Advice needed on tenancy fees

JM5

Hello,

I'd really appreciate some sound advice on some tenancy fees I found out about today. I'm moving to London for a new job :j so am having to move from my lovely house share in another city. I have, so far, only been to see the house (in which I'd be renting one room) and have not signed anything, but I wanted to check the legitimacy of some of the fees. Embarrassingly, I have a law degree from a good university, but I'm not working in the legal sector and this sort of thing wasn't really covered...anyway, perhaps it's best to repeat the information as I have it:

Monthly rent £560
Deposit £560
Registration fee £300 :eek: (deducted from deposit and non-refundable) - The room is reserved for you and will no longer be marketed

On the day you move in please bring along/pay in advance:
Remainder of your deposit £260 - You have already paid £300 as a Registration Fee. The deposit is placed with the Deposit Protection Scheme for the duration of your tenancy.

Rent for first month - Rent for your first month is payable on the day you move in. You only pay for the remainder of the month, e.g. if you move in on 9th June you will pay from 9th-30th June, i.e. 21 days = £rent pcm x 12/365 [shouldn't this be 366 this year?] = daily rate of x = 21x...rent for subsequent months is payable on the first day of every calendar month by standing order

Tenancy Agreement Fee £50
Inventory £30
Check out fee (payable in advance) £50

---

Here are my questions:
- Aside from the fees being very high (which is nasty, but I believe permissible), can the registration fee actually be deducted from the deposit? I'm puzzled as to why they haven't just said £300 registration fee and then £260 deposit.

- The landlord of the property in which I'd be living is a partner in a property franchise scheme. I think the franchise company works by getting the landlord to invest a certain amount of money, which they use to build up a profitable buy-to-let property portfolio. Does this way of doing things affect my rights as a tenant?

- The room was suffering from damp, which the landlord said would be sorted before I moved in. Providing all the fees are in fact legit, could I, say, take the room on the condition that this does indeed get sorted before I move in? If yes, but then the condition isn't met, could I get the registration fee back if I decide to live elsewhere (or even if I do decide to take the still-damp room)?

Hugely sorry for all these questions, but it has been playing on my mind. I've tried doing internet research (Google, Citizens' Advice Bureau, Shelter, etc.), but nothing seems to fit my situation! If there are any qualified property lawyers out there who could give me some advice (without my relying on it (Hedley Byrne v Heller, and all that)) it would be very helpful indeed. Thank you!

Edit: it goes without saying that I am having a look at other rooms to rent!

Yorkie1

Q1 I'm not sure so will leave that one alone.

Q2 Your rights will be unaffected, in that you will have an assured shorthold tenancy agreement and the statutory protections afforded by that. I wouldn't worry unduly about that aspect.

Q3 If the damp is solved - other than by simply being painted over - I'd be very surprised. It could indicate that the previous tenant caused the damp through lifestyle issues, or it could indicate a problem with the room / property. I'd be concerned about this, particularly as we're in the colder half of the year now, when damp is more prevalent.

thelem

Q1 - I'd double check with the LL/LA, but I think what they mean is that you pay £300 to have the room taken off the market, and a further £260 when you move in, making a total deposit on the room of £560, which will be protected in a scheme and returned at the end of the tenancy (minus any deductions made for damage).

If you change your mind and decide that you don't want the room after all then you lose the £300. If the landlord is unable to provide the room to you then that £300 would need to be returned. If you want the damp problem solved before moving in then make sure you get that as a condition on the receipt you get for the £300.

Fire_Fox

Damp - condensation, rising, penetrating? How do you know there was damp, did you take a meter or do you mean mould? Exactly how are they planning to rectify this, do you have it in writing? How do you intend to prove to your own satisfaction the damp has not been rectified if you can't see water/ mould on the day?

I read that as paying part of your damage deposit up front so you aren't losing £300 unless you pull out or trash the room, you will get £560 back at the end of the tenancy if you 'pass' the checkout. But clarify with the landlord. You never see back the £130 you are paying for inventory, checkout and tenancy agreement (whatever that is).

Agree with Yorkie1 your rights under the AST and legislation are unaffected. How you exercise those remains to be seen.

chris_m

JM5 wrote: »

On the day you move in please bring along/pay in advance:
Remainder of your deposit £260 - You have already paid £300 as a Registration Fee. The deposit is placed with the Deposit Protection Scheme for the duration of your tenancy.
- Aside from the fees being very high (which is nasty, but I believe permissible), can the registration fee actually be deducted from the deposit? I'm puzzled as to why they haven't just said £300 registration fee and then £260 deposit.

thelem wrote: »

Q1 - I'd double check with the LL/LA, but I think what they mean is that you pay £300 to have the room taken off the market, and a further £260 when you move in, making a total deposit on the room of £560, which will be protected in a scheme and returned at the end of the tenancy (minus any deductions made for damage).

If you change your mind and decide that you don't want the room after all then you lose the £300.

That would be my interpretation as well. Effectively it's a £300 non-refundable deposit which is then converted to a protected refundable one (augmented by the balance of £260) when/if you commence the tenancy.

On that basis, having seen other posts about fees in the past, I wouldn't have said that the other fees are particularly high.

tbs624

If the room is damp walk away. There will be other properties.

Even if you got the LL to sign to say he would deal with the damp, you are likely to spend much of your tenancy waiting for him to do so whilst your health suffers and your possessions get mildewed. Plus, if it turns out that some extensive work needs to be done to rectify the damp issue you may end up battling with the LL to get him to provide alternative accomms for you whilst the work gets carried out.

LLs who offer up damp properties to potential Ts deserve a void IMO.

If you want to have your voice heard on the realities of using the Private Rented Sector, you may find this interesting https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4255533

( Info about formal inquiry into PRS housing sector, plus poll of MSE readers on which issues they'd like to see prioritised)

G_M

Walk away.

You don't want to be living in a damp room.

And you don't want to spend the next 6 months arguing with the landlord about getting it fixed.

keyser666

I would walk away too. You can get far better room shares in London and there are 1000's for less outlay and deffo no registration fee.

http://www.spareroom.co.uk/
http://www.houseshare.com

And gumtree is a great place too for this.

G_M

keyser666 wrote: »

And gumtree is a great place too for this.

There mixed stories about gumtree.

Some people do find their ideal property/house share, but there are definately scams on Gumtree too - so check out the so-called 'landlord' carefully. They might be the out-going tenant who walks off with your deposit/advance rent, or even someone with no connection to the property...

keyser666

G_M wrote: »

There mixed stories about gumtree.

Some people do find their ideal property/house share, but there are definately scams on Gumtree too - so check out the so-called 'landlord' carefully. They might be the out-going tenant who walks off with your deposit/advance rent, or even someone with no connection to the property...

Yes maybe I should have said this but there are warnings on there about this