Tenant break fixed term lease

Tango6

Hi,
I have tenant who signed a fixed lease for 12 months.
After 5 months he has decided to go back home, he said he got some problems with health.
He is from abroad so he is going to leave Ireland.
I told him that this is fixed lease and the rent must be paid for the end of agreement.

He paid previous rents and I also have his deposit for one month of rent.

Is there anything which I can do to force him to pay rest of rent ?

bee06

It’s pretty unreasonable to expect him to pay 7 months rent when you will surely be able to rent the place out again well before that to offset your losses. I say this as a landlord who had the same thing happen to me. My tenant paid a months rent in lieu of notice and I rented the apartment out again within the month.

hawkelady

Op. Concentrate on renting it out again rather than Trying to get this lad to pay the next 7 months rent. Have you seen the news , you'll have no problem renting it out with a quick turnaround

antoinolachtnai

Generally speaking, if a tenant doesn’t really want to remain in your property the most important thing to do in practice is get them out as painlessly as possible.

Legally you can’t sue him for seven months of damages when there is a buoyant rental market. You are under an obligation to minimize your damages. You can’t penalise him for damage you didn’t actually suffer for a host of legal reasons.

Richard571

What's the point then in a fixed term lease as a landlord if it's effectively unenforceable? I would think that the tenant should be held liable for rent until they find a replacement, why should landlord have to do this.

On a practical side of course it makes sense to get someone else in and minimise losses but the tenant made a commitment and should do the heavy lifting if they want to break it

Oral Surgeon

Tango6 wrote: »

Hi,
I have tenant who signed a fixed lease for 12 months.
After 5 months he has decided to go back home, he said he got some problems with health.
He is from abroad so he is going to leave Ireland.
I told him that this is fixed lease and the rent must be paid for the end of agreement.

He paid previous rents and I also have his deposit for one month of rent.

Is there anything which I can do to force him to pay rest of rent ?

Yes you can probably chase him for the full term but I would say that it is a pretty mean thing to do...

I have had tenants leave like this... (there is always a "good reason", I'd be suspicious that they just make this up but whatever....)!!!

If they stayed, you would have received another 7 months rent

by leaving, you will probably be down 2 weeks rent (turnover time), the cost of a daft ad, a part registration and your time...

I'd advise keeping 50-100% of the deposit in lieu of this and let them off the contract....

Escapees

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

Yes you can probably chase him for the full term but I would say that it is a pretty mean thing to do...

I have had tenants leave like this... (there is always a "good reason", I'd be suspicious that they just make this up but whatever....)!!!

If they stayed, you would have received another 7 months rent

by leaving, you will probably be down 2 weeks rent (turnover time), the cost of a daft ad, a part registration and your time...

I'd advise keeping 50-100% of the deposit in lieu of this and let them off the contract....

Sounds fair enough, but... I think there was a thread about this before and as always the law is stacked in the tenants favour. Basically, they are only obliged to find a (or rather any!) replacement tenant for you but if you decline (understandably) then they're no longer at fault. And this means that you also then have no right to withhold any of the deposit!! I love this country

TBH, any decent tenant should at least offer let the landlord keep the deposit if breaking a lease...

Oral Surgeon

Escapees wrote: »

Sounds fair enough, but... I think there was a thread about this before and as always the law is stacked in the tenants favour. Basically, they are only obliged to find a (or rather any!) replacement tenant for you but if you decline (understandably) then they're no longer at fault. And this means that you also then have no right to withhold any of the deposit!! I love this country

TBH, any decent tenant should at least offer let the landlord keep the deposit if breaking a lease...

I didn't think that the landlord was obliged to accept the new tenant (found by the outgoing tenant), sure in that case they could just get any crowd, no references etc etc.... I am open to correction on this but I was pretty sure that the landlord had to agree to this.....

Kenjataimu

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

I didn't think that the landlord was obliged to accept the new tenant (found by the outgoing tenant), sure in that case they could just get any crowd, no references etc etc.... I am open to correction on this but I was pretty sure that the landlord had to agree to this.....

There is a sublet/assignment 'get out clause' to a fixed term lease.
https://onestopshop.rtb.ie/beginning-a-tenancy/types-of-tenancies-and-agreements/subletting-and-assignment/

Assignment can only take place with the consent of the landlord. Where a landlord refuses an assignment of a fixed term tenancy, a tenant can serve a notice of termination on the landlord.

