Landlords and deposits - a leg to stand on?

dice3344

Hi everyone,

My friend K is having awful trouble in her apartment. I’ll give you the background in as brief a story as I can.

They moved in January 2012. They got a new lease this January but nothing had been signed yet or handed over.

Since they’ve moved in, there was hassle with lighting (most of the light bulbs were gone in the house) The replacement was organised by themselves the tenants but the landlords paid the money. There was then a problem with the boiler, the repair which was organised by my friend K again.
Then the boiler actually broke completely and the place got flooded. K and her partner were due to go on holidays and spent most of a Saturday waiting for the plumber and organising that as well. She has had to get on to the landlords several times over the year which is totally normal, but the landlords always take weeks to get their act together about sorting anything, and seem to think they should be able to get by without the repairs. The carpets in the apartment had pins sticking out (which would prick you), a burn and a tear from when they moved in, and it was finally replaced in January. K also had to get onto them for months about getting fire alarms put in the apartment and the hallway.

Last straw came in mid June. They’ve got a bug infestation. The bed bugs were all over the bed and then they moved into the spare room and they were in there too. K went mental. Landlady came over and stood there and said “ I don’t know what to say, if it happens again call me”. So K and her partner stayed with a friend.
K rang Rentokill and asked about how they could get rid of them. Takes about 4 to 6 weeks. Eventually the landlady met with Rentokill and Rentokill told her that for each spray, 3 sprays, the lads would need to move out for a day because of the air or something. These guys could have come in with luggage, or carried by people ( and imagine the amount of people coming in between all the work that was going on).

K moved out for the Rentokill on 26th June and hasn’t been back since. Her rent had just come out of her account so it’s paid up to the end of July. The landlady requested that they pay half of the Rentokill charge (€300) which they did. She has had to throw out 2 sets of duvets, pillows, most of her clothes etc. Rentokill suggested this as they would be infested with eggs.

There is no way she could move back in and so handed in her notice on 1st July. It was a shame though as they kept the apartment in excellent condition (well, as good condition as it was in before they moved in). Also, they were promised a gym in the building when they moved in but when they arrived, it had been shut for months. The apartment in now on Daft advertising a gym again (but with higher rent- ha)

She has given the 1 month notice, and is trying to get her deposit back, the landlady is now requesting that they pay for the mattress in the spare room, because there is a tear in it. They never moved the mattress in that room, and can’t prove that it wasn’t them who moved it. The tear looks pretty old though and they’re looking for €300 to cover it. So between that and the €300 they’ve already paid, it’s looking like they’ll only get €230 back from the original €830. Considering all that’s gone on, my questions is does she have a leg to stand on? Has anyone had a similar situation with a landlord?

She’s requested their PRTB number a few times but they won’t provide it, just keep asking why she needs it. I think she’ll go ahead and contact the PRTB, especially if she gets so little of her deposit back. Even if they can’t help her, if the landlords are not registered then they can face a charge it seems.

Advice anyone?

Thanks

Pawwed Rig

dice3344 wrote: »

She’s requested their PRTB number a few times but they won’t provide it, just keep asking why she needs it. I think she’ll go ahead and contact the PRTB, especially if she gets so little of her deposit back. Even if they can’t help her, if the landlords are not registered then they can face a charge it seems.

The PRTB seems to be the way to go. You do not need the landlords number as the tenants rights are not affected even if LL is not registered.
Be aware that you did not give adequate notice when moving out as 30 days is not enough when living there > 1 year. Having said that if the landlord was in agreement then it should be ok. The fact that the LL advertised for higher rent may be important in that they did not seek to limit their losses so get a print of the new add on Daft asap.
You can file a complaint with PRTB through the website http://www.prtb.ie/dispute-resolution/submit-a-dispute-online

Ray Palmer

While I would go to the PRTB myself it in a way doesn't seem like the LL can be held responsible for all the problems.

Boilers break it happens.

Bed bugs after living in a place about 6 months would probably suggest the infestation happened during their tenancy. That would suggest the LL has nothing to do with it. You would have to make a connection to how the LL caused the infestation.

Poor maintenance and carpets would be something the LL is responsible for but would have been mostly noticeable on initial inspection.

The deposit deductions have to be invoiced but breaking the lease might null that anyway and they would be doing that as part 4 tenants regardless if anything was signed

MeErrr

Hi guys,

Sorry if my post is in incorrect place but I am unable to create new thread.

I rented a house. 3 days ago and I didn't even moved in yet as the house is not ready. I paid rent in advance and deposit.

Now my situation has been changed. My brother have car crash accident and he is in hospital. His legs are in critical condition and doctor giving him a very small chances that he will be walk again. Only hope is an operation which is very expensive. I decided to leave that house as it was only for holidays and days off from work. My brother is more important for me obviously. Now I asked the landlord to end the contract and I have explained to him the problem and why I have to leave that for now. He said that he will give me back deposit but he won't give me back the rent as he cancelled advertisement and he lost potential clients. I offered that he can charge me 100 eur fee to cover that "3" days loses but I need the rest of the money because I must pay for my brother operation. I didn't even move to the house, they still doing some works in there, also on the contract there is nothing about holding money in case earlier contract termination. Actually on the contract is nothing, just my details, his details and list of the equipment at the property.

