Am I entitled to my desposit?

AoifeM1357

Hi all,

Some advice needed. I have had to move home due to unforeseen circumstances as a result of Covid. I was renting with one roommate who has decided not to sublet my room but take full responsibility for the lease herself. The agent we deal with has said that this is fine but it's up to us to come to an agreement about the deposit (they won't be paying any of it back until the lease ends in November or whenever both of us move out).

So there is no one officially taking my place and no one will be paying me my portion of the deposit now. But I also don't want to put my roommate out by several hundred euro by asking her to pay me my portion of the deposit as she is taking on the full financial cost of the lease.

But do you think I'm within my rights to ask my roommate for my portion of the deposit back when it is paid back by the agent (when the lease goes up in Nov or whenever my roommate decides to move out)??. She said originally that I am forfeiting my deposit by moving out but that just hasn't been sitting well with me.

Thanks for your help!!

Xterminator

if im reading this right, your roommate has agreed to pay your share, and double her rent rather than look for a roommate/possible stranger during a pandemic.
This leaves you off the hook completely despite the fact you are the one who broke the lease.

and you are wondering if you have an entitlement to return your half of the deposit? No, your broke your contract, and if i were your roommate, I would tell you to go and shove it.

from RTB website "A security deposit should be returned once the tenancy ends and the tenancy agreement has been honoured."

My reading of that is you dont have an entitlement morally or legally. I'm sure you were planning to drop back in and help clean up so your flatmate would get the full deposit back????

AoifeM1357

Xterminator wrote: »

if im reading this right, your roommate has agreed to pay your share, and double her rent rather than look for a roommate/possible stranger during a pandemic.
This leaves you off the hook completely despite the fact you are the one who broke the lease.

and you are wondering if you have an entitlement to return your half of the deposit? No, your broke your contract, and if i were your roommate, I would tell you to go and shove it.

from RTB website "A security deposit should be returned once the tenancy ends and the tenancy agreement has been honoured."

My reading of that is you dont have an entitlement morally or legally. I'm sure you were planning to drop back in and help clean up so your flatmate would get the full deposit back????

Okay, well thanks for your response. Though not sure it needed to be that passive-aggressive.

I was looking for a neutral response about my options here. But for more context, my roommate is a friend, not a stranger. What I think is actually happening is her partner is unofficially moving in and supporting with rent because I don't know how she'd do it on her own. Therefore, I think he is moving in without paying a deposit or notifying the agent.

So yeah. I would like my deposit back.

Dick Turnip

Your only option is to sort it with your friend so.

At the moment, I would say no, you're not entitled to your deposit as you're breaking the lease.

If you're good friends with her then ask her is her bf actually moving in and see if you can come to an arrangement. At the moment you're only guessing he is.

cruizer101

I think you are entitled to you deposit.
Consider if the room were to be rented to a new tenant, they would pay a deposit, which would cover your deposit.
I see this as the same, they are taking over the lease so should pay the full deposit.
If they don't want to then you can reassign your lease to rent the room out and get your deposit from new tenant, you would be liable for the rent shortfall until new tenant moves in, in that case.

That said, how much do you value the relationship.
I would at least say you are owed your portion of the deposit when they get it back.

catrionanic

Entitlements aside, I definitely think the decent thing to do here would be to stick to the agreement that you made with your friend when you moved out, and forfeit your deposit. This friend has taken a significant financial hit from your early departure from the lease. You have moved back home and are presumably now paying very little rent, if any at all, while she foots the bill for the entire lease.

Don't go back on your agreement with her. That would be a dick move IMO, and would likely cause ructions in your friendship.

MacDanger

AoifeM1357 wrote: »

Hi all,

Some advice needed. I have had to move home due to unforeseen circumstances as a result of Covid. I was renting with one roommate who has decided not to sublet my room but take full responsibility for the lease herself. The agent we deal with has said that this is fine but it's up to us to come to an agreement about the deposit (they won't be paying any of it back until the lease ends in November or whenever both of us move out).

On the reading of this, your house mate has made the decision not to rent out your room? If she hadn't made this decision, then presumably you would have advertised your room and rented it to someone (assuming you could get someone) and received a deposit from them?

If that's the case, then since it's her decision to not rent the room, I think she should be returning your deposit.

Xterminator

in his 1st post OP's scenario was that he was shafting a roommate by moving out mid lease and leaving them with no other roommate and the whole lease to cover.

in his/her second post OP has revealed they are doing their room mate a favour, and moving out so OP's boyfriend can move in. A very different story, indeed.

With the totally different circumstances, OP will still be relying on room mate to keep room in good condition, and honour lease, so that deposit is returned at the end of the lease. this is not a certainty. But if deposit is returned in full or part, OP will then be relying on goodwill of room mate to return the cash.

It would be far more sensible not to move out unless the boyfriend agrees to hand you your portion of the deposit, and takes over that responsibility. That would be my advice.

@OP different circumstances = different advice. there is a significant difference between moving out and leaving a single person to pay twice the rent they agreed to, and moving out so you are not the spare wheel, and with a ready made roommate lined up to move in.

Skyrimaddict

Hi,

I would ask the friend what is the plan for the other room.

If it is as you suspect and the BF is moving in, then yes id ask for it back.

Legally, the deposit is ONLY returnable once the tenancy agreement is ended and closed to satisfaction. As you moved and broke this ( for covid reason) but your friend is still living there, the overall tenancy is still going on.

ted1

You rented the apartment with your friend.
The friend is staying you are not
The landlord still has a valid lease.

You have two choices. Get your friend to give it to you, or wait till your friend moves out.

GingerLily

How much notice did you give?

ted1

GingerLily wrote: »

How much notice did you give?

It’s not about notice as the other tenant is staying.

