Tenant signed lease & wants out after 2 days

DvB

After finally getting rid of a troublesome tenant & carrying out the usual repairs & decorations etc. 2 weeks ago after a few viewings we found tenants for our apartment, took down the advert & informed other intyerested parties the proprty was off the market & all seemed good, there was a few queries, all responded to & they were happy to go ahead & sign a 1 year lease, this was signed on Saturday, they paid their deposit & first months rent up front, we provided a receipt, a copy of the lease & 2 sets of keys. We registered the tenancy with the PRTB yesterday morning only to last night get a call from one of the tenants saying their situation had changed & they now don't want the apartment due to personal issues.

Now, whereas my human side feels sorry for them (they wouldn't go into details but she sounded upset) where do we stand on returning the deposit (this I can see no reason to hang onto as the apartment is exactly as it was when we handed the keys over) & months rent (this I'm not sure about)? We're out of pocket & will have to re-advertise & the lease was signed & registered, now we'll have to re-advertise, hold viewings & select another tenant which could take week this close to Christmas. I appreciate it was only 2 days after signing but we're still likely to be taking a financial hit through no fault of our own, is it fair for them to expect a full refund in those circumstances?

Borderfox

Deduct the relevant expenses and return the rest.

DvB

Borderfox wrote: »

Deduct the relevant expenses and return the rest.

Does expenses include the rental income we've lost for this period of time though?

As I said, the deposit I have no problem in returning, fair is far, if we got the apartment back after a year in that condition they'd get it back without question so the principle still applies here IMO, but at the end of the day we're a months rent down because these people made a commitment to us and we took it off the market 2 weeks ago now to suit them, should we take the hit? The lease did make it clear its a fixed term of 1 year, that was pointed out & they were happy to sign.

Tigger

n if you break the lease with no grounds it does not give your landlord automatic entitlement to keep your deposit or make deductions from it. They may however seek to cover costs incurred such as re advertising, re-letting costs and lost rent. A landlord has a responsibility to mitigate their loss.
http://www.threshold.ie/advice/seeking-private-rented-accommodation/do-i-have-to-sign-a-lease/
So you should refund the lease and then seek to recuperate costs rather than withhold deposit
If you don't play by the book the prtb get all shifty
In my opinion .You should refund anyway; life is hard and if it's circumstance beyond control you should do as you like to be done to.

Michael D Not Higgins

Return the deposit and the fraction of the month remaining from the moment the lease begins to the moment a new lease is signed. You also have an obligation to minimise your losses by renting as soon as possible. I'd give them the deposit now, explain the situation and return the rest when it's rented again.

Michael D Not Higgins

Tigger wrote: »

Probably has a two week cooling off period
You should refund anyway; life is hard and if it's circumstance beyond control you should do as you like to be done to.

This isn't like buying something on the internet. There is no cooling off period, it's a contract for services which is expected to be adhered to on both sides. Penalties exist for breaking the contract.

Tigger

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

This isn't like buying something on the internet. There is no cooling off period, it's a contract for services which is expected to be adhered to on both sides. Penalties exist for breaking the contract.

I edited

Cooling off dosent apply to distance selling btw that's different

Michael D Not Higgins

Tigger wrote: »

So you should refund the lease and then seek to recuperate costs rather than withhold deposit

That's not how it works. You make deductions from the deposit, not hand it back and look for it again.

Michael D Not Higgins

Tigger wrote: »

I edited

Cooling off dosent apply to distance selling btw that's different

No it isn't. It's exactly the same.

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-08-1474_en.htm

Cooling off periods (distance sales, e.g. Internet sales, mobile
phone, catalogue and pressure sales): An EU wide cooling off period of
14 calendar days when you can change your mind. Introduction of an easy to
use standard withdrawal form.

Tigger

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

No it isn't. It's exactly the same.