Can he do that? can I solve that situation through PRTB? what can I do? Please give me some ideas guys as the time is very important here...

Thanks in advance for all replies!

MarkAnthony

Look, callous I know but frankly I can see where the Landlord is coming from.

He's going to have the place empty now and have to re advertise. You problems, as tragic as they are, aren't the Landlords. You might nibble around the edges a bit, how long is it empty? What's the advertising cost? e.g. establish the LL true loss but that's all.

I hope your brother makes a full recovery.

MeErrr

Hi Anthony,

Thank you for your reply. The house is empty for a three days. I signed contract three days ago and didn't even moved in yet as they still doing some works round there. They finished cleaning the house yesterday evening. Advertising cost is 0 as they advertised property by standard add on daft.ie... I offered to charge me 100 eur fee for that three days as the rent is 425 eur per month.

MarkAnthony

MeErrr wrote: »

Hi Anthony,

Thank you for your reply. The house is empty for a three days. I signed contract three days ago and didn't even moved in yet as they still doing some works round there. They finished cleaning the house yesterday evening. Advertising cost is 0 as they advertised property by standard add on daft.ie... I offered to charge me 100 eur fee for that three days as the rent is 425 eur per month.

I'm not sure the advertising is 0 but what ever it is, that plus the empty time (from the date the house was ready) is the LL's loss. Frankly he's entitled to be made whole.

As I say nibble around the edges but you've no silver bullet here I'm afraid. (Well in my lay opinion anyway)

MeErrr

Even if in the contract (if we can called that piece of paper with my name and surname) they haven't described that deposit will be held if tenant end contract before 6 months?

MarkAnthony

MeErrr wrote: »

Even if in the contract (if we can called that piece of paper with my name and surname) they haven't described that deposit will be held if tenant end contract before 6 months?

You're looking for legal advice there really, and that's not something I can advice you on.

Threshold or FLAC will see you right.

MeErrr

sure. I already sent them enquiry so we will see. Thank you very much any way! All the best.

J.

Gasherbraun

MeErrr wrote: »

Even if in the contract (if we can called that piece of paper with my name and surname) they haven't described that deposit will be held if tenant end contract before 6 months?

Does not really matter what the contract says or does not say. The Residential Tenancy Act allows for a landlord to deduct from a deposit to cover his losses when a tenant breaks a lease. The Act (statute) is superior to a lease (contract)

The landlord does have a legal obligation to mitigate your loss by finding a tenant as quickly as possible so make sure the property is being advertised.

MeErrr

Right, Thank you very much Gasherbraun. That's help a bit however I can not expect honesty from them because I have no the possibility to verify whether the house was rented. But thank you very, very much for taking time to reply.

ted1

The landlord should re advertise. You should cover the fee. If people move in after 1 week you owe 1 weeks rent. After 2 weeks you owe 2 weeks

MeErrr

How can I avoid messing around from their side? Should I ask to advertise property ASAP and provide me with a link to advert? it will be a bit uncomfortable I guess...

Thanks Ted.

J.

El_Duderino 09

Chill Winston. Get a friend to phone up and enquire about the add. Call from a different number every 3/4 days until they say it's taken. It will probably take a few weeks for new tenants to start paying rent though.

I presume you owe for rent until the new tenants move in.

Gasherbraun

MeErrr wrote: »

Right, Thank you very much Gasherbraun. That's help a bit however I can not expect honesty from them because I have no the possibility to verify whether the house was rented. But thank you very, very much for taking time to reply.

It is probably going to be on Daft or MyHome and to be honest if it isn't I would argue they are not making a serious effort to let it. Those two sites are the main port of call for the vast majority of people seeking accommodation.

Arbiter of Good Taste

MeErrr wrote: »

How can I avoid messing around from their side? Should I ask to advertise property ASAP and provide me with a link to advert? it will be a bit uncomfortable I guess...

Thanks Ted.

J.

With respect OP, you've messed the Landlord around. You arranged to move in and then broke the lease. The LL is entitled to recoup his losses. It doesn't matter that you were only in the place three days.

Also, you appear to be in New Ross - not the centre of Dublin. I wouldn't expect the demand for rental properties in New Ross would be exceptionally high - at least not as high as one of the larger cities. So, the landlord could advertise immediately, but could still be without tenants for weeks.

TBH it was decent of the LL to agree to return your deposit without having a replacement tenant yet.

alibab

Why are you paying for the operation if it's a emergency and he was in a car crash etc he is a public patient won't have to pay for a operation.

The landlord is right in this case as he has lost money

Teyla Emmagan

alibab wrote: »

Why are you paying for the operation if it's a emergency and he was in a car crash etc he is a public patient won't have to pay for a operation.

The landlord is right in this case as he has lost money

Presume the brother is abroad. Anyway not everything can be fixed on the day if you're in an accident.