Leaving rental, Use last month as deposit?

Thomas D

I'm emigrating soon and I will be leaving my rental. Now the past tenants texted us and said they had problems with the landlord when leaving. Our lease says we have to allow viewings before we leave. No way am I going to allow that as we have a new baby. If the landlord was going to mess us around with a deposit then we'd have no way of getting it back being out of the country.
So surely not paying the last months rent is the only fair way of proceeding with zero repercussions?

UDP

Your deposit is not for the last months rent. If you don't pay the last months rent you will be in breach of your contract. Unfortunately there is very little that the landlord can do about it especially if the tenants are moving abroad. Just remember you won't get a reference but you may not need that abroad. It's a pretty dickish move imo and it seems to me that you want people here to validate that it is ok to do.

MagicMarker

What's having a new baby got to do with anything? You seriously think your landlord should wait until after you leave for him to try and rent it out again?

Don't be so ridiculous.

Grandpa Hassan

Thomas D wrote: »

I'm emigrating soon and I will be leaving my rental. Now the past tenants texted us and said they had problems with the landlord when leaving. Our lease says we have to allow viewings before we leave. No way am I going to allow that as we have a new baby. If the landlord was going to mess us around with a deposit then we'd have no way of getting it back being out of the country.
So surely not paying the last months rent is the only fair way of proceeding with zero repercussions?

Using the deposit as the last months rent is out of order unless the LL specifically agrees it with you. Unfortunately there's nothing the LL can do though, other than refuse to give a reference. It's not what the deposit is for, and it is the kind if behaviour that antagonises landlords and further damages the relationship between LLs and tenants in Ireland

D3PO

I hate idiot tenants as much as I hate idiot landlords. OP I will leave you try figure out if you fall into the first category

ted1

Thomas D wrote: »

I'm emigrating soon and I will be leaving my rental. Now the past tenants texted us and said they had problems with the landlord when leaving. Our lease says we have to allow viewings before we leave. No way am I going to allow that as we have a new baby. If the landlord was going to mess us around with a deposit then we'd have no way of getting it back being out of the country.
So surely not paying the last months rent is the only fair way of proceeding with zero repercussions?

If you have done damage to the place it's not a fair way.

If you are going to keep it, fix any damage, clean the place and wash the walls with sugar soap

womandriver

MagicMarker wrote: »

What's having a new baby got to do with anything? You seriously think your landlord should wait until after you leave for him to try and rent it out again?

Don't be so ridiculous.

Why is it ridiculous? I certainly won't be facilitating viewings when we're vacating our rented property. The landlord is running a business, we pay our rent and abide by the terms of the lease and that's the extent of my interest in it. It's his own concern how he arranges re-letting but he won't be doing viewings while we still live here.

Mycroft H

You agreed to it in your lease....

cerastes

womandriver wrote: »

Why is it ridiculous? I certainly won't be facilitating viewings when we're vacating our rented property. The landlord is running a business, we pay our rent and abide by the terms of the lease and that's the extent of my interest in it. It's his own concern how he arranges re-letting but he won't be doing viewings while we still live here.

Its very likely in the conditions of the lease, to allow the landlord or an agent appointed for the purpose access to facilitate viewings, so you might not be abiding by the conditions of the lease, also its not unreasonable to cooperate with letting the landlord access for that purpose.

D3PO

womandriver wrote: »

Why is it ridiculous? I certainly won't be facilitating viewings when we're vacating our rented property. The landlord is running a business, we pay our rent and abide by the terms of the lease and that's the extent of my interest in it. It's his own concern how he arranges re-letting but he won't be doing viewings while we still live here.

Just as landlords have obligations so do tenants.

Have a read of the RTA 2004 before coming out with ill informed comment.

womandriver

D3PO wrote: »

Just as landlords have obligations so do tenants.

Have a read of the RTA 2004 before coming out with ill informed comment.

My "ill informed" comment is based on my lease, there is nothing in my lease in relation to viewings and I won't be facilitating them.

Grandpa Hassan

womandriver wrote: »

My "ill informed" comment is based on my lease, there is nothing in my lease in relation to viewings and I won't be facilitating them.

You won't even facilitate it when you're out? Wow.....some attitude you have there

womandriver

Grandpa Hassan wrote: »

You won't even facilitate it when you're out? Wow.....some attitude you have there

Yes, it's the attitude that I don't want strangers in my home. Bizarre, I know.

odds_on

Grandpa Hassan wrote: »

Using the deposit as the last months rent is out of order unless the LL specifically agrees it with you. Unfortunately there's nothing the LL can do though, other than refuse to give a reference. It's not what the deposit is for, and it is the kind if behaviour that antagonises landlords and further damages the relationship between LLs and tenants in Ireland

It also increases the idea that landlords should look for more than one month's rent as a deposit - new thinking =1.5x rent and even 2x rent.

sunnysoutheast

womandriver wrote: »

Yes, it's the attitude that I don't want strangers in my home. Bizarre, I know.

Do you only go to view vacant/empty properties out of principle then?

womandriver

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

Do you only go to view vacant/empty properties out of principle then?

