Risky Tenancy?

G_M

theartfullodger wrote: »

And, reminder again, he must formally advise you of his address..

If you don't have his address the rent is not due (!)... so just don't pay him until he complies with the laws..;
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/landlord%27s_address.htm

Although Artful is right in law, in practice, if you don't pay the 1st months rent he's unlikely to give you the keys!

So ask for his address, if he stalls you, pay 1 month (get a receipt!) then don't pay month 2 till you get an adrdress.

Fire_Fox

Is there no address for the landlord on the tenancy agreement you signed? Did you get a proper receipt for the deposit you paid?

Mwesty

Ok, just wanted to post an update.

We moved in on the 8th December after handing over £1340 (1 months rent and deposit).

I do not have a receipt for the deposit but it does say on the tenancy agreement that I paid the amount above and that half was for the deposit which I signed. I have the landlords address and phone number. Thus far I haven't received any details regarding my deposit. I said previously that when I mentioned the Consent To Let, he said he had that - but I got the impression he wasn't being entirely honest. And when the contract was being signed he was talking about the agreement and seemed to mumble that he won't bother with deposit scemes etc.

Can anyone offer any advice on what I should do. I'm reluctant to start demanding for my deposit to be returned or placed into the sceme incase he somehow ended my tenancy. We love the house and although expensive and leaving us with little each month, it's perfect for us.

clutton_2

i would write him a very nice polite letter, pointing him in the direction of the DPS website, and reminding him that since 2007 it has been the law that all landlords have to register deposits with a scheme - and that here is a free one for him to use. The fact that it is in the tenancy agreement is all the receipt you need.

sounds to me like he is a new landlord, and is not fully au fait with his duties, and legal responsibilities, but, he may turn out to be a decent sort if you give him a chance.

you could also politely ask now for the tenants copy of the Landlords Gas Safety Certificate from his GASSAFE gas engineer - the law says you must have it within 28 days of your moving in.

Starting a new tenancy off with "all guns blazing" as you have been advised to do by several earlier posters, will not start a good relationship with your LL,

Polite discussion is the way forward.

how long is your agreement for ?

For your reassurance no landlord can get you out without a court order. (provided you pay the rent) he cannot apply to the court for a possession order until the end of the fixed term and only after he has given you a Sectoin 21 2 months notice to Quit

property.advert

clutton wrote: »

i would write him a very nice polite letter, pointing him in the direction of the DPS website, and reminding him that since 2007 it has been the law that all landlords have to register deposits with a scheme - and that here is a free one for him to use. The fact that it is in the tenancy agreement is all the receipt you need.

sounds to me like he is a new landlord, and is not fully au fait with his duties, and legal responsibilities, but, he may turn out to be a decent sort if you give him a chance.

you could also politely ask now for the tenants copy of the Landlords Gas Safety Certificate from his GASSAFE gas engineer - the law says you must have it within 28 days of your moving in.

Starting a new tenancy off with "all guns blazing" as you have been advised to do by several earlier posters, will not start a good relationship with your LL,

Polite discussion is the way forward.

how long is your agreement for ?

For your reassurance no landlord can get you out without a court order. (provided you pay the rent) he cannot apply to the court for a possession order until the end of the fixed term and only after he has given you a Sectoin 21 2 months notice to Quit

Good advice there. It is my guess that he is new to it and doesn't know his responsibilities.

I don't think you have much to worry about. If he doesn't tell his building society, then you won't be paying rent until the day you move out. If your deposit is not guaranteed, you won't be paying for the last month. As stated, he has more to lose than you.

If you really like the place and agree that he is probably just a bit green, then I'd go after the gas certificate and ask whether he wanted you to organise it and deduct the cost from next month's rent (you have to agree a date and time anyway). It puts him on the back foot and he'll probably want to organise it himself.

I'd then come in with the lender being told on the back of you organising your insurance and you need to know (make something up - depending upon how dopey he is). Your deposit can follow on from that. Don't let it drag on though but a non aggressive approach is likely to get things done, though not as they perhaps should have been. If you are happy, live with it.

clutton_2

""If he doesn't tell his building society, then you won't be paying rent until the day you move out." ...... ""I'd then come in with the lender being told on the back of you organising your insurance and you need to know (make something up - depending upon how dopey he is).""

What ????

Mwesty

I think the polite letter is probably the best route to go - however, I get the impression he's either low on funds and needed my deposit for himself - or he's greenfingered. He works for a an estate agent and got the contract drawn up from the company. Given he's in the industry I think he knows full well of his legal requirements.

I think by doing this on the side and by not getting a Consent To Let and by not depositing my money into a sceme, he may be able to get away with paying tax. Now this is all guess work from me, but there's a good chance it's true.

clutton_2

""He works for a an estate agent ""

if he is an estate agent selling houses there is no reason that he should know anything about renting houses... an entirely different business....

franklee

clutton wrote: »

if he is an estate agent selling houses there is no reason that he should know anything about renting houses... an entirely different business....

Which puts the case for registration IMO. Surely we can't go on having people with no reason to know anything about renting houses being landlords They should have to read the landlord's handbook before they can register.

Mwesty

The rent's due today, so I'm going to pay it then send the landlord a nice letter regarding the deposit.

Now hows this for strange - we received a note through the letterbox this evening from a couple requesting to view the property. Saying that they had tried to reach the estate agent but due to the snow etc they have been unable to and whether they could view the property this weekend. Low and behold, I check the Sutton Kersh website and found our house on there for sale! The link is: http://www.suttonkersh.co.uk/propertydb/product.php?xProd=23935&xSec=3

Is this anything to be worried about and is it a possbility the landlord was looking to sell then decided to rent it out instead and the esate agents haven't had chance to update the website?