Breaking a lease in ireland..what can happen?

Question

i agreed to a 12mth lease, but its just too expensive now...havent actually signed anything, but ive been told a verbal agreement still counts.

what happens in ireland if you break a lease...can i be forced to pay all remaining months?

I dont want to cut and run, im planning on asking the landlord first, just want to know if i have any rights?

thanks

Answer 1

This is the page you need to read - http://www.threshold.ie/ in particular http://www.threshold.ie/page.asp?menu=70...

Notice of termination

If a tenant wants to terminate a tenancy and move out of a property, the tenant must give the landlord notice in writing. A phone call, text message or even an email will not do. Even if the landlord is agreeable to a tenant's oral notice to leave, Threshold recommends that the tenant follows up the oral notice with formal written one.

A tenant who does not serve the landlord with formal written notice endangers their deposit. If a written lease is in place, the tenant could also be held liable for the remainder of the rent owed for the rest of the lease period.

The Residential Tenancies Act provides how a tenant should terminate a tenancy. The notice must be in writing and signed by the tenant. It should specify the date of service and the date the notice will expire. The notice must state the following: "Any issue as to the validity of the notice or the right of the tenant to serve it, must be referred to the Private Residential Tenancies Board under Part 6 within 28 days from the date of receipt of it."

For a draft Notice of Termination, please click here>>

The length of notice given by a tenant depends on how long the tenant has lived in the property. The longer the tenancy, the longer the notice period. Please note the notice periods provided in the Residential Tenancies Act as laid out in the Table below.

Duration of tenancy                               Notice by tenant

Less than 6 months                                   28 days

6 or more months but less than 1 year       35 days

1 year or more but less than 2 years          42 days

2 or more years                                        56 days

A tenant can give 28 days notice at any time if the landlord is in breach of his or her obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act or the tenancy agreement. If a tenant wishes to avail of the shorter period, the tenant must notify the landlord in writing of the breach and to give the landlord a reasonable opportunity to rectify the position.

What happens if there is a fixed term lease in place?

A tenant cannot avail of the notice periods where they are bound by a fixed term lease which they signed. They can, however, end the tenancy where the landlord is in breach of an obligation and where they have written to the landlord regarding the breach and giving the landlord an opportunity to rectify the position.

A tenant can also avail of section 186 of the Residential Tenancies Act to end a fixed term lease where the landlord refuses their wish to assign the lease to somebody else.

If a tenant wants to end of fixed-term tenancy early, they should inform the landlord in writing of their wish to assign or sublet the lease. Where the landlord refuses to give his or her consent, the tenant is entitled to serve a Notice of Termination.

The length of notice is determined by duration of the tenancy (see the Table above) and the Notice should correspond to the example Notice of Termination provided above.

The tenant is entitled to the return of their deposit if they take these steps.

Answer 2

If you havent signed anything then i dont think it counts because if you agreed to a 12mth lease then someone should have put that in writing.

Talk to your landlord before making any decisions.

(",)

Answer 3

No, if you have not signed any agreement you are not intitled to pay any extra months...even if someone Irish does actually sign a one year lease its really only ever a matter of giving a month s notice to the landlord in order to move out.

Try this website http://www.rentlaw.com/

or call the Citizens advice bureau they are normally very helpful.