Any Legal Bods our there

diddly74

Is there anyone out there that has any legal insight?

I am enquiring as having already spoken to Shelter and they have never heard of it.

ok full story

My hubby and I went BR in March, and now we are looking to rent a property. The LL and LAs have asked for a £900 deposit and £670 as a month of rent in advance. On top of this we have also been asked to give an extra £1000 as a legal bond. To be written into the tenancy agreement as only to be used for the LL if they have to go to the courts to evict us for non payment of rent. :eek: Back story to the LL is that the previous tenant did a flit from the house and left it in a horrendous state with dog poo all over the house! We understand the LL has been stung, but again they should not tar us with the same yukky brush that the other tenant obviously used! We are just worried that we are being discriminated against and what they are asking for with the extra £1000 is unfair.

As I have already said I have contacted Shelter about this and they have never been asked about anything like this before, but looking at said that it could be deemed as unfair!!!! It will mean that effectively we have to put down a £1900 deposit as the £1000 is fully refundable to us if not needed for court costs.

I intend to contact Community Legal Advice tomorrow to see if they can offer us any advice on the situation. Can anyone here shed any light on this?

Mankysteve

They can charge what they like as a deposit.

The £1000 pond legal bound sounds like an excuse to avoid protecting it to me, but I'm not 100% sure You should get the full £1900 - any damage deductions. Any deposit should be protected but I'am not sure where you stand on the fact there calling it a legal bond.

But if they said they wanted £10,000 desposit as long as the same applies teh same for everyones there's naf all you can do.

princeofpounds

The landlord can ask for as large a deposit as he likes. It must all be protected however with an official scheme, and it can only be deducted according to the rules of that official scheme. If you can't afford the deposit then you have to go look at another property.

Landlords sometimes try to write into tenancy agreements that tenants are responsible for their legal costs. These clauses are meaningless because courts decide who pays costs and such clauses are unfair as they cause a material imbalance which cannot be enforced in consumer contracts.

Mankysteve

Well if you found guilty in a court will award the legal cost payback to LL anyway.

Hopejack

Also think it's a way around protecting the deposit, or getting their hands 'easily' on money should they have an issue at the end of the tenancy. I have heard on Landlordzone of LLs asking for a month's rent upfront in lieu of deposit as they refuse to protect the deposit (or refuse to use the dispute process via a protection scheme) due to the hoops LLs have to go through to prove damage and be awarded the deposit. Not saying it's right, but I have heard of it.

Sounds to me like your LL has been well and truly stung and perhaps found the procedure of trying to get the last deposit a nightmare. I had a similar situation earlier this year with my ex tenant. I did go through the deposit scheme, imo it was stressful, a lot of bureaucracy and very, very long! I did win though!

SouthCoast

we are being discriminated against

Discrimination in tenancy agreements

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_family/home_and_neighbourhood_index_ew/renting_a_home_index_ew/tenancy_agreements.htm#discrimination_in_tenancy_agreements

Cannon_Fodder

Drop this place, if it worries you.

No point fretting for 12 months over "will he, won't he do X or Y".

If everyone gives the place a wide berth, he'll soon change his stance.

diddly74

Cannon_Fodder wrote: »

Drop this place, if it worries you.

No point fretting for 12 months over "will he, won't he do X or Y".

If everyone gives the place a wide berth, he'll soon change his stance.

No one else has even looked at the house, it is fairly high in rent for a 3 bed in our area (more than most families would get in LHA for sure - but is very nicely done up!)

My problem with the £1000, is it is hard enough to come by at the best of times and to anyone its a lot of money. I don't want to have it sitting in a scheme somewhere JUST IN CASE. Grrr

Wee_Willy_Harris

Maybe you should look for another rental then?

Mankysteve

I think you need to forget this place.

G_M

If the deposit (which this is effectively) is more than 2 months rent the LL is putting himself at risk rather than protecting himself.

"The amount of the deposit should be a maximum of two months' rent. If the deposit is more than this amount it could in theory count as a premium and may give the tenant an automatic right to assign the lease without the landlord's consent. "