Please help re flat deposit

tomstickland

I know many people who learnt to be "a bit slow" in paying their last month of rent after deposit retrieval problems.

littlesaint

redmandarin wrote:

Ps. I was once advised (unofficially) by a housing advisor at my local council, to keep the last month's rent in lieu of my deposit, as the council has to deal with so many complaints about landlords who refuse to pay back deposits! I'm looking for a new flat at the moment - guess what I'm going to do?

Unfortunately, many landlords have cottoned on to this. That's why many ask for six week deposit, Mind you, I'm sure that people like Easylearner who have been conned out of all their deposit would be glad to get four sixths of it back on time, tough sounds like she's on the way to getting it all back thankfully.

Six week deposits are a pain in the !!!!!!!

EagerLearner

liz545 wrote:

See, I still wouldn't've done that. I didn't expect our ex LL to make such outrageous claims, but if I'd witheld the last month's rent I would have been in breach of contract, and I had to provide references to my new LL. Acting illegally in this way only makes LL's more likely to treat tenants badly. Or am I just too honest?

Mmmm - same here - I don't think you or I had a choice Liz

Weekend everybody! :beer:

clutton_2

not wishing to hijack eagerlearners thread, here, but i would like to put some of the landlor/lady's case here - i have always got one months rent as a deposit - up to now. in 6 years, i have not returned only one deposit, as the young lady in question, just left, amicably, and had not paid the last months rent, and we discussed it and that was ok.

When i get my recent difficult tenant out, (and i have offered her a good reference to leave, if she does not wait for a court order before leaving) - but IF i have to go to court, this will eat up much more than the months rent in fees and costs, time, postage, etc etc. Then i will have to redecorate most of the house, clean the carpets, fix the fence, re-hang two radiators, repair the front door, and probably clean the whole house, as she is not likely to do so. All of these expenses, will mean i will not get any profit for the next 4 months. So, being a landlord/lady is not anywhere near as profitable as some tenants seem to think !!!

In spite of all this, I am still willing to have HB tenants, and plan to contact my local Bond Board to see if they have a vulnerable family in desperate need of accommodation. They will then find me 3-5 folks to interview (so no marketing costs) and they guarantee the bond for them; and once the tenants have moved in, they pay regular inspection visits and support the tenants thru HB form filling, utility registration, loan application etc etc etc I also will not have to subscribe to the new landlords deposit scheme when it comes in, as these Bond Boards are deemed to be "in control" of deposits.

i have no issues at all with HB folks - i just dont like folks (HB or wage-earners) who totally disrupt the quiet of the local community.

i was talking to another landlord today, and we have no idea whatsoever how many tenants get deposit ripped off, and we have no idea at all how many landlords are ripped off by tenants in the last month. Neither of us has any idea how these figures could be collected either.

A very tricky relationship .......

I am so glad that there have been so many useful and interesting contributions to this thread and i am DYING for a good result !!!!!

liz545

clutton wrote:

not wishing to hijack eagerlearners thread, here, but i would like to put some of the landlor/lady's case here - i have always got one months rent as a deposit - up to now. in 6 years, i have not returned only one deposit, as the young lady in question, just left, amicably, and had not paid the last months rent, and we discussed it and that was ok.

See, I wish more landlords could be like you, Clutton, but I think in part the problems are due to the buy-to-let explosion. Not everyone's cut out to be a landlord; it's hard work, demanding and not always profitable. It's certainly not the kind of work that should be entered into lightly, or thought of as a part-time job if you already have a demanding full-time job! I feel that far too many people have rushed into BTL without thinking about whether it's really suitable, just seeing it as easy money. I have so much respect for my new LL as she's professional and goes above and beyond the call of duty, but it's the few bad apples that rot the barrel...
Keep up the good work, Clutton, and good luck with your (soon-to-be-ex) tenant!

EagerLearner

Def agree with you there Liz - our ex landlady came into property when her dad passed away (the 3 bed flat) then she decided to rent the house she was in in Shoreham. I gather that from renting those two properties, she has made lots of money and thus obtained the property in Sussex that she is in now, as she only moved there in 2004.

She is DEFINATELY not the sort of person that should rent our property - she doesn't want to pay letting agents fees of any sort, especially not management fees - and yet as the tenants have to deal with her directly, she then tries to get them to call the agent! You then get ping-ponged back by the agent, as they say they don't manage the property. Then when we'd call her, she'd sigh loads down the phone as if she were doing us a favour by dealing wth it. As just one example, that was the case when our oven went at Xmas - she made it like she was really helping out by letting us have her camping gas thingy for 3-4 weeks, then we had to chase for her to get someone round to fix the oven properly.

