description of this one nudges one to be very cautious. Hopefully the LL will not shaft the tenant and is genuine.

Some are giving this LL alot of the benefit of doubt using the LL being friendly line. Remember the landlord is not your friend, its a business transaction.

Remember advise illegal activity to anybody is not a way to get your own way. If you are remembering it is a business transaction then you should be aware you don't assume people are going to screw you. There is an avenue to question something before you assume they are trying to get one over on you.

Your go to position was to assume it was deliberate attempt at theft. You can't claim you are unbiased and being reasonable when you obviously haven't been.

gurramok

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Remember advise illegal activity to anybody is not a way to get your own way. If you are remembering it is a business transaction then you should be aware you don't assume people are going to screw you. There is an avenue to question something before you assume they are trying to get one over on you.

One has to be cautious on every business transaction, thats all.

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Your go to position was to assume it was deliberate attempt at theft. You can't claim you are unbiased and being reasonable when you obviously haven't been.

In this case the LL stated a date of May23rd for the next rent despite the tenant having moved out by then. How can a LL who is suppose to run his business in a professional manner "forget" or "mix up" the dates. It springs alarm bells IMO so the tenant has to be on her toes for this.

Of course it could be an innocent "oversight", lets hope so.

djimi

gurramok wrote: »

In this case the LL stated a date of May23rd for the next rent despite the tenant having moved out by then. How can a LL who is suppose to run his business in a professional manner "forget" or "mix up" the dates. It springs alarm bells IMO so the tenant has to be on her toes for this.

Never get mixed up when talking to someone before?

Ill be the first person to suggest when a landlord sounds fishy, but to be honest in this case it sounds to me like you are looking to find something about this guy that probably isnt there.

Ray Palmer

gurramok wrote: »

One has to be cautious on every business transaction, thats all.



In this case the LL stated a date of May23rd for the next rent despite the tenant having moved out by then. How can a LL who is suppose to run his business in a professional manner "forget" or "mix up" the dates. It springs alarm bells IMO so the tenant has to be on her toes for this.

Of course it could be an innocent "oversight", lets hope so.

No back peddling or back application of logic will change what you said. You have a bias and over reacted. The most sensible thing was to agree with the OP and suggest talking to the LL. That is not what you did or do.

aloyisious

Erm, Amy. In your initial post, you said you were moving out at the end of May. Do you mean before or after the 23rd of May, seeing as how staying on after the 23rd would be entering a new renral month?

amy85

Case solved,spoke with my landlord and have agreed to not pay any more rent up until i leave (23rd April-23rd May) this is being counted as our deposit.We will be moving out on the 23rd May.
Thanks for all your advice!

gurramok

Ray Palmer wrote: »

No back peddling or back application of logic will change what you said. You have a bias and over reacted. The most sensible thing was to agree with the OP and suggest talking to the LL. That is not what you did or do.

Thats the second conversation with the landlord, not the first. The LL's mistake has been rectified thanks to the tenant chasing the issue.

The irony that i'm biased is from at least 2 landlord posters and now the OP is using the last months rent in lieu of the deposit!!

murphaph

gurramok wrote: »

Thats the second conversation with the landlord, not the first. The LL's mistake has been rectified thanks to the tenant chasing the issue.

The irony that i'm biased is from at least 2 landlord posters and now the OP is using the last months rent in lieu of the deposit!!

Oh for heaven's sake. There was some misunderstanding in the conversation they had (that nobody here bar the op was party to) and it's been cleared up now. The op presumably just spoke to their LL like a human being and all was well, no chasing of issues as you put it.

That the LL is allowing the deposit to be used as last months rent (something you totally believe in) even though he's not obliged to should indicate his flexibility.

The more I read of your posts the more I understand why you have so many problems with your landlords.

gurramok

murphaph wrote: »

Oh for heaven's sake. There was some misunderstanding in the conversation they had (that nobody here bar the op was party to) and it's been cleared up now. The op presumably just spoke to their LL like a human being and all was well, no chasing of issues as you put it.

That the LL is allowing the deposit to be used as last months rent (something you totally believe in) even though he's not obliged to should indicate his flexibility.

The more I read of your posts the more I understand why you have so many problems with your landlords.

That's your interpretation of events using "flexibility" as an explanation, i'd say he was trying to pull a fast one and compromised as he was caught out. The tenant in my view looked up her rights and by chasing the issue came to an arrangement with the landlord on the 2nd asking to her satisfaction.

By the way, I don't know you from Adam but you seem to know my past living situations I've had a mixed bag of landlords, some good and some bad, they ain't all angels like landlord posters imply they are.