Landlord not resident in UK but managing property

fair_deal_3

Good new year to all readers and contributors to this most informative forum.
My situation very briefly:
Completed application form for tenancy and paid £500 good faith holding deposit for 2 b/r apartment. At the time I indicated that I was prepared to delay my occupation date in order to allow premises to be painted and professionally cleaned.
Subsequently learnt that landlord resides in Spain and that he has now decided to clean the property himself and conduct the inventory on his own.(He manages the property himself from his base in Spain) The L A is silent on painting out of apartment but has requested me to sign AST and make due payments by 8 Jan. After signature and payment I will be provided with inventory list for my signature. Although LA is not in any way involved in conducting the inventory, they request payment of £150... is this right?
I would prefer to ensure that the property has been painted and professionally cleaned (as it was in dire need of this when I viewed the property), prior to signing the AST. Also, because the LL is not resident in UK, I would like to be present when the inventory is being done by him.
Would it be reasonable to push for these conditions prior to signing AST?
Finally, I would like to have something in writing that deals with how repairs to equipment in the event of something going wrong (such as burst pipe, boiler breaking down, etc) is to be handled (esp payment), due to the absence of the LL.

I will greatly appreciate advice from forum members

Kind regards

clutton_2

you are asking very sensible questions... i also wou ld be very reluctant to sign an AST without seeing the redecorations....

whilst it is useful to be present at the taking of the inventory, as long as you are sent a copy, signed by the LL or LA., and you then have the ability and opportunity to complete it with any additional things you find, copy it , and send it back to the LL/LA then that is ok... but it would be a good time to meet the LL

Before you sign the AST you can simply ask for a new clauses to be added which specifies how repairs need to be reported and to whom...

if the LL is rsident in Spain then he legally needs to have a UK=based agent to deal/manage his tenancy

daska

we got badly stung on a letting where we we were promised work would be done before we moved in because there was a category 1 safety deficiency - 5 months later we moved out because the work still hadn't been carried out despite involving the council and the LL being threatened with court action.

Personally I'd now refuse to make an offer, sign anything or pay a single penny until I had evidence that the necessary repairs, redecoration, cleaning had been done and I'd be writing to them stating that the deposit has been paid on the basis that this work will be done and you expect it to be refunded in full. I hope that you have something that states that the LL has agreed to have the work done as a condition of the tenancy.

fair_deal_3

Many thanks Clutton and much appreciated!
Regarding your comment about the LL legally requiring a UK agency to manage his tenancy , my AST will be with Countrywide Residential Lettings, but they are rent collectors and nothing more. I suppose this will be accepted by the relevant authorities, correct?

fair_deal_3

daska wrote: »

we got badly stung on a letting where we we were promised work would be done before we moved in because there was a category 1 safety deficiency - 5 months later we moved out because the work still hadn't been carried out despite involving the council and the LL being threatened with court action.

Personally I'd now refuse to make an offer, sign anything or pay a single penny until I had evidence that the necessary repairs, redecoration, cleaning had been done and I'd be writing to them stating that the deposit has been paid on the basis that this work will be done and you expect it to be refunded in full. I hope that you have something that states that the LL has agreed to have the work done as a condition of the tenancy.

Thanks Daska
No, I dont have anything in writing as this was verbally conveyed to me by the LA on viewing the property. I do however have a witness who accompanied my on the viewing and who has no interest in the tenancy. Also the fact that the occupancy date was moved to a week later in order to do the necessary painting and redecoration is about all I have to go on. I did email LA to remind them of this and I will also indicate that I am prepared to wait a while longer to ensure the job is done. My holding deposit contract indicates "good faith and serious intention to proceed with renting" and this is what I will be highlighting.

clutton_2

contact a poster on here called franklee who has great knowledge on overseas landlords - there is a serious taxation issue here as well.. you could be responsible for deducting tax from your rent and paying it to the taxman for the LL

if Countrywide are colledcting the rent, then they must have an agreement withe the LL re taxes...

but, as a LL myself (and also a tenant) i would definitely not sign anything until the decoration is done, and i would write a polite but firm letter/emaial to the agency telling them that now, so that they can inform the LL - if the LL pulls the plug on teh tenancy i think you should get your fees back....

N79

Before we go overboard on worrying about the tax situation if the LL has a UK agent collecting the rent then that agent (not the T) is responsible for witholding tax at source until HMRC confirm in writing to the contrary.

Agent should also serve a s48 notice on T when AST is signed giving the LL's UK address (probably will be the agents). This address is valid for all notices related to the tenancy.

As for the decoration at the very least get it included in the AST in writing before you signthat the decorating will be completed to your satisfaction before the tenacy commences.

Once the AST is signed you can ask for the LL's name and address (under S1 of the LL and T act). Who knows what address this will produce (it will depend on how the LL has structured their affairs) but if it is a Spanish one then you need to keep in mind that this address is about as useful as a chocolate teapot for tenancy related matters and should never be used for contacting your LL (an English court just will not consider a foreign address as a good address for service without alot of additional legal footwork). The S48 address should always be used.

N79 (a non resident LL)

franklee

N79 wrote: »

Before we go overboard on worrying about the tax situation if the LL has a UK agent collecting the rent then that agent (not the T) is responsible for witholding tax at source until HMRC confirm in writing to the contrary.

Yes, if the tenant pays rent to a UK letting agent then the agent is responsible for operating the scheme and the tenant doesn't have to worry, details here:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/CNR/nr_landlords.htm

Of note:

"Which tenants have to operate the Non resident Landlords Scheme?

Tenants of Non resident landlords have to operate the scheme if:

* the rent they pay is over £100 a week, and

either
o they pay the rent direct to a Non resident landlord, or
o they pay the rent to a person outside the UK, or
o they pay the rent to a person who is not a letting agent in the UK"

The landlord abroad can manage the property himself if he wants but it sounds far from ideal to do that from such a distance, I'd have visions of nothing getting fixed without hassle.

N79 wrote: »

Agent should also serve a s48 notice on T when AST is signed giving the LL's UK address (probably will be the agents). This address is valid for all notices related to the tenancy.

Yes, The tenant must be given an address in England and Wales upon which to serve notices, rent is not due until this is done. This address is important for the tenant as it's the one they use to serve notice to leave or to serve court papers if there is a dispute etc.

The tenant is also entitled to the landlord's name and address if he writes and asks for it, this is separate to the address for service of notices. Worth getting in case of problems later on and you need to track the landlord down.

a. Address upon which notices can be served.

Under the requirements of section 48 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1987 rent is not lawfully due unless the tenant has been given, in writing, an address in England and Wales at which notices can be served. It's OK to use the address of the agent for this and if this address was given in e.g. in the tenancy agreement as the address upon which notices can be served then that is sufficient.

b. Landlord's OWN address (that is his place of abode or place of business or, in the case of a company, it's registered office).

This comes under a different bit of legislation. Under section 1 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, tenants of dwellings in England & Wales, who make a written request have a right to the landlord's name and address. In this case the agent's address will not suffice. This information must be supplied within 21 days. The legislation refers only to the landlord's name and address, not his telephone number or any other form of contact details.