Getting deposit back

activegal

hi everyone - could I get advise on this particular situation please;

We paid 2 months deposit last week to secure a property that was advertised available from 30th June.
We are also due to pay our 1st month in advance too, just before we move in 1st July).

There was a hand-written receipt given by the landlord, signed by them & ourselves. There is no mention of deposit being non-refundable.
The formal contract/lease will be presented 30th June on exchange of keys.

We are now feeling very unsure about renting this property, for 1-2 reasons, and wish to back out.

are we likely to get our deposit back (€3k)and are we obligated to take on the property simply on the back of a signed receipt.

thank you

D3PO

your entitled to get your money back if you haven't signed a lease but id expect that at best you would receive it minus advertising costs and for the days that have gone since you decided to accept the place.

in theory the landlord has potentially lost out on rent for that period by you saying you will accept the place.

In reality though the LL is likely to tell you that the deposit was non refundable so id expect you may have to take a PRTB case to get it back so I wouldn't be planning to see it anytime soon.

audi12

bring a case to the the prtb thats what i did to my prick of a landlord

activegal

Thanks D3PO. The property was advertised to be available from 30th June. No mention of non-refundable deposit was written nor verbally mentioned. Would this make any difference?

D3PO

activegal wrote: »

Thanks D3PO. The property was advertised to be available from 30th June. No mention of non-refundable deposit was written nor verbally mentioned. Would this make any difference?

it would in regards to a decision being made by the PRTB in terms of the deposit, it wont change the LL's perspective.

He will either be a decent guy who will accept your decision and give you back the money or he will be an asshole who will keep it hoping you just go away with your tail between your legs.

so all you can do is ring him tomorrow explain you have changed your mind and go from there. if he returns it great if not tell him you will be taking a case to the PRTB.

The only problem for you is a PRTB case may not be heard for quite a while so you may be without this money for a long time.

Best of luck with it, make sure to report back having spoken to the LL and let us know how it went.

Grandpa Hassan

Might help keep things sweet, and improve the chances of getting your deposit handed back with no fuss, you might offer to deduct a weeks rent from the deposit. At the end of the day you have strung the landlord along as well by changing your mind, and delayed his rental by a week

Agent Smith

Say you've been transfered in work, and need to move to a different part of the country. and appoligies about the time wasting.

djimi

Just to be clear, if the OP was not set to move in until July 1st then the landlord has not lost out on any rent, and chances are they will find someone else before that time. There is no reason to believe that the landlord is out of pocket, and there is no reason to think that any money should be kept from the deposit.

D3PO

djimi wrote: »

Just to be clear, if the OP was not set to move in until July 1st then the landlord has not lost out on any rent, and chances are they will find someone else before that time. There is no reason to believe that the landlord is out of pocket, and there is no reason to think that any money should be kept from the deposit.

nobody disagreed with this point once the OP said that they place wasn't available until July 1st.

You could argue however that if the landlord had to re advertise on daft for example that those costs could be attributed to the IPs actions and as suck be deductible. that said its a drop in the ocean versus the 3k deposit so its not even worth splitting hairs over !!

quietsailor

djimi wrote: »

Just to be clear, if the OP was not set to move in until July 1st then the landlord has not lost out on any rent, and chances are they will find someone else before that time. There is no reason to believe that the landlord is out of pocket, and there is no reason to think that any money should be kept from the deposit.

But if the LL advertises the property again and cannot get a tenant until (using Sept as an example) 1st Sept, then isn't the LL allowed to deduct, July & Augusts rent?

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

djimi

quietsailor wrote: »

But if the LL advertises the property again and cannot get a tenant until (using Sept as an example) 1st Sept, then isn't the LL allowed to deduct, July & Augusts rent?

If the landlord cannot get a tenant in three months, let alone two weeks, then the first thing they need to do is remove the requirement of two months rent as a deposit; most renters in Ireland are not going to risk handing over €3k that they might have to fight the landlord for a year to get returned at the end of the tenancy.

In all honesty, if no lease is signed then no tenancy exists, and the landlord has absolutely no grounds to keep the deposit. Its really not the OPs problem is the place remains unlet for three further months