Just caught tenant moving out without telling me..

simpywimpy

Update...

I called at the agency again yesterday and found the tenant had handed in the keys to the property. She also signed a sec21 form at the beginning of the tenancy so I hope I am covered for her moving out.

The tenant refused access to the plumber before she left to repair the water coming from the ceiling which has resulted in the ceiling needing work.

The tenancy agreement that the agency did for the tenant clearly states that a deposit is needed and that rent is payable in advance. It states:

The rent shall be £100 per week, payable in advance. The first payment being due on 23/03/09 or prior to the date of taking posession. (she moved in on that date)

Under deposit it states
The deposit of £ (no figure) will be paid by the tenant

Both these are in the tenancy agreement. Is this enough for me to take action against the agency?

In the sole agency agreement, there is nothing in there that mentions either rental in advance or deposit

lynzpower

The rent shall be £100 per week, payable in advance. The first payment being due on 23/03/09 or prior to the date of taking posession. (she moved in on that date) wgat was written here then- did it say £100 paid or anything at all ??

Under deposit it states
The deposit of £ (no figure) will be paid by the tenant

the no figure bit -Ipresume the y have not filled this in.

Just because a pre printed contract has a spae for a deposit, if its not filled in and signed by the tenant, then clearly the tenant has no contractual obligation to pay a deposit.

Did you have a conversation with the agent about which TDS the deposit was goingto be placeed in or did tey give you a leaflet or anythin, implying that?

Im staggered really that you hadnt noticed youve not had any info about where the deposit would have been stored. I would have heard the alarm bell if I hadnt heard where it was placed within 14 days, after all there is a suggestion that if the dep was taken and not stored in a TDS within ??14 days then the tenant can clam 3x the deposit amount from the LL :eek:

what did you think had happened to the deposit :eek:

simpywimpy

I only received a copy of the tenancy agreement recently because I demanded one. They didnt send me any paperwork at all at the start of the tenancy i February.

By the end of march when I hadnt received any money at all, I phoned the agency to enquire when to expect some and it was then I was told that because she was on HB, the council pays in arrears and I would get it when the benefit came through. I asked them why then hadnt informed me of that and they said they thought we would have wanted a decent tenant quickly.

I asked what deposit they had held and they told me none. They don't take one because people on benefits struggle. Again I told them that had we known, we would never have agreed to that tenant taking the property.

We originally stated no benefits but they phoned telling us what a lovely tenant they had found who was on her own, reliable with a small dog. Turns out she was living on the sly with her hubby who works away, has a huge dog that bit the agent and is so reliable that she left without notice owing 5wks rent

simpywimpy

Im thinking it looks like the agency has their position watertight. Surely there must have been some procedure they have failed to do that I can quote?

lynzpower

Are they members of the national association of letting agents?

simpywimpy

No they arent

lynzpower

oh.
Do you hve a copy of the contract between you and the letting agent that you signed. If not you\of course havethe power to get all of this data under the DPA?

What is the wording of what you expect from them?

i really think you should name n shame this shower so no other moneysavers get sucked in!

simpywimpy

I have read through the contract between me and the agent (though cant remember signing one) and there is nothing that states they will take a deposit or advance rental or that they will make reference checks on the tenant. These are just things that are either in the tenancy agreement (deposit and rent in advance as described earlier) and verbally (reference checks)

The agency is called 2let, based in Burnley.

lynzpower

Ive looked at the website. Very lame and with no infor at all. Im interested why you used them, i note they call themselves "new" had you had a recommendation, or were they the heapest etc?

Do you have any leaflets or anytin that sugests what service they will give you. This sounds very crap to me.

simpywimpy

yes they do now in hindsight. I used them mainly because they are on the same road as the property so was handy to use.

I plan to go back in tomorrow with a complaint but not sure if there is anything I can actually complain about seeing there is nothing in writing apart from the tA saying rent payable in advance - the fact the didnt tell me they werent taking advance rental really sticks for me!

Can I at least ask for all the paperwork back for the property incl ones signed by the tenant such as the sec21 notice?