Renting - Advice on various Admin Fees/Bond...

staks

The alarm bells are ringing. I feel uneasy, to the point of being sick.

I have got in touch with the housing association to see if I can retract the months notice I gave on Friday. If that goes okay then I'm going to send a letter to the LA to cancel my interest in the property.

On one side I feel this is a knee jerk reaction to my gut feeling, but the other side is telling me that I'll regret it if I don't!

Edit: Clutton thankyou for your valuable input. I wish I had your knowledge of the system so I could do better in sticking up for myself in front of LA's as such as these. You have however given me the courage to draw a line under it and stop myself from getting any deeper with them.

clutton_2

why are you wanting to leave the security of a housing association tenancy ?

clutton_2

i think a really good strategy for anyone in a situation where they feel ill-educated, is - when asked to sign something.. simply say - you dont mind if i take it away and give it some thought do you and i can come back tomorrow to finalise things - and just repeat that if the other party is insistent.... no one can FORCE you to sign anything....

tbs624

Staks - be prepared for a battle with this LA over the partial return of your deposit.

Here's what the OFT says about LLs insisting on Ts taking our specific insurance:

"compulsory insurance – we object in particular to terms requiring tenants to purchase specific insurance, or insurance provided by an insurer specified by the landlord or agent." oft356

It's guidance,rather than law, until tested in court but the local Trading Standards Office may be interested in this LA and its spurious fees.

Stand firm and tell them *in writing* that they can only keep a reasonable fee for the work done to date which will be a pretty minimal amount.

Good luck. When you've finished with it you may like to post up your views at www.allagents.co.uk

Enfieldian

Good luck. When you've finished with it you may like to post up your views at www.allagents.co.uk

As an aside I just had a look at the latest posts on there, it seem Castles can do no wrong, every single post refers to the magical Panos & Steve!

Has posting a positive review once a month from a new IP address become part of an Estate Agents target?

caeler

david_bedford wrote: »

However half of the 6 weeks rent went into a deposit scheme which is part of the clause in our tenancy agreement.

Why only half? All of your deposit must be protected within the scheme.

KFW

hi all, whilst on the topics of renting fees.

I understand you pay administration fee for credit check and references but is there a reservation fee? been enquiring at a letting agency. they say pay administration fee £120 & reservation fee £90 (non - refundable) and usual bond/deposit plus first month of rent

sorry for newbie questions

many thanks

KFW

tbs624

KFW - LAs will try to make as much money as they can from potential Ts. Unless you are absolutely desperate to rent a specific property I would avoid any LA who tries to foist a holding deposit/reservation fee on you.

A potential T would already be showing a clear intent by coughing up for credit fees and handing over all the necessary personal data to enable the checks to be made, so why should they be required to pay a further non-refundable amount?

Try going via the Council for a list of accredited private LLs or check with the local LL association which LLs self manage their properties so that you can bypass LAs altogether.

There is nothing magic about using an LA - they don't need to have any training, experience or qualification to set up in business and many of them have a woeful lack of knowledge about LL & T law.