Thinking to rent privately - are the LL's requirements reasonable

Fly_Baby

Hi everyone, would be grateful for some advice.

I have been renting for a while (through an estate agent) but now I am looking for a bigger property and there is this really nice house with a private landlord. He says that in his requirements he is sticking to official guidelines in order to make sure that the insurance on the rented property works and the mortgage lender is happy.

So what he is after is:
- Reference from my current LL
- My recent bank statements
- My recent payslips

He also wants the holding deposit now (to secure the property) equivalent to 1 month's rent, because the tenancy will only start in 3 weeks' time.

Personally I am unhappy about giving this man my bank statements - he is not even an EA - and have him poke in my personal expenditures, all my account details, details of my savings accounts which are listed in the statement under standing order entries etc.

Shouldn't the pay slips and the letter from current LL be enough to prove that I always had enough funds to cover my rent?

And the other thing about the holding deposit. Isn't month's rent (800) a reasonable amount? EAs only took £200 or so, and the rest (property deposit and rent) were paid upon moving in.

The potential LL looks reasonable and trustworthy enough, but I am a bit concerned about these documents. And can he ask for this big deposit in advance?

Thanks!

Len_Brenan

I have recently setup as a private landlord, and became a tenant at the same time, and I think the normal requirements are

- Previous landlord reference
- Employers reference
- Credit check

Your landlord may need to know your salary etc in order to get cover for legal protection, insurance etc, if you are to speak to the LL about your concerns I am sure he will understand and explain why he needs it.

ILW

In the end this is a private arrangement between you and him. He can ask for whatever he likes and you have a perfect right to not accept and walk away.

Fly_Baby

Len_Brenan wrote: »

I have recently setup as a private landlord, and became a tenant at the same time, and I think the normal requirements are

- Previous landlord reference
- Employers reference
- Credit check

Your landlord may need to know your salary etc in order to get cover for legal protection, insurance etc, if you are to speak to the LL about your concerns I am sure he will understand and explain why he needs it.

He is doing a credit check as well as everything else.

But he insists that the bank statements are required to make sure that the money is indeed coming in and that the rent is paid monthly and that there is enough. He says that's what's required of his as a private landlord with a mortgaged property i.e. he is obligated to do it.

He is getting the employer's reference too.

Fly_Baby

ILW wrote: »

In the end this is a private arrangement between you and him. He can ask for whatever he likes and you have a perfect right to not accept and walk away.

I don't want to walk away.

But aren't there any rules he must follow as a landlord? Can he really just ask for whatever he pleases?

sooz

There are plenty of rules he must follow as LL, they just haven't made any up about this yet

He can ask you to provide whatever he thinks is reasonable to grant you the tenancy. You can also ask him to provide documentation, for example that he owns the property, that his mortgage provider has given him permission to let, & to see his bank statements to check if he's paying his mortgage for the property on time. He may not choose to show you all of these. It's all up for negotiation.

Geenie

Fly_Baby wrote: »

I don't want to walk away.

But aren't there any rules he must follow as a landlord? Can he really just ask for whatever he pleases?

He is able to ask for all these details I'm afraid, just like any LA can. It makes no difference him being a private LL. He is obviously doing everything by the book, which is hopefully a good sign, as he will also be a good LL to the nice property you say it is.

As to the holding deposit, that does seem way too much to me, but I would ask if this is going to become the main deposit once you move in, as it appears to be the rent pcm! Make sure everything is in writing before agreeing to hand over this money, and it is clear what is going to happen to it once you move in. You need to clarify with him before doing anything else.

Len_Brenan

There are plenty of rule they have to follow

- They should be registered with their local authority
- They should have buildings and contents insurance for a LET property
- They should of informed their mortgage provider
- They should have a gas safety certificate, and should have all gas appliances checked every 12 months
- They should of PAT tested their electrical appliances
- They should have a energy performance certificate
- They should put your deposit in a deposit protection scheme
- They should draw up a lease detailing each parties responsibilities
- They should draw up an inventory

Dont forget this is their house you are moving into and once the lease is signed should you stop paying rent you still have squatters rights which costs them LOTS of time and LOTS and lots of money, so referencing candidates properly is a must. I am sure you are a normal person but as the previous poster has pointed out this should be a good thing as it seems both you and the landlord will do things by the book.

silvercar

He says that in his requirements he is sticking to official guidelines in order to make sure that the insurance on the rented property works and the mortgage lender is happy.

Would much rather have a landlord like this than one who is slap dash. At least you can be confident that he complies with the laws. Ask to see the energy certificate and the gas safety certificate and ask which deposit scheme he is intending using.

N79

I don't really agree that these are all rules that have to be followed so to ensure that prospective Ts do not get the impression that their LL's have missed something out I thought I would post my view.

Len_Brenan wrote: »

There are plenty of rule they have to follow

- They should be registered with their local authority
Only in Scotland
- They should have buildings and contents insurance for a LET property Only if the property is mortgaged / subject to lease conditions. Other LL can risk no insurance if they want (should have public liability from somewhere though) I never bother with contents insurance!
- They should of informed their mortgage provider
Agree
- They should have a gas safety certificate, and should have all gas appliances checked every 12 months
Agree
- They should of PAT tested their electrical appliances
Disagree although it is probably a good idea from the point of view of proving duty of care
- They should have a energy performance certificate
Sadly yes.
- They should put your deposit in a deposit protection scheme
Absolutely
- They should draw up a lease detailing each parties responsibilities
Optional - LL could rely on the terms of satutory tenancy.
- They should draw up an inventory
Optional, especially if the LL is not taking a deposit.

Len_Brenan

Thanks for the further information. Was just trying to put across that private letting is a fairly well regulated (and occasionally expensive) enterprise.

N79 wrote: »

I don't really agree that these are all rules that have to be followed so to ensure that prospective Ts do not get the impression that their LL's have missed something out I thought I would post my view.