I have a tenant in a granny flat adjacent to the main dwelling on my property who has been retrenched and says he can no longer afford the rental.
After his retrenchment, the tenant asked me to release him from the lease and suggested that his deposit be used in lieu of the last month’s rental.
As my daughter is moving back home and possibly available to take over the flat, I agreed and prepared a short written agreement to this effect.
The tenant has now requested a pro rata refund of his deposit as he believes my daughter will take over the lease as soon as he leaves. But, for various reasons, she has no intention of moving into the flat immediately.
He says he is ready to move out as soon as possible and I would like to know if I am obliged to refund the tenant part of his deposit.
Thank you,
Refund Ruling
See what the experts have to say.