Subletting can only take place with the consent of the landlord.

Where a landlord refuses the tenant the option of subletting, the tenant can serve a notice of termination to end the tenancy if they so wish.

Oral Surgeon

Kenjataimu wrote: »

There is a sublet/assignment 'get out clause' to a fixed term lease.
https://onestopshop.rtb.ie/beginning-a-tenancy/types-of-tenancies-and-agreements/subletting-and-assignment/

But does it say that you can't keep the deposit??

Tango6

I think will be easier to just rent again than to chase him, especially that he is from abroad
and in that case this could be quite hard and more money need to be spent.

Caranica

Tango6 wrote: »

I think will be easier to just rent again than to chase him, especially that he is from abroad
and in that case this could be quite hard and more money need to be spent.

Of course. In the current rental market you would never get a ruling in your favour that you could leave the property empty and get money from your former tenant for 7 months.

Wheeliebin30

But if a landlord breaks the lease they will end up on the news with Ruth koppinger and her ilk protesting outside their house.

The whole system is a joke.

Caranica

Wheeliebin30 wrote: »

But if a landlord breaks the lease they will end up on the news with Ruth koppinger and her ilk protesting outside their house.

The whole system is a joke.

A landlord breaking a lease potentially leaves a tenant homeless. In this case, as long as no damage is done to the property, the landlord won't be out of pocket as there is such demand for rental properties.

The_Conductor

Wheeliebin30 wrote: »

But if a landlord breaks the lease they will end up on the news with Ruth koppinger and her ilk protesting outside their house.

The whole system is a joke.

The system is setup to protect tenants- full stop.
Yes- the legislation is tilted wholeheartedly in a tenants favour- however- normally in other countries the landlord is protected through commercial and legally binding agreements (such as leases)- but from a business perspective- while a tenant- in recognition of their vulnerability and the fact that the unit they are letting is their home- has a different type of protection. In Ireland- we have very good tenant protection- but nada for landlords.

The OP in this thread- accepts their tenant's notice- shakes hands with them- and allows them move on.

There is no benefit for a landlord in having a fixed term lease- zero- by giving a tenant a fixed term lease- you are granting them rights in additional to rights they have under the Residential Tenancies Act- you are legally incapable of detracting from those rights in any manner- so don't even try. Also- you are running a business- and as a business- are legally bound by any agreements you make- the tenant- despite being the other party to the agreement- cannot be coerced into making an agreement that is not fully in their favour- you, as a landlord- most certainly can.

Any landlords out there- you need to have a set of tenancy rules- that expressly do not create a fixed term lease- unless you know exactly what you're doing- and how the regulatory environment will view the lease. Its far safer to have a comprehensive set of articles governing the rights and obligations of both the landlord and the tenant- tailored carefully to each unit (if you're using an agent- include all their details along with details of whatever service level agreement you are paying for- so the tenant knows what they and you can expect- and if it goes skew-ways- they know where the fault lies.)

The simplest lettings for many people these days- are 2-3 months rent as a deposit, unfurnished units, proper service level agreement with an agent, and the rent set to reflect the fact that the unit is unfurnished and the risk to the landlord (regulatory issues aside) is diminished by the larger deposit.

At the moment- the boot is firmly on a tenant's foot- however- when people like the OP come on here- wondering how to enforce their fixed term lease on their tenant who is leaving- and wondering whether to plan to hit them for the remaining 7 months of the tenancy- the manner in which this portrays landlords as predators- is quite horrific.

People have no business being landlords- unless they are thoroughly familiar with the sector- and the rights and obligations of tenants and landlords- and ideally- have an idea of whats coming down the tracks.

OP- you are entitled to any reasonable costs incurred as a result of reletting the unit (advertising etc) along with rent foregone for the period of vacancy- providing you make a reasonable effort to find a new tenant immediately. Any o/s bills etc- can either be paid upfront by the tenant- or deducted from the deposit- and the balance should be returned to the tenant as expeditiously as possible.

The whole concept here- that must be displayed- is reasonableness. It is not reasonable to leave the unit vacant for a protracted period of time after the tenant leaves- you have to make every reasonable attempt to get a new tenant ASAP. It is not reasonable to unfairly purloin the tenant's deposit- don't do it. It is also not reasonable to try to hold a tenant to a fixed term lease (in the context of the regulatory environment in Ireland) don't do it.

