New Tenancy Agreement

Charlie79

We are about to sign up to rent a property but I have a a few concerns regarding the LA.

We saw the property online and it was advertised with a local well known Estate Agents. We called them up, arranged a viewing that evening and decided on the spot to take it & paid £500 over the phone on a debit card (we have been looking for quite some time and there had already been 1 viewing before us and two couples arrived as we were leaving so we felt like we had to make a decision there and then). This was Thursday evening.

I chased up the paperwork yesterday as we want to take possession on 27th April. The girl we're dealing with said she'd send over the reference request forms and some requests for ID that they need to get the ball rolling. She said that the tenancy agreement will get signed during the 1 hour check-in, the day after we part with £2.6k.

Yesterday we received some paperwork, T's & C's really, that needs to be signed and returned. But the company name is totally different name to the agent advertising the property. Turns out the LA trades under a number of names, this estate agent's name being one of them.

It's just given me a really uneasy feeling but we've always rented through reputable local letting agents and now we're dealing with the unknown. I'm also not happy that I have to pay over £2.6k without even seeing the Tenancy Agreement and I don't want to sign a TA I've not had chance to read through. They say they're licensed ARLA members but there's nothing coming up under their name - the LA's that is, not the Estate Agent. I've emailed ARLA. I'm also going to run a credit check on the LA tomorrow.

Am I being paranoid?!

G_M

No.

Under no circumstances pay rent or security deposit till you have seen, agreed, and received a dual signed (your signature is meaningless from your point of view - you need the landlord or agent's) tenancy agreement.

What do the T&Cs you have say your £500 is for? Is it refundable? In what circumstances? I would have also advised you not to pay £500 till you knew this too!

Wise to check them with ARLA. If they are telling porkies, report to ARLA and trading standards and believe nothing more they say. Ask them which name is ARLA registered, check that, and then insist on only dealing (and getting receipts/agreements) from THAT company.

pmlindyloo

You need to ask the EA/LA to send you a copy of the tenancy agreement that they are expecting you to sign.

We had exactly the same happen to us - expected to sign tenancy agreement on the day we got the keys to the house.

I asked the EA/LA to send me a copy of the agreement and they emailed it to me straightaway.

Charlie79

The £500 is a "holding deposit". The T's & C's say a £250 good faith deposit is payable at the start of referencing and is non-refundable should you decide to withdraw or fail the reference check. But we also have to pay a referencing fee of £120 plus VAT per person. So presumably if we pull out we lose £548?

The T's & C's say:

"When Can I Move In?

When your references are received from the Credit Referencing COmpany and considered satisfactory you will be advised but the ultimate decision rests with the landlord and the property having all the necessary certificates supplied to the Agent from the Landlord. The tenancy can now be drawn up for signature . An appointment will be made for you to attend our office.

At this time we will require the balance of the monies, rent in advance, deposit, administration fees..."

On this basis I will ask them to draw up the agreement in advance, prior to the transfer of any money.

Charlie79

I have now received a sample assured shorthold tenancy agreement which contains the following clause:

"The parties agree:

Notice is hereby given that possession might be recovered under Ground 1, Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1998 if applicable. That is, that the Landlord used to live in the Property as his or her main home; or intends to occupy the property as his or her only or main home"

I've looked it up on the internet but I'm getting tied up in legal jargon - what does it mean in layman's terms? Can they seek possession at any time - even in the 1st six months? And how much notice do they need to give us?

They've also included the Ground 2 Schedule 2 clause which I understand is if they default on the mortgage the mortgage company can repossess and evict us.