Can I add?
Our tenant asked to renew lease for a second year to Spring next year. We agreed.We use a letting agent as don't live close by so we can't manage it ourselves.
They now wish to move out early (they are students). They asked to do a tenant assignment to get their deposit back. We are unhappy with this proposal as we rely of the agency's judgement of tenants to decide if suitable etc. As it's in their interest to find anyone to take over the lease, the quality of tenant might not be high.
Can we refuse this? We will have to pay €1,000 fee to the agent to cover the finder fee so their deposit just covers this.
Is it acceptable to refuse a request for a tenancy assignment and retain the deposit to cover the cost of letting.