my landlord has threatened to sue me for leaving the property early.

Hi,

I have an issue with my landlord who has threatened to sue me for leaving my property early.

I have given plenty of notice (40 dys or so). i'm 5 months in on the 1 year contract but cant live there anymore due to the noise on the streets at night and broken appliances (hot water is only temporary, freezer door broken, heating only works in bedroom).

I've asked him fix things but only half does it.

There is no break clause in the lease but it specifically states that I cannot sublet the apartment.

I'm incredibly angry by the abuse he's thrown at me for wanting to do this as he screamed and cursed down the phone at me.

I personally cannot have anything more to do with him.

I also found out today that he isnt registered with the PRTB.

Any advice on my next plan of action? I'm not concerned about loosing my deposit,

I'm treating it as lost money at this stage.

Just say you asked to reassign the lease but he refused. You can get your deposit back then. It will probably require a PRTB case though.

The no subletting clause is meaningless, as the contract cannot reduce your rights.
As Maynooth said, you've done all you need to by asking to reassign the lease.

You can still take a case to the PRTB to get your deposit back, even though he isn't registered. It might be worth pointing this out to him, along with the potential for extra penalties for him for not being registered.

Thanks for the info!

So basically, if I send him a letter giving him notice and explaining that, according to his lease, I do not have permission to sub-let, so therefore I am legally entitled to give notice and leave?

If i want the deposit though i'll need to bring it to the PRTB right? If thats true its good to know if he becomes aggressive again.

I don’t think you can hold the landlord responsible for the noise on the street but not having proper heating, hot water and freezer is the landlords responsability, I think you could reasonably argue the Landlord is in breach of his obligations if he fails to rectify these issues in a reasonable time, then, if you follow proper procedure regarding notice etc, you could terminate your fixed term lease on these grounds and expect your deposit back.


Assigning or subletting the tenancy can be done, but again the proper procedure must be followed, if the landlord refuses consent, then you can give notice and assuming no other issues you would be entitled to get your deposit back, but if he agrees you have to have someone willing to sign a new lease.


Below is from Deposit Refund here; http://www.prtb.ie/act.htm


Equally, a tenant who has entered into a tenancy for a fixed term is bound by the terms of the contract entered into and may not terminate the tenancy before expiry of the fixed term unless the contract so allows or there has been a breach of the landlord's obligations


If a tenant does need to get out of a fixed term tenancy and wants to ensure that there are no grounds for retention of the deposit in respect of outstanding rent, the tenant should seek the landlord's written consent to assign or sub-let the tenancy. If the landlord refuses consent, the tenancy may then be terminated by the tenant by serving a valid Notice of Termination with the required amount of notice. If the landlord consents to assignment, then the tenant's tenancy will end and the assignee will commence a new periodic tenancy.

Threshold also very helpful, have a look here; http://www.threshold.ie/menu.asp?menu=102

How do you know he's not registered with prtb ? The application can take a long time and just because you have not heard or checked the website and not seen the address there does not mean he's not registered. I think you broke the terms of the lease and he's entitled to keep the deposit. If you know for definite he's not registered then report the matter to revenue. Bear in mind though that you broke the terms of the lease. To be honest you seem to be making excuses for wanting to leave.

elcato said:

How do you know he's not registered with prtb ? ..

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Hi,

I'm sorry you feel that way.
I know he is not registered with the prtb because I called them after I had a problem with him and they let me know about him not being registered. They then refered me to Threshold.
I have not broken any terms in my lease to date as I have not left the apartment yet, I am still considering my options and want to proceed under the proper legal way.
Threshold have been very helpful actually and I understand that I need to ask to sub let in writing before I can hand in a notice. If he wants to sublet I wont have a problem with that i think.

I'm sorry you think I'm making excuses but please dont judge before you know exactly what my situation is. Here are some other reasons I wouldn't have otherwise brought up: I'm living with my wife in a 1 bed apartment which is about the size of 3 parking spaces. I had to find the place quickly as she was moving over from the USA. The street its on has 7 bars and 2 nightclubs surrounding it so every single night there are drunk people shouting till 4 or 5 in the morning (we both work early in the morning by the way). My wife is expecting a child so we need more space, rooms, better conditions and neighbourhood. Not to mention the bad attitude of the landlord and his unfulfillment of his obligations. I hope you understand why it is urgent for me and my wife to leave

Thanks for all the info, I think I'm ready to proceed. I'll be back to update my progress

Pignailz your case is fairly simple, items not working, landlord not fixing them, what other option do you have? A lot of people expect tenants not to think towards their future but if the OP was to just let this slip how would he and his wife cope for the winter (which is expected to be much the same as last year) without working hot water and heating, that's just not an option.

Even if the landlord is not registered you are still entitled to go the PRTB and get advice from them. I'm sure shopping him to the revenue is the least of your worries, i would assume your top priority is finding somewhere for you and your family to live.

Hi pignailz - It was not my intention to make any judgment on you personally but as you explained there are other factors for which you need to move which was not clear at the first post. Your reason for wanting to leave is not necessarily because of some appliances, its because it's not suitable due to your circumstances having changed. I was merely playing the other side of the coin. Leases are two sided. What would you have said if the landlord decided to ask you to leave after five months ? In this case a deposit forfeit is the best you should hope for given the fact that you both agreed on a lease. I would move on and get out to a more suitable place rather than add this extra stress on yourself. My only other advice would be to take pictures and make notes of the problems and dates in case he decides to make things difficult down the line.

elcato said:

Hi pignailz - It was not my intention to make any judgment on you personally but as you explained there are other factors for which you need to move which was not clear at the first post. Your reason for wanting to leave is not necessarily because of some appliances, its because it's not suitable due to your circumstances having changed. I was merely playing the other side of the coin. Leases are two sided. What would you have said if the landlord decided to ask you to leave after five months ? In this case a deposit forfeit is the best you should hope for given the fact that you both agreed on a lease. I would move on and get out to a more suitable place rather than add this extra stress on yourself. My only other advice would be to take pictures and make notes of the problems and dates in case he decides to make things difficult down the line.

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If the heating is as bad as described and the landlord hasn't fixed it for months, then surely the place is not fit for purpose, and regardless of the actual motivation for the tenant breaching the contract, it is irrelevant, as the landlord has already breached it through negligence?

You want to leave, your not too bothered about losing your deposit by the sound of it so just leave.

The day you leave will be the last day you hear from your landlord. I dont understand what legal action you think he is going to take against you.