Inform the tenant that agreement is for period of one year 

on expiry of one year he can vacate the premises 

there is no question of refund 

Even if the oral agreement exists and you have collected advance rent on the basis of oral agreement,  the conditions are binding on both.

You may look into the issue and try to rectify the maintenance problem if the problem is not due to fault of the tenant. 

You may also confirm if the tenant is responsible for the reasons stated which may be due to wear and tear,  in such a situation the tenant can be held accountable for the damages to the property. 

You may try to solve the problem amicably. 

If the tenant stays for 8 months , then for remaining 4 months he can not show dissatisfaction of the property anymore.

So you have no obligation to refund the money even if he quits it before 12 months. 

Ask the tenant to wait for some more time till you get a new tenant. Take advance rent from the new tenant for a period of one year and  refund the rent for the remaining four months to your tenant.

This is purely contractual 

If you don't have the money then inform the tenant 

He can continue to use the premises for the balance license period 

If he claims that you are liable for the maintenance and since there is no satisfactory maintenance , so you are liable to refund him the pro rata license fees, then that is for him to prove in court 

However taking this matter to the court would not be prudent and would be completely unnecessary 

Dear Client,

In the Present Scenario, your name is Jay from Tanzania, and you have a tenant who had paid one year rent without a written contract. After living in the property premises for 8 months, the tenant had showed his dissatisfaction with respect to property maintenance, and required a rent refund for the remaining 4 months. But you presently do not have money for a refund to be made. Herein, since there is no contract in the written form, you will have to prove the agreement between you and the tenant that was present in verbal terms. With respect to the tenant's dissatisfaction, maintenance issue may be a sufficient ground for breach of an implied contract between the tenant and you, if not maintained to a reasonable standard. However, if you do not have an adequate amount for refund, it is suggested you negotiate or mediate with the tenant on the issue, and offer to address the maintenance issues promptly. However, it is important that all these conversations are documented properly.

Hope you find this answer beneficial for resolving the dispute.

- The tenancy can be without a written contract , if the tenant is paying rent to the landlord 

- Since, the said tenant has paid you one year rent , it means that he entered into an oral agreement with you that he needs the tenanted premises for one year. 

- Further, in the middle of the tenancy period of one year , then tenant cannot ask refund of the rent for the remaining period on the ground of dissatisfaction.

- Hence, the said tenant cannot claim refund of 4 months from you on any ground , as with the payment of the 12 months rent he admit to live in the tenanted premises for one year. 

These cases are very common in various Courts. I can understand your concern in this regard. Initially try to convince the tenant with the intervention of elderly persons. Negotiation is usually the first approach to take before resorting to other Alternative Dispute Redressal methods. It is more informal and affords the parties flexibility. Essentially, negotiation is simply parties identifying an issue and meeting to fix it—they control the process and the solution. One of the key reasons why negotiation is important is its ability to preserve relationships. Unlike litigation, which often results in winners and losers, negotiation allows people to work together towards a resolution that meets everyone’s needs. This collaborative approach fosters understanding, builds trust, and maintains positive connections for future interactions.

Let the tenant go to the Court and file the case. You can defend it accordingly. At present, you cannot stop him to file any case. In case, he threatens to file any case, please lodge a police complaint in the nearest police department in Tanzania, East Africa.   

Detailed discussion is required in such cases with relevant documents.

You may contact my secretary to connect with me for clarification.

You can tell him to continue for 4 months and then vacate. Otherwise you need to refund him later if you don’t have money