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-08-1474_en.htm

Some signed contracts have a cooling off period
It's a different thing
When you sign for a loan you have to sign a seperate thing to give up your right to the cooling off period to get the money straight away

Tigger

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

That's not how it works. You make deductions from the deposit, not hand it back and look for it again.

Threshold state different in that link

DvB

As I already said, I have no issue whatsoever returning the security deposit, morally & ethically they've done nothing to not have this returned so that will happen ASAP. Its returning the rent (or a portion of) that I'm a bit unsure of. In relation to getting another tenant, we are already re-advertising & hope to do so ASAP, however in our experience this will take approx 2 weeks allowing for arranging viewings, checking references etc. & arranging a suitable time for getting a new lease signed.

TBH I think I'll discuss this directly with the tenant & try to come to a mutually acceptable arrangement, as I said, we don't want to be unfair & have already gone out of our way for them, but I think this has to work both ways, as at the end of the day a contract was signed & I feel we don't deserve to be treated unfairly either.

Thanks for the replies folks.

Edit. just had the legal situation clarified by a solicitor, know where we stand now. Thanks again.

Michael D Not Higgins

Tigger wrote: »

Some signed contracts have a cooling off period
It's a different thing
When you sign for a loan you have to sign a seperate thing to give up your right to the cooling off period to get the money straight away

You said and I quote "Cooling off dosent apply to distance selling"
I provided the link to the EU regs that say it does.

Tigger wrote: »

Threshold state different in that link

No they say the landlord doesn't have an automatic right. They do have a right to cover costs, which they deduct from the deposit.

AfterHrsProp

DvB wrote: »

As I already said, I have no issue whatsoever returning the security deposit, morally & ethically they've done nothing to not have this returned so that will happen ASAP. Its returning the rent (or a portion of) that I'm a bit unsure of. In relation to getting another tenant, we are already re-advertising & hope to do so ASAP, however in our experience this will take approx 2 weeks allowing for arranging viewings, checking references etc. & arranging a suitable time for getting a new lease signed.

TBH I think I'll discuss this directly with the tenant & try to come to a mutually acceptable arrangement, as I said, we don't want to be unfair & have already gone out of our way for them, but I think this has to work both ways, as at the end of the day a contract was signed & I feel we don't deserve to be treated unfairly either.

Thanks for the replies folks.

Edit. just had the legal situation clarified by a solicitor, know where we stand now. Thanks again.

As a matter of interest, what did the solicitor tell you?

the_syco

DvB wrote: »

Edit. just had the legal situation clarified by a solicitor, know where we stand now. Thanks again.

I appreciate you paid for the solicitor, but could you give the gist of what was confirmed, for future users?

dissed doc

They signed a valid lease. So, they need to continue to pay rent or get a replacement tenant in that can take it over, right?

You are not a charity, and these people need to act like responsible adults.

Surely, they need to give proper notice now, in accordance with the terms of the lease.

DvB

dissed doc wrote: »

They signed a valid lease. So, they need to continue to pay rent or get a replacement tenant in that can take it over, right?

You are not a charity, and these people need to act like responsible adults.

Surely, they need to give proper notice now, in accordance with the terms of the lease.

Pretty much nail on head. There's 2 or 3 ways to deal with it depending on how hard you want to push it. We've already agreed with the tenant on how to settle, so we'll wish them the best of luck & move on.

BeatNikDub

Would a 7 day cooling off period apply here (or is that just consumer related) out of curiosity?

DvB

BeatNikDub wrote: »

Would a 7 day cooling off period apply here (or is that just consumer related) out of curiosity?

No cooling off period as there's a clause in the lease specifically relating to that. Once signed, that's it, its a legal contract which in this instance was breached, the timing was irrelevant, legally speaking anyway.

Anyway, all sorted now & the (now former) tenant is happy to be getting anything returned & said she wasn't going to look for any of it back and would have understood had we decided to keep the lot. I'll sleep better knowing we are genuinely trying to be fair though.