GingerLily

ted1 wrote: »

It’s not about notice as the other tenant is staying.

It's depends what way you look at it. If they didn't give any notice, or didn't pay rent to cover the period of their notice, then I can't see why the housemate would also give them their deposit back from their own bank account.

Dav010

GingerLily wrote: »

It's depends what way you look at it. If they didn't give any notice, or didn't pay rent to cover the period of their notice, then I can't see why the housemate would also give them their deposit back from their own bank account.

That is a very fair point. If the op did give the remaining tenant a notice period and is assign his/her interest in the lease to the other tenant, the other tenant should give the op the deposit as he/she is now renting both rooms off the landlord.

Curious1002

Forget the friendship and other baloney, this is a business arrangement now. Ask her to return your deposit now or you just wait when the lease expires in Nov and ask the agent for your deposit back (minus the cost of any damages they might come up with). You are entitled to your deposit back 100%. If the remaining tenant receives the entire deposit back and wont return your half, you can sue her in small claims court, it cost a penny to open a case, but be ready to show some proof (email, text) that she didnt want your room to be rented out to mitigate her extra financial burden. I bet in court she will claim that you left her high and dry, while in fact your move works for her pretty good (bf). Hope the agent will not return 100% deposit to her but simply splits it among the 2 of you in Nov.

Bowlardo

You’re entitled alright....entitled to a kick up the hole

Dav010

Curious1002 wrote: »

Forget the friendship and other baloney, this is a business arrangement now. Ask her to return your deposit now or you just wait when the lease expires in Nov and ask the agent for your deposit back (minus the cost of any damages they might come up with). You are entitled to your deposit back 100%. If the remaining tenant receives the entire deposit back and wont return your half, you can sue her in small claims court, it cost a penny to open a case, but be ready to show some proof (email, text) that she didnt want your room to be rented out to mitigate her extra financial burden. I bet in court she will claim that you left her high and dry, while in fact your move works for her pretty good (bf). Hope the agent will not return 100% deposit to her but simply splits it among the 2 of you in Nov.

The tenancy doesn’t expire because the fixed term ends, only when the tenancy is terminated by the tenants, or by the LL under certain conditions. Put simply, it keeps going until the other tenant leaves, the November date doesn’t matter if the other tenant stays put.

Curious1002

Dav010 wrote: »

The tenancy doesn’t expire because the fixed term ends, only when the tenancy is terminated by the tenants, or by the LL under certain conditions. Put simply, it keeps going until the other tenant leaves, the November date doesn’t matter if the other tenant stays put.

Do you think that the tenant can stay put for the next 10 years there and the other person has to wait that long to get her deposit back? No way. The staying girl should fork out a few hundred now to return the half deposit to the tenant who left or in November at the very last. If she extends her stay for another year or 20 years then thats on her, on new terms. The tenant who left can sue her in Nov even if the girl decides to stay there indefinitely.

Dav010

Curious1002 wrote: »

Do you think that the tenant can stay put for the next 10 years there and the other person has to wait that long to get her deposit back? No way. The staying girl should fork out a few hundred now to return the half deposit to the tenant who left or in November at the very last. If she extends her stay for another year or 20 years then thats on her, on new terms. The tenant who left can sue her in Nov even if the girl decides to stay there indefinitely.

The November date isn’t relevant here, the tenancy continues until the tenants/LL legally end it. The terms of the tenancy remain the same.


Are you saying the LL has to return a deposit before a tenancy ends? On what are you basing this?

You say the op can sue the other tenant, the other tenant doesn’t hold the deposit, the LL does. I agree the other tenant should give the op the deposit, but can you sue her for something she doesn’t have and isn’t responsible for holding?

lawred2

AoifeM1357 wrote: »

Hi all,

Some advice needed. I have had to move home due to unforeseen circumstances as a result of Covid. I was renting with one roommate who has decided not to sublet my room but take full responsibility for the lease herself. The agent we deal with has said that this is fine but it's up to us to come to an agreement about the deposit (they won't be paying any of it back until the lease ends in November or whenever both of us move out).

So there is no one officially taking my place and no one will be paying me my portion of the deposit now. But I also don't want to put my roommate out by several hundred euro by asking her to pay me my portion of the deposit as she is taking on the full financial cost of the lease.

But do you think I'm within my rights to ask my roommate for my portion of the deposit back when it is paid back by the agent (when the lease goes up in Nov or whenever my roommate decides to move out)??. She said originally that I am forfeiting my deposit by moving out but that just hasn't been sitting well with me.

Thanks for your help!!

You're very fortunate you weren't asked to pay rent for an empty room.

I'd be leaving the deposit to your friend.

You can ask OP.

They seem to have already made their mind up.
You are breaking the lease, it's hard to see a way to force either the agent or housemate to give you this.

YellowLead

If it was me OP I would ask and see - not to get the deposit back now, but whenever lease is up. This is because what if said boyfriend leaves her in the lurch - she is taking on a risk. No idea if it’s possible to sign the lease over to the boyfriend?

ec18

you should insist or sub letting or the deposit being returned. Your room mate is making a choice not to fill your room, you should not be out of pocket for their decision to live with her partner (and they should not get a rental on your deposit)

arrianalexander

I assume as part of the lease agreement , rooms can't be sublet

The agent agreed the op could move.out and the deposit was up to them to sort.

Has a new lease been signed with just one person or has the agent just left the lease as is.

If the person living there does.get her oh to move in and doesn't notify the agent and have a new lease signed them they would be in breach of the original lease if it is still there

I'm going to guess the agent was lazy and didn't draw up a new lease, was there emails to clarify that they agreed with one tenant.

This could get very messy down the line, if the tenant there decides not to pay rent etc , I'd be looking for a new lease to be drawn up without your name on it .As for deposit that would be something for ye to work out.