So, in a nutshell, only people like Clutton should rent property - again - hear hear for Clutton!!! :beer: :T :beer: :T

redmandarin

I think we all have a choice, but I agree EagerLearner, it is more of a tricky situation with letting agents. Your landlord had a choice - she could have behaved responsibly and returned your deposit! The problem is that rogue landlords tend to have all the cards in cases like these, because they know that most people won't keep their last month's rent, in lieu of the deposit, because they're afraid of breaching their contract, or that they wont get a reference. And a lot people wont fight back, as you have done, so the landord is quids in! This leaves landlords like yours and liz545's free to take advantage, because their former tenants never imagined that their landlord would fleece them!

liz545 wrote:

See, I still wouldn't've done that. I didn't expect our ex LL to make such outrageous claims, but if I'd witheld the last month's rent I would have been in breach of contract, and I had to provide references to my new LL. Or am I just too honest?

I understand why you wouldn't have felt in a position to keep the last month's rent, liz and I fully empathise. But I do feel a bit injured here, as you seem to imply that I'm not quite as honest as you are! I'm a hard working, up-standing, taxpayer who, like you, Eager and many others, can't afford to be ripped off by the unscrupulous!

liz545 wrote:

Acting illegally in this way only makes LL's more likely to treat tenants badly.?

But the reason that some people withold the final month's rent is because they know that some landlords won't pay up and that this is the only way that they can guarantee to get back what's rightfully theirs. If all landlords were honest, then tenants wouldn't have to resort to this option.

In my case, I signed my contract with an agency. After a year, the agency folded, owing the landlord the year's rent, that I had paid them! I then carried on renting directly from the landlord.

My reasoning is this: I've lived here for years. I'm a good, quiet and respectable tenant. I've looked after her flat all this time - and my landlord has done very nicely out of me. The flat only cost £30,000 - and over the years, I've paid nearly £50,000 rent. :eek: (and what do I have to show for it? Past circumstances prevented me from being in a position to buy my own home, sadly, (but I digress!). Due to rising property prices, the flat has now increased in value by an additional £100,000, (all profit!) plus she'll keep the interest that has accumulated on my deposit. So, if she thinks she's keeping an extra month's rent at the end of my tenancy, on top of all this, she can think again! :rotfl:

I am not prepared to risk losing this money (particularly after hearing so many horror stories) and I need it for another deposit! It's my money and it's my way of fighting back (in advance!) - just in case my landlord tries to pull a fast one!

redmandarin

EagerLearner wrote:

So, in a nutshell, only people like Clutton should rent property - again - hear hear for Clutton!!! :beer: :T :beer: :T

I agree absolutely! :T How can we find other landlords of clutton's quality?

I think clutton gave us excellent advice in this respect, a few pages back. We were advised that when we view a property, we should ask the landlord for references - names and contact details of their satisfied tenants. What a great idea! At first I thought that people wouldn't want to do this for fear of upsetting the landlord and being turned down for the flat/house they wanted, but then I thought, if a landlord is a good one and has nothing to hide, then they'll see it as a reasonable request. And if a landlord objects, then that's a sign that they may not be a very good landlord anyway and we should go and view another property instead!

clutton_2

gosh, thanks every one , i do my best, i am blushing here !!




"" Not everyone's cut out to be a landlord; it's hard work, demanding and not always profitable"2

someone understands me at LONG last !!"!!!!


- only joking !!




re finding good landlords

1) ask how long they have been a landlord
2) ask if they are a member of a professional landlords organisation, like the National landlords association
3) ask if their lender knows they are renting their property to a third party
4) ask if you can talk to any of their current tenants
5) ask if they would live in the property in question themselves
6) ask to see their inventory sheets
7) ask if you can take a copy of the AST away with you to have it checked out
8) ask how many properties they own and rent out themselves


finally keep a really close eye on local newspaper adverts for tenants wanted - if the same phone number appears week after week after week, ask your self if this landlord is letting his property, and if not, why not ?


redmandarin, may i just comment on

""Due to rising property prices, the flat has now increased in value by an additional £100,000, (all profit!) ""

This "eqiuty" is only realisable when she sells the house, and indeed may well go down if the market slides. - its not "real money" till completion of a sale.

Even then there will be capital gains tax to be paid on this - so if she bought at £30k and sells at £100k she will be taxed on £70k. Depending on how long she has owned it, she could pay 40% tax on this, so it certainly is not all profit. She also pays income tax on the rent.

Folks who use stocks and shares as a long term investment vehicle don't seem to get anywhere near as much stick as us landlords !!!!!!

Mrs_Optimist

But it must be worth your while (financially) being a landlord - or else why do it???