How enforceable are Terms Of Business

johnscales

Hi.
My lettings agent gave a very good speech when explaining how their company conducts business. They delivered on their promise to a degree by having several viewings on the property the next day and also one of the groups put in an offer. However, things have since then been not