Letting Agenc vs Landlord

Mum-2-Be

What in your opinion is the best route to go down when renting privately?

I am hoping to move to a larger property before Christmas as I am due my first (and last lol) baby in June

I am currently with a letting agency who have been narky with me to say the least, but i grin and bare anything as i love my wee flat.
I am on HB but have never been late with a payment at all, always on the 10th with the faster payments service. Im a good tenant (if i do say so myself) as im a bit of a clean freak so keep the house and the back garden spotless, have been inspected twice never had any issues at all. Oh and i have permission to have my dog who is also no bother to anyone.

Anyway, due to the HB and my dog i know its going to make it alot harder to find a new place to rent. Most LAs say straight off NO PETS so i was thinking of looking on sights like Gumtree in the hopes of dealing with a landlord directly who may be more accomadating (hopefully).

Im happy to pay a higher deposit and have it written into my lease any damage by pets is my full responsibilty.

So what do you think?

N79

Mum-2-Be wrote: »

What in your opinion is the best route to go down when renting privately?

I am hoping to move to a larger property before Christmas as I am due my first (and last lol) baby in June

I am currently with a letting agency who have been narky with me to say the least, but i grin and bare anything as i love my wee flat.
I am on HB but have never been late with a payment at all, always on the 10th with the faster payments service. Im a good tenant (if i do say so myself) as im a bit of a clean freak so keep the house and the back garden spotless, have been inspected twice never had any issues at all. Oh and i have permission to have my dog who is also no bother to anyone.

Anyway, due to the HB and my dog i know its going to make it alot harder to find a new place to rent. Most LAs say straight off NO PETS so i was thinking of looking on sights like Gumtree in the hopes of dealing with a landlord directly who may be more accomadating (hopefully).

Im happy to pay a higher deposit and have it written into my lease any damage by pets is my full responsibility.

So what do you think?

1. Be careful on Gumtree - a large number of scams are reported.

2. Do not offer or pay a deposit greater than 2 months rent (for boring legal reasons).

3. You are liable for any damage done by your dog whether or not there is a term in the tenancy agreement. You might do better to offer to allow them to write a "cleaning / flea treatment" clause into the tenancy instead (ie you offer to pay for a certain cleaning treatment at the end of the tenancy).

tbs624

Try seeking out the local LL association for contact info for those who self manage their properties. The local Council may hold a list of accredited private LLs.

Get a photo of your dog, plus one of the garden & the inside of your current property along confirmation from the current LL that there has been no issue with the dog.Wave these at any potential new LLs.

You should be careful about the "Grin and bare anything" bit

Mum-2-Be

thank-you both for the help

just realised the mispell, ill be keeping my clothes on dont worry lol!

Geenie

The bonus of renting directly with a LL is that you don't have to pay the LA's fees, which can mount up, and you can develop a useful relationship which can help with any problems in the home. I would suggest looking in your local papers rather then Gumtree as a start. Most have a day of the week they feature private lets. But be warned, often they state no HB or pets, but sometimes once you have viewed and met, they may change their mind if they feel you are trustworthy and will look after the place. Be careful and do research. Good luck OP.

DawnW

Many LLs initially find tenants through an agent, even if they intend to manage the tenancy themselves, and the agent will therefore place the advert, do the checks etc. In this situation, the agent invariably uses their own standard spiel 'no pets etc'.

However,if asked, they should refer to the LL, who often do not have firm views on this. My own tenants asked, via the agent, if they could keep their old cat at my property, and I was quite happy with this.

My daughter has rented a number of properties, and has always had pets, always with the agreement of the LL, but this has always been subject to an enquiry via the agent.

peainapod

If you can go through a private landlord who has no problem taking someone on with HB then go for it ! Agencies are useless, they charge huge fees for doing naff all ! I'm a single mother on HB and just found a new house as my current landlord has decided to sell up. After a lot of convincing they agreed to take me (with a guarantor), like you I've got good references as I've never missed my rent, its a shame we're painted with the same brush as everyone else :S
Just make sure you sign a proper contract if you go private, you wont have agency fees but you do expose yourself to the risk of being messed around. I'm signing on friday for my new house with an agency (£210 in fees and £1250 on the day I move in - £550 rent and £650 bond), its a lot of money but at least you know everything is legit and that if anything goes wrong in the house they'll deal with it. With a baby on the way it might be worth you going with an agency just to know your safe.
Good luck with the baby ! If you need any help with sorting the HB or anything drop me a line, I've been dealing with them for the past couple of years and know what a nightmare it can be !

tbs624

peainapod wrote: »

Just make sure you sign a proper contract if you go private, you wont have agency fees but you do expose yourself to the risk of being messed around. I'm signing on friday for my new house with an agency (£210 in fees and £1250 on the day I move in - £550 rent and £650 bond), its a lot of money but at least you know everything is legit and that if anything goes wrong in the house they'll deal with it. With a baby on the way it might be worth you going with an agency just to know your safe.

I hate to disillusion you but renting from an LA is no guarantee that there will not be problems or that " everything will be legit".

Absolutely *anyone* can currently set themselves up in business as an LA, dealing with thousands of quids worth of property, rent and deposit money. There are no formal regulations, no requirement for there to be specific training, qualifications or experience.Many LAs have a very poor grasp of the basics of LL & T law and some fail to pass on requests from Ts, telling you that pets are not allowed when this is what they put in as standard and they have not discussed the matter in detail with the LL.

A private LL who self manages their properties and is voluntarily signed up to a LL association , has undertaken various courses ( possibly Coouncil accreditation scheme member) and has current Ts who will sing his praises is likely to be a far better bet.