# Tenant terminating a lease early



## vinvon (11 Oct 2007)

A tenant signed a 12 month lease in April and for personal reasons wants to terminate now. He has been onto Threshold and they have told him he can terminate as long as he gives 28 days notice. 

Residential Tenancies Act 2004, it is legally admissable for a renter to exit a lease prematurely:
http://www.threshold.ie/page.asp?menu=70&page=239
6. Can the tenant leave before the end of the lease?
If a tenant wants to leave before the end of the lease (and there is no break clause), the tenant needs to:
* Find someone else to replace the existing tenant in the lease;
* Write to the landlord, requesting permission to assign the lease to this new person.
If the landlord refuses consent, the tenant can give the landlord notice of termination and leave. The notice period is calculated by how long the tenant has lived there.

My question - is this true and then what real protection does a landlord have against this thing happening?

Without doubt I am going to be down at least one month's rent.

Am I missing something?


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## Ciaranm (11 Oct 2007)

Got this off Threshold.ie

"If you want to leave before the lease is up you could be held liable for the rent for the balance of the letting period. However, if you can arrange for another tenant to take over the rest of your lease, the landlord may agree to this."


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## Afuera (11 Oct 2007)

It is true that tenants can break fixed-term leases in this way, but how exactly are you going to be a months rent down because of it? I'm assuming that they have found another tenant to assign the lease to and requested your permission to do so? If they have not, then I presume you would be entitled to retain part of the deposit to cover the un-let period and/or expenses of re-letting it.


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## vinvon (11 Oct 2007)

I am not happy with tenant assigning the lease to a wacky friend.


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## KBR (11 Oct 2007)

I only have this verbally from PRTB - but you seem to be within your rights to keep the deposit.  I doubt you will have any success enforcing them being liable for the rent for the remaining duration of the lease.  I kept a deposit from tenenats who broke their lease - but I wouldn't have done so if I had a couple of months notice so I could get a new tenant (a suitable one!) in immediately on their departure.  PRTB state you need to prove that you could not reasonably have let the house out again immediately.
Are you genuinely out of pocket? then keep the deposit.  If you can avoid being out of procket be reletting immediately give it back.


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## Butter (12 Oct 2007)

I'm interested in this as it has happened to me several times over the years.  I have returned the deposit if I got a month's notice from the tenant, even if they had no-one to take over the lease.  I think I have been too easy going though and won't be doing it in the future if someone breaks a lease early.  I agree though that the landlord should be able to say yes or no to any tenant that the original tenant might want to install in their place.
Earlier this week a prospective tenant asked me what would happen to her deposit if she left before her year's tenancy was up.  This time I played tough and told her that if she broke the lease I would hold her deposit if I could not get anyone else in to take over immediately from her and that I approved of (ie:references, deposit etc).  She said that didn't suit her which made me realise she never had any intention of staying for a year and I was better off to wait for a more permanent tenant.
I know that in Northern Ireland a friend of mine who wanted to leave a property before her year's tenancy was up was told that she would be liable for the remaining months rent until the end of the tenancy and a solicitor confirmed this.  Maybe the law is different there though.


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## tosullivan (12 Oct 2007)

Your tenant wants to leave....now you don't want them to assign the lease so they are entitled to give you 28 days notice.

At the end of this 28 days, you go to the property, check it over and pay back the deposit if you think the house is in a satisfactory state.

In the meantime, you should be looking for a replacement.

If you are out of pocket when they leave, whether by damage to the property or unpaid rent, then you should be entitled to take it from the deposit.

What they are saying is true.  I had it happen to me, only my tenant didn't give the required notice and moved out straight away.  I kept the deposit and the house was in a bad state.  Took them to the PRTB for damages and won my case and all damages.

I hope you are registered with PRTB?


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## Bronte (16 Oct 2007)

tosullivan, you won your PRTB case - can I ask you has the tenant actually paid you?


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## webtax (16 Oct 2007)

Marg said:


> Earlier this week a prospective tenant asked me what would happen to her deposit if she left before her year's tenancy was up.  This time I played tough and told her that if she broke the lease I would hold her deposit if I could not get anyone else in to take over immediately from her and that I approved of (ie:references, deposit etc).



but if they give you the required notice why would you be entitled to hold onto their deposit?


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