Where did I suggest it was based on principle? It's my preference not to have strangers in my home. What other people decide is their own business.

dutcher

Just don't pay last months rent. That's what I do now. They always say somethings wrong after cleaning it head to toe or say they will post out check, it never happens. Best one yet was it would cost 200 euro to bring out a painter and buy paint because we dirtied the walls even though there was nothing wrong with them. I only rented apartments shared or a room in a house but the majority of landlords out there are money hungry and will try any means of keeping the deposit. If someone goes to the PTRB about them they will personally drive to your house and hand over the money.

jd83

Every place I have ever rented I have had difficulty getting the deposit back. I have always kept the place clean and tidy and always taken photos when I moved in. When it comes to getting the deposit back, I get excuses and its a long struggle until they realize im not going away.

So I can see where the op is coming from. I know the deposit is not for the last months rent. Its head wrecking when you want to move and your relying on the deposit for your next home and your getting excuses or ridiculous claims of costs to fix things. If i break or damage something im more than happy to have it deducted from the deposit. Id probably have had it fixed before it came to that anyway. But some stingy miser just out to make more money out of me is another thing. We need some sort of third party deposit holding scheme here.

Op id read your lease again, having the ll show the property during the last month is normal everywhere. Obviously they would do it at a time that suits you, but its in every lease i have ever had.

Grandpa Hassan

womandriver wrote: »

Yes, it's the attitude that I don't want strangers in my home. Bizarre, I know.

Thanks womandriver. You may have done me a service here. I will make double sure from now on that the ability to arrange viewings is specifically written in to the lease.

I am a reluctant landlord....forced to move because of my job, and I try to cover part of my mortgage with rent (nowhere near all), whilst also renting somewhere else. A tenant with your attitude would be an absolute nightmare for someone like me, trying to keep his head above water.

I will make sure from now on that I don't suffer if I rent to someone else with your attitude

awec

As with most things, a bit of common sense and common courtesy are a huge help in my opinion.

People need to remember that not all landlords in Ireland are actually a business making profit - many of them are forced to become landlords and I am sure in many cases the rent they receive is only paying part of the mortgage they are paying on a property. Having a property empty for a few weeks may not be a simple case of writing it off as expenses.

I am not sure why anyone would want to make things deliberately more difficult for these people - if you have had a good relationship with your landlord I fail to see why facilitating viewings at a time to suit you would be an issue. There is no need to be awkward for the sake of it - what goes around tends to come around.

wexie

womandriver wrote: »

Yes, it's the attitude that I don't want strangers in my home. Bizarre, I know.

Probably just as well that most landlords don't take that attitude, the rental market would get a lot tighter.

sept09baby

I know a lot of people who have used the deposit as the last month's rent but it was always with the landlords agreement. I have only rented once, my landlady was a total nightmare but I still wouldn't think this was fair

Koptain Liverpool

Have a bit of common sense would you.

Yes use your deposit for the last month rent. While not technically allowed under the terms of a lease there's no harm in it imo.
As long as you have no damage done to the apartment that is.

As for allowing viewings of the apartment -cop yourself on. So what if you have a baby? A viewing just involves a few people having a look around for a few minutes. I hate people with babies who have the attiture that the world revolves around them because of the baby. If you do make a fuss about the viewings I hope that you encounter equally uncourteous attitudes in your own affairs in the years ahead.

womandriver

Grandpa Hassan wrote: »

Thanks womandriver. You may have done me a service here. I will make double sure from now on that the ability to arrange viewings is specifically written in to the lease.

I am a reluctant landlord....forced to move because of my job, and I try to cover part of my mortgage with rent (nowhere near all), whilst also renting somewhere else. A tenant with your attitude would be an absolute nightmare for someone like me, trying to keep his head above water.

I will make sure from now on that I don't suffer if I rent to someone else with your attitude

You should do whatever is best for you but your tenant is not your friend nor are you doing each other any kind of favour. It's a business arrangement. My attitude is that I do not wish to have strangers in my home. I pay good money each month for that privilege.

Thomas D

I don't want people in my private home whilst I'm paying thousands a month. The rta 2004 fully supports me in this.

Grandpa Hassan

womandriver wrote: »

You should do whatever is best for you but your tenant is not your friend nor are you doing each other any kind of favour. It's a business arrangement. My attitude is that I do not wish to have strangers in my home. I pay good money each month for that privilege.

We are not there to to each other favours. But I like it believe that we are each cooperative and just generally nice human beings

womandriver

wexie wrote: »

Probably just as well that most landlords don't take that attitude, the rental market would get a lot tighter.

Well that's a lot of landlord's problem right there. Thinking you are allowing a tenant to live in your "home" as if you're doing them a favour. I don't suppose you are letting them in your home for the money at all. Some people haven't grasped the concept of being a landlord.

The_Morrigan

Quit the sniping or I'll be handing out infractions.

/Mod

OP you cannot use your deposit as your last months rent - end of.

Thomas D

The_Morrigan wrote: »

Quit the sniping or I'll be handing out infractions.

/Mod

OP you cannot use your deposit as your last months rent - end of.

What is stopping me?

Grandpa Hassan

Thomas D wrote: »

What is stopping me?

Unfortunately very little as the legislation is so weak. But you won't get a reference. Which will reduce the pool of available properties for you next time around

Thomas D

Grandpa Hassan wrote: »

Unfortunately very little as the legislation is so weak. But you won't get a reference. Which will reduce the pool of available properties for you next time around

My job reference is the only thing needed abroad and I'll be buying in 6 months. I also have 3-4 rental references here already.