Any Legal Bods our there

princeofpounds

As G_M said, the courts have interpreted 'deposits' very widely when it comes to tenancies, to the point where more than two months rent in advance can even be counted as a deposit.

So if the deposit is taken and protected it can only be used for the normal things that tenancy deposits are used for, damage and missing rent.

If it is taken and not protected then the LL is opening themselves up to a legal claim of 3x the unprotected amount and the inability to use a section 21 eviction. The only risk you as tenants have is that the landlord goes bankrupt in the meantime, or somehow manages to escape court enforcement (hard for someone with a regular job and assets, easy for those without). You do gain a lot of leverage by having the power to sue and immunity to section 21 however - if you can bear the risks it is often more advantageous to not have the deposit protected!

The LL is being stupid and the agent ignorant and unprofessional in not realising the pitfalls in this scheme. If the extra deposit is truly unaffordable you might take the time to educate them on this, you might do them a favour, but somehow I suspect they will think they know better.

Wee_Willy_Harris

princeofpounds wrote: »

If it is taken and not protected then the LL is opening themselves up to a legal claim of 3x the unprotected amount and the inability to use a section 21 eviction. The only risk you as tenants have is that the landlord goes bankrupt in the meantime, or somehow manages to escape court enforcement (hard for someone with a regular job and assets, easy for those without). You do gain a lot of leverage by having the power to sue and immunity to section 21 however - if you can bear the risks it is often more advantageous to not have the deposit protected!

A point I have made myself a number of times. Tenants need to take a much better look at the advantages/disadvantages of what happens with their deposit. This headlong rush for the "3 x deposit" and holding the LL to the letter of the law regarding requirement to protect is, often, just shooting yourself in the foot!

diddly74

Hi guys

I have a provisional copy of the tenancy agreement and the 2 amounts are listed separately and it does say that the extra £1000 is a Bond Deposit and will be protected, as well as the £900 normal deposit being protected.

Where do I stand on this? Can I ask for them to be protected separately??

Notlob

diddly74 wrote: »

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?

Consider yourself lucky, I would expect that most LL and agents will demand 6 months advance rent as well as a deposit. Going BR is not a positive sign of following through on ones financial commitments!!!

clutton_2

|As a LL i have recently taken on a family who had recent severe financial difficulties.. and we agreed that they get a very well paid guarantor - would this be possible for OP ?

after all, if your family and mates wont guarantee your rent-paying abilities, why should a perfect stranger (prospective L:L ) be asked to take that risk.....

Bottom linle OP is that if you dont like the terms in the contract.. look elsewhere....

CloudCuckooLand

diddly74 wrote: »

My hubby and I went BR in March, and now we are looking to rent a property...

diddly74 wrote: »

No one else has even looked at the house, it is fairly high in rent for a 3 bed in our area...

If you are recently bankrupt why are you looking at renting somewhere, that in your own words is "fairly high in rent" for your area ?

Do you want to go BR all over again in a couple of years ? Have you learnt nothing from the experience ?

Pick somewhere average instead and save the difference for the future debts that you will inevitably run up.

Unless you plan on visiting the debt-free wannabee board to find a way to induce your lightbulb moment.