Moving in before tenancy agreement starts?

weegeekus

Hi all,

My OH and I are in the process of being 'vetted' by a LA for a cottage we're really keen on. We wanted to move in, all being well, at the end of the month (29th and 30th being a weekend) but we need to set up a SO to pay the rent from the 1st (December) just to make sure our salaries are in. I've always rented from LL's direct before and they've never had a problem with us moving in a few days before the TA actually starts (with deposit and first month's rent paid of course). Can I assume this is a complete no-no with LA's? This one aren't even considering it.

Thanks in advance.

N79

Your previous LL were very trusting - in fact quite frankly they were mad. If you want to move in on the 29th then start the tenancy on the 29th. Why would your LL give you days rent free? There is nothing to stop you amending the start day and you indicate that you will have already paid rent by before you move in so why is this a problem?

weegeekus

Well as I stated in my post, we need the rent to be paid on the 1st to ensure our wages will definitely be in as pay day can vary. Every single LL I have had has not had an issue with this, one even was happy for me to moving two weeks before the lease commenced even when I pointed out to them they were losing money. The LL's I've had (eight in total) always seem to want TA to start on the 1st but have never had a problem with me moving in the weekend before after receiving their deposit and first month's rent. Perhaps I have been lucky.

N79

I understand your frustration but from a LL point of view there are many things which can go wrong with such an arrangement which will lead to great expense and a lot of time to sort out. BTW there really is no need for a tenancy agreement to start on the 1st of the month but I suppose some LL / Ts find this easier to deal with.

blue_mum

Hi,
I'm not sure if you have suggested it to the LA You could agree to the tenacny starting on the 28th/29th but then ask about paying the extra for the 2/3 days you want before the 1st of the month in your deposit/1st months rent, so that way when it comes to the next months rent it can start on the 1st of the month. I know some LA allow this, but then the last month rent would be smaller as the tenancy would end on the 28th/29th .

Anythings worth a try some times!

weegeekus

Hello, thanks for your response. Instead of trying to explain what is quite confusing (well, to me anyway ;p) I'll just copy paste the emailed response:

"there are only 2 things we can do: ·
Start the lease on the 1st so all payments are on that date but entry wouldn’t be until then either.
·Start the lease on the 28th and pay the first month. Then before the 2nd payment comes out, pay for the extra days 28, 29, 30, 31st and 1st as well as a full month which would take you to 31st Jan and Feb’s payment would be due on the 1st of Feb."

That seems to be leaving me to pay for a lot more than the three extra days I want. Doesn't seem to be any way around it though as we need to be out of our current place BY the 1st December.

daleigha

when we moved into the apartment we live in now, i wanted it a week before the start of February, in order to give us time to get our stuff over and clean the old place, before the lease on it ran out on 31st Jan. The LA amended the tenancy agreement so that it ran from 25.01.08 - 31.01.09 and we just paid for the extra days (25th - 31st) when we collected the keys. everything after that just came out on the 1st of the month as a normal monthly sum, and out lease will end on the last day of January.

HTH x

N79

Why would you be paying for more than you want? I thought you wanted to move in on the 28th which is what the agents are offering. In effect they are lengthening the fixed term by a few days with you paying the extra rent during the first two months of the tenancy. This is what I suggested in my first post. They are doing it this way so that the rental period is still 1st - end of each month for the purpose of serving notices.

weegeekus

From the email I copy/pasted, the LA seems to be asking for five day's rent: "pay for the extra days 28, 29, 30, 31st and 1st" whereas we wish to move in on the 28th which is three days before the 1st (28th, 29th and 30th November). I understand how they have worked it out but it still leaves us over £60 out of pocket.

N79

Ok yes I see - they are adding in the extra days in December not November and hence are charging for one more day. A little sneaky perhaps. I'm really not sure why they are doing it this way as it will really complicate the rental period. Whatever method they chose they can not charge twice for the 1st January.

I guess you have to decide to take it or move in on the 1st as per the tenancy agreement.

weegeekus

Well, I have struck a deal with the LA to pay the last four days of December and that allows us to move in on the 28th November, so we lose one day's rent but that's due to one less day in November. It comes down to the lease starting on the 28th November and thus the rent being paid until the 27th December inclusive but us wanting to pay the rent on the 1st to ensure our wages are always in, if that makes sense.

Thanks for everyone's input!