The best money the OP could possibly spend- is with a professional in the sector who knows what they are doing- on a decent rental agreement for the unit spelling out the rights and obligations of the tenant and landlord- ideally based very closely on the Residential Tenancies Act- and ensure they don't tie themselves up in knots in future.

Escapees

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

But does it say that you can't keep the deposit??

As the conductor said, maybe just a part of it to cover legitimate expenses like readvertising and days of lost income due to the property being vacant between leases. But I wonder legally if you'd even be on solid ground doing this!

In the ideal world, I think landlords should get to retain say 2 to 3 months of prepaid rent if a lease is broken - at least some financial disincentive to tenants.

punisher5112

One of the lucky ones look at it this way at least he paid and you're not fighting and paying to get him out.

If the place needs cleaning or any damages then keep these expenses from the deposit but do it right and have receipts.

The only loss you will have is registering with RTB as you can't claim for that.

As said above you can also keep cost of advertising for new tenant.

GGTrek

Escapees wrote: »

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

But does it say that you can't keep the deposit??

As the conductor said, maybe just a part of it to cover legitimate expenses like readvertising and days of lost income due to the property being vacant between leases. But I wonder legally if you'd even be on solid ground doing this!

In the ideal world, I think landlords should get to retain say 2 to 3 months of prepaid rent if a lease is broken - at least some financial disincentive to tenants.

In any serious jurisdiction (even the latin ones are more serious than Ireland!!!) you usually have a graded scale of penalty that can reach up to 2-3 months deposit when breaching a fixed term lease (they usually go down to zero on a pro-rata basis as you approach the end of the fixed term), but no the RTA is so pro-tenant that a fixed term lease as the conductor rightly said is not worth the paper it is written on for the landlord. As for the part 4 rights the agreement is fixed for the landlord and free for all for the tenant which by simply showing an attempt to assign the lease to a bum gets out scott free of his/her obligation: the reasonable costs of the landlord to re-advertise and the empty days/weeks between the tenancies cannot be recovered against deposit even when showing that reasonable effort were made to let the property again as quickly as possible. The only protection for the landlord is the lease that can request the tenant to allow viewings at defined hours during his/her notice period and if the tenant refuses the viewings charge his deposit for the material damage caused by the additional empty days caused by his breach of tenant obligations (this is all that will be allowed).

As it was said above the lease is to protect the landlord, a tenant does not need a lease at all in Ireland, he/she has a ton of statutory protections. The new amendment to the RTA that Murphy is "secretly" preparing will be another hammer for landlords and the private rented sector:
http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail2018012300048?opendocument
"I will reflect on these points in the context of developing the Government's residential tenancies Bill, which is being drafted for publication during this term" among them there will be almost for sure: longer notices, annual RTB registration, additional restrictions on terminations for sale or for refurbishing.
"The Government in its work will continue to enhance the protections under the Residential Tenancies Act and to invest in the services provided by the RTB and Threshold" so he is totally sold to Threshold who is a Private organization pursuing private interests (the tenants'ones) using public taxpayer money. I won't even start on the abuse of the system that Threshold employees perform on a daily basis.

Tango6

Hi,
I had some time ago situation that tenant who signed a fixed lease for 12 months,
after 5 months he has decided to go back home, he is outside of Ireland.
I already found some replacement for him, so story finish happily.

I just want to know for my own curiosity if there is some realistic way to chase that kind of person to force him to pay rest of rent, if he is from other country where is other law and he is
never going back to Ireland ?

davo10

You have a new tenant, let it go. If you fixate like this every time a tenant lets you down, renting is going to be a difficult experience for you.

Tango6

I don't want to do this. I am just curious how is this working.

4ensic15

Tango6 wrote: »

Hi,
I had some time ago situation that tenant who signed a fixed lease for 12 months,
after 5 months he has decided to go back home, he is outside of Ireland.
I already found some replacement for him, so story finish happily.

I just want to know for my own curiosity if there is some realistic way to chase that kind of person to force him to pay rest of rent, if he is from other country where is other law and he is
never going back to Ireland ?

Even if the tenant was in Ireland it would be virtually impossible to get any money out of him. It would be even more complicated involving a tenant out of the jurisdiction.

Graham

Mod Note

Threads merged.

OP please don't start multiple threads for the same question.

Escapees

Graham wrote: »

Mod Note

Threads merged.

OP please don't start multiple threads for the same question.

I think the OP has already been well advised but maybe it wasn't what they wanted to hear???!