Deposit Return

vickers209

I had been renting a house for 3 years through that hap scheme never met the landlord in person as lives in a foreign country all done through email.

We recently moved out of the property
We agreed a sign off date of 14th of november even though we returned the keys on November 6th,

we agreed this as i didnt fulfil the full notice period required but once this is agreed by both parties its acceptable

This was allow him to prepare the property for new tenants while i was liable for rent on it,

Last Tuesday i get an email regarding deposit return

1450 - deposit


LESS:

150 - 2 weeks rent, 425 - repair of plasterwork and repainting of interior walls. 275 - delay in house occupancy until 21st of November due to above works. 100 - sofa


This leaves a balance of 500 euros to be returned.

I Sent an email straight back asking what plasterwork needed repairing as house was returned in condition received,

This was 5 days ago and no response or any deposit has been received.

I am liable for the rent for 2 weeks even though i didnt have keys to property for one of them, and the sofa wasnt in great shape through wear and tear but dont see what €100 will do.

The tenancy wasn't registered with prtb but im thinking of submitting a dispute.

All i want is my deposit back and to move on

am i being unreasonable? and how long should i wait for a response

Pkiernan

vickers209 wrote: »

I had been renting a house for 3 years through that hap scheme never met the landlord in person as lives in a foreign country all done through email.

We recently moved out of the property
We agreed a sign off date of 14th of november even though we returned the keys on November 6th,

we agreed this as i didnt fulfil the full notice period required but once this is agreed by both parties its acceptable

This was allow him to prepare the property for new tenants while i was liable for rent on it,

Last Tuesday i get an email regarding deposit return

1450 - deposit


LESS:

150 - 2 weeks rent, 425 - repair of plasterwork and repainting of interior walls. 275 - delay in house occupancy until 21st of November due to above works. 100 - sofa


This leaves a balance of 500 euros to be returned.

I Sent an email straight back asking what plasterwork needed repairing as house was returned in condition received,

This was 5 days ago and no response or any deposit has been received.

I am liable for the rent for 2 weeks even though i didnt have keys to property for one of them, and the sofa wasnt in great shape through wear and tear but dont see what €100 will do.

The tenancy wasn't registered with prtb but im thinking of submitting a dispute.

All i want is my deposit back and to move on

am i being unreasonable? and how long should i wait for a response

Letter back demanding deposit or you will lodge RTB claim.

How do you know the tenancy wasnt registered by the way?

vickers209

Pkiernan wrote: »

Letter back demanding deposit or you will lodge RTB claim.

How do you know the tenancy wasnt registered by the way?

https://www.rtb.ie/check/index.html

Never received anything from them at that address,

Within days of moving into new property i had letters confirming us at new address

brisan

If he’s abroad you have little or no chance of getting your money back
RTB are powerless to act if he’s abroad
They may tell him to stop renting the property, but how do they enforce it
Are you stopping tax out of your rent and passing it on as you are obliged to do

spaceHopper

He has to be able to show receipts for the work done, so ask for them, saying I did the work myself doesn't cut it either.

brisan

spaceHopper wrote: »

He has to be able to show receipts for the work done, so ask for them, saying I did the work myself doesn't cut it either.

Seeing as how the landlord lives abroad that is not an option
if the OP has not been stopping tax and passing it on to revenue I would inform the landlord that he will be informing the Revenue of his mistake giving all the details to the Revenue and asking the Revenue how he can correct his mistake
That might soften the landlords cough

Smee_Again

brisan wrote: »

Seeing as how the landlord lives abroad that is not an option
if the OP has not been stopping tax and passing it on to revenue I would inform the landlord that he will be informing the Revenue of his mistake giving all the details to the Revenue and asking the Revenue how he can correct his mistake
That might soften the landlords cough

Revenue will say he can correct his mistake by paying revenue the money owed. Its the tenant who is liable, not the landlord.

brisan

Smee_Again wrote: »

Revenue will say he can correct his mistake by paying revenue the money owed. Its the tenant who is liable, not the landlord.

