Refund of rent for tenant asked to leave

Some_randomer · 04-08-2019 3:35pm #1

Hi, a relation of mine owns a house where she rents out rooms individually, as opposed to renting the whole house to one person, so people move in and stay for different lengths of time then another person moves in etc. (she doesn't live in the property).

Recently one tenant was causing issues e.g. broke a smoothie maker belonging to another tenant but denied doing it, wasn't doing her share of the cleaning, was having her bf stay over multiple nights per week (which is against the house rules), having loud late night arguments with her bf etc. All the other tenants complained about her so eventually the owner gave this troublesome tenant one month notice to leave on July 31st, saying she would need the room back by September 1st.

So the tenant already found a new place and will move on August 5th which is 5 days into the month. She had already paid the full month's rent For August but now wants it all refunded. The owner offered to refund her 3 weeks of the rent she paid for August.

Are there any specific rules for this scenario i.e. what are the obligations regarding the rent already paid, and how much the owner should refund etc (the rent is paid monthly)? The Threshold website doesn't seem to have any info on this specifically.

Is the tenant obliged to pay some / all of the rent for August i.e. adhere to the one month notice period given by the owner? The owner wants to do the right thing and is happy to stick to whatever the rules might be (if any).

Any links to specific rules on this much appreciated.

davindub · 04-08-2019 5:30pm

No rules to exactly cover it, but the LL is entitled to notice and the tenant probably was entitled to longer than a months notice. If you google notice periods and rtb you will find links (assuming the LL doesn't live in the house).

But I myself would probably pro rate the rent and refund the difference to get rid of them peacefully. Last thing you would want is the tenants new property to fall through and then the tenant to appeal to the rtb to delay things.

Some_randomer · 04-08-2019 6:10pm

davindub wrote: »

No rules to exactly cover it, but the LL is entitled to notice and the tenant probably was entitled to longer than a months notice. If you google notice periods and rtb you will find links (assuming the LL doesn't live in the house).

Thanks, the LL doesn't live in the house and she looked up notice periods. The tenant was only there 5 months so the notice period for under 6 months looks like 28 days.

kikilarue2 · 04-08-2019 8:52pm

Out of decency I think the LL should refund her the full month. Her rule-breaking all sounds relatively minor and it doesn't seem like she was given any warnings. Like, I presume she didn't break the smoothie maker on purpose (if she denied it, can you even be sure it was her?) and "not doing her share of the cleaning" is fairly subjective.

04-08-2019 9:18pm

kikilarue2 wrote: »

Out of decency I think the LL should refund her the full month. Her rule-breaking all sounds relatively minor and it doesn't seem like she was given any warnings. Like, I presume she didn't break the smoothie maker on purpose (if she denied it, can you even be sure it was her?) and "not doing her share of the cleaning" is fairly subjective.

No way should he refund the full months rent, why on earth would he do that?

Refund the days they have moved out if you wish but no more.

kikilarue2 · 04-08-2019 9:30pm

Callum Cold Memory wrote: »

No way should he refund the full months rent, why on earth would he do that?

Refund the days they have moved out if you wish but no more.

Like I said, out of decency. the girl is getting evicted on very short notice (even if it is within the law) for what I'd consider some fairly minor things and they didn't even give her a warning.

Some_randomer · 04-08-2019 9:41pm

She got a warning back in June and two of the other tenants said it was her that broke the blender. All the tenants complained about her and they're a fairly relaxed bunch in general and not ones to be telling tales for no reason or making stuff up.

Also the owner has a house manual that all the tenants receive when they move in, and in it she states that regular overnight guests aren't allowed (now and again is no problem) and if anyone has someone staying over they inform the others in the house beforehand as a courtesy.

So she got a warning a couple of months back when other stuff happened and she was then given one month notice on July 31st.

the_syco · 04-08-2019 11:42pm

Some_randomer wrote: »

So the tenant already found a new place and will move on August 5th which is 5 days into the month. She had already paid the full month's rent For August but now wants it all refunded. The owner offered to refund her 3 weeks of the rent she paid for August.

You have two options;

Pay her now that she has a house to move to.
Hope that she leaves in a months time, when she may not have a house lined up.

If payment is a condition of her moving today, I'd pay her, to help keep the existing tenants happy.

KevRossi · 04-08-2019 11:49pm

Pay her the month minus the 5 days and be thankful that a problem tenant has left with little or no stress.

Not sure where the property is, but you should have no issues getting a new tenant quickly in most parts of the country.

If she isn't paid back, she still has full use of the room until August 31st and she could start trouble. So my advice is pay her off, be rid of her, and this leaves less stress for the other tenants as well.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts · 05-08-2019 10:34am

kikilarue2 wrote: »

Like I said, out of decency. the girl is getting evicted on very short notice (even if it is within the law) for what I'd consider some fairly minor things and they didn't even give her a warning.

It’s not short notice, a month is fine.

05-08-2019 12:05pm

kikilarue2 wrote: »

Like I said, out of decency. the girl is getting evicted on very short notice (even if it is within the law) for what I'd consider some fairly minor things and they didn't even give her a warning.

Decency my a*se, it’s s business not a charity. No room for sentiment imo. She is getting evicted for valid reasons and has been given the required notice. Pay up the days you stayed their and refund the rest (pending a thorough inspection to check for required deductions from the deposit for damage etc).

Also the LL should discuss with the housemates to use sure she pays up her share of upcoming utility bills or possibly agree keeping some of the deposit towards these if she refuses.

just_a_gurl · 04-08-2022 12:49pm

If LL has already agreed to the notice period offered by her then in order to live a simple hassle free life, refund her for the days she is not there...the RTB would calculate this as follows & i would take their guidance on it:

if €500 per month, then...(500x 12)/365= day rate then multiply this by the days she isn't going to be there...i.e 26 days from 6th - 31st Aug

LL or Licensor or whatever has no legitimate reasons to keep the money & the tenant or Licensee has no legitimate expectation to the staying in the house for 5days rent free - I am assuming her due date falls on the first of the month here???

Considering there is nothing to stop this lady going to the RTB (paper never refused ink & the dispute process is just filling in a form) & then enduring the stress of the whole dispute & appeal process...consider if the 26days refund would be worth it at the end of the day...If it were me I would rather a hassle free existence to be honest & please return deposit too...unless she has actually broken something in her room that is or not paid her outstanding utilities contributions...as for the rest shur how can you prove she did it & she has plausible deniability