Is there anything to stop me paying a deposit direct to the landlord

ArchThorpe

Hi,
I'm having a few concerns about an LA, and I would be happier to pay the deposit direct to the LL.

However, the LA is saying that by doing so I "would be doing a deal direct with the landlord" and that the LA "would then not get our money".

So it seems that they only want me to pay it via them, so that they can deduct their fees. Do I need to do that, if the LL is happy for me to pay it directly to him?

Not sure why I should be paying money to a 3rd party (which I and the LL have concerns about) simply to make sure that the LL pays the LA.

My duty to the LA would seem to be simply to pay the admin fees, but I would appreciate any advice you guys might be able to provide.

CloudCuckooLand

Its the LL's choice to use a LA. The fee the LA gets is for them to take some of the workload off the LL in managing the place.

Some LLs won't even talk to tenants. Others, when they find a good tenant, are happy to drop the LA.

Depends which sort of LL you have and what contract he has signed with the LA, as to whether he can (or will want to) get out of using them.

ArchThorpe

CloudCuckooLand wrote: »

Its the LL's choice to use a LA. The fee the LA gets is for them to take some of the workload off the LL in managing the place.

Some LLs won't even talk to tenants. Others, when they find a good tenant, are happy to drop the LA.

Depends which sort of LL you have and what contract he has signed with the LA, as to whether he can (or will want to) get out of using them.

Thanks. I do think that he might want to get out of using them, but really I am thinking of something a bit more simple.

Specifically that he uses them as usual, but rather than me paying the deposit to them and them paying it to him, that I just pay it to him directly (assuming that the LL is happy with that, of course).

BitterAndTwisted

Your contract, once you have signed the rental agreement, will be with the landlord. The contract between the landlord and the agent is for them to negotiate and reach agreement upon. If the LL is uneasy about honouring any contract they have signed with the agent then that is not your concern. If you're happy that the LL is the owner of the property and they have requested that you pay all monies direct to them, then that is what I would do. Leave the other parties to sort this mess out between themselves.

clutton_2

unless the LA/LL is using Mydeposits then the full amount of your deposit should be lodged with one of the other two deposit schemes and not kept by either LL or LA.

ArchThorpe

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Your contract, once you have signed the rental agreement, will be with the landlord. The contract between the landlord and the agent is for them to negotiate and reach agreement upon. If the LL is uneasy about honouring any contract they have signed with the agent then that is not your concern. If you're happy that the LL is the owner of the property and they have requested that you pay all monies direct to them, then that is what I would do. Leave the other parties to sort this mess out between themselves.

Thanks, that's basically what I thought, but I appreciate you verifying.

ArchThorpe

clutton wrote: »

unless the LA/LL is using Mydeposits then the full amount of your deposit should be lodged with one of the other two deposit schemes and not kept by either LL or LA.

Thanks. I am not sure what scheme they will be using, but am I right in thinking that I would still pay it to them and that they then have 14 days to pay it into a scheme?

Incidentally, assuming I am right about the 14 days, does that run from when I pay the deposit, or when the tenancy starts?

Would be much better if the tenant could pay it directly into a scheme.

DVardysShadow

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2909858

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2910110

tbs624 wrote: »

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2909858


Not sure that it needs two separate threads but hey ho......

Perhaps 3 would be enough?

Arch, there is enough of a story to all of this, that you really should stick to 1 thread. Otherwise, people will give you an answer completely in ignorance of the warning signs you have reported on the other threads. There are some pretty stark warning signs there.

You should not conclude a deal through this LA. It looks like they are going bust. You have no responsibilities to the letting agent, whatsoever. When you deal with the agent it is for you legally the same as dealing with the Landlord. The Landlord has all of the issues with the letting agent - they are his problem, not yours.

If you do deal with the Landlord, there is no comeback - but do be sure that the Landlord has de-instructed the Letting Agent. Otherwise it is possible the agent may sign up other tenants and strongarm the landlord into dumping you with legal threats against the landlord. That is the only issue you need to be concerned about.

sonastin

Your "contract" with the LA is to find you a flat. The only money you *need* to pay him is the admin fees or whatever are involved in that bit of the exercise. Any other fees that the LA is due arising from the tenancy agreement stem from the contract that the LA has with the LL. It is the LL's responsibility to pay these to the LA. If the LA is all above board and legit, they can bill the LL directly for the money he owes them. There is no need to involve you.

In your situation, I would copy the LA in on all communication with the LL so that they have the info necessary to enfore their contract with the LL but I would not let the LA handle the money.

ArchThorpe

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Arch, there is enough of a story to all of this, that you really should stick to 1 thread. Otherwise, people will give you an answer completely in ignorance of the warning signs you have reported on the other threads. There are some pretty stark warning signs there.

You should not conclude a deal through this LA. It looks like they are going bust. You have no responsibilities to the letting agent, whatsoever. When you deal with the agent it is for you legally the same as dealing with the Landlord. The Landlord has all of the issues with the letting agent - they are his problem, not yours.

If you do deal with the Landlord, there is no comeback - but do be sure that the Landlord has de-instructed the Letting Agent. Otherwise it is possible the agent may sign up other tenants and strongarm the landlord into dumping you with legal threats against the landlord. That is the only issue you need to be concerned about.

Sorry, I thought that each question was fairly distinct, but I am sure you are right that it would have been better to have them all together for context.

Anyway, it seems highly likely that the LL is going to dump the LA.

When I spoke with the LA today, they told be that they have set up a new company, so the cycle seems to be, set up a company, run it for two years but never file accounts, have the company closed for not filing accounts, then set up a new company with a different employee as director.

The LL claims that he is owed money by both of the previous incarnations, and said that he is going to drive over there today and demand his money - otherwise he is going to call the police and accuse them of fraud.

So, it sounds very likely that he won't be doing business with them for much longer!

tbs624

clutton wrote: »

unless the LA/LL is using Mydeposits then the full amount of your deposit should be lodged with one of the other two deposit schemes and not kept by either LL or LA.

Only one scheme requires the LL/LA to physically hand over the deposit monies to the Scheme and that is the free-to-use DPS.

The other two, mydeposits and TDS, are insurance backed schemes and LL/LA *does* retain the deposit for the duration of the tenancy.