The landlord will now be on revenues radar
OP can take a case against landlord for return of rent due to overpayment
Landlord will not want to be on revenues radar, nobody does
Revenue will look to landlord to pay arrears
Landlord should have informed tenant of his obligations
OP can claim he only recently found out LL was domiciled abroad
At the end of the day Revenue will know its the landlord who has to pay

Smee_Again

brisan wrote: »

The landlord will now be on revenues radar
OP can take a case against landlord for return of rent due to overpayment
Landlord will not want to be on revenues radar, nobody does
Revenue will look to landlord to pay arrears
Landlord should have informed tenant of his obligations
OP can claim he only recently found out LL was domiciled abroad
At the end of the day Revenue will know its the landlord who has to pay

No, Revenue will know that the tenant didn't live up to his/her obligation to withhold 20% of the rent and pay that to Revenue.

Like I said, the tenant is liable and that is who Revenue will chase (unless things have changed recently, its been a while since I was a renter).

Meeoow

If op was receiving hap, I would say that ll has registered with prtb and revenue. They wouldn't be able to go under the radar.

brisan

Smee_Again wrote: »

No, Revenue will know that the tenant didn't live up to his/her obligation to withhold 20% of the rent and pay that to Revenue.

Like I said, the tenant is liable and that is who Revenue will chase (unless things have changed recently, its been a while since I was a renter).

They will also have a look at the landlords finances ,and the landlord may not want that ,seeing as how he never informed the OP to stop the 20%

Smee_Again

brisan wrote: »

They will also have a look at the landlords finances ,and the landlord may not want that ,seeing as how he never informed the OP to stop the 20%

Jesus wept, it’s not the landlord’s responsibility to tell the tenant to withhold the rent.

If the tenant goes to revenue he’s likely to end up in a worse position than he’s currently in. You gave bad advice. I’ve pointed out why it’s bad advice and what will likely happen if the OP follows it.

Let’s just leave it there.

brisan

My point was it would never get as far as revenue as the landlords cough would be well softened at the thought of it
If you read my post correctly you would have seen this
But lets leave it there as you have your opinion on this landlord and I have mine

Curious1002

100% open the RTB Dispute and choose Adjudication (not mediation).
It's the LL's responsibility to prove to the RTB by clearly showing pics of how the place looked like the day you moved in (certified by you and emailed to you the day you moved in, not from 10 years ago when the place was brand new) and then how the place looked like the day you moved out. You even dont have to have your own pics but if you do then it's even better but attach to your RTB dispute file just 1 week before your hearing, not earlier.
When opening the dispute online dont put too much details in the description - you will be able to update it in a later time, better just 1 week before the hearing or you will describe the case to the Adjudicator on the day. Simply use 1 line in the description that the LL unlawfully retailed 2/3 of your deposit stating imaginary repairs and renovations and you have struggled to raise money for the deposit at your new accommodation. Period. The LL will never be able to justify the retention even if he brings pics of the ripped sofa. He will have to bring receipts that he purchased the sofa 4 months before you moved in, or that you were drawing on walls hence the need for painting, etc.
If you were receiving Hap support then your place was registered for sure and he can be sued at any stage despite living abroad.
He certainly has a middle man (probably family members or a handyman) in the country who must have visited the place after you left and reported what should be done/improved with your expense to prepare the place for a new tenant. If the LL thinks that he can renovate his place from tenants' deposits for years and years then he will get a cold shower at the RTB. He will also be listed on the RTB website and it's bad news for him. Rtb will enforce the return of your deposit, trust me.

Don't listen to those who try to discourage you from dealing with the RTB. Simply open a dispute and wish the LL a very good luck.

vickers209

Thanks all for the responses

We have received the €500 and decided to leave it at that, Not worth the hassle of chasing down remaining balance by dropping him in it,

Hap was registered in Ireland at a different address in ireland and he had to provide tax clearance cert from revenue and proof of paid property tax before the council would sign off on payments i submitted these at the time for him tovthe council and i know was legit,

But had no dealings with prtb registration in any regard

No point in dragging him though prtb and then feeling i would have to watch over my shoulder evertime i go out because i would think he wouldn't let it go that easily,

Lesson learnt small price to pay to get out of there but much happier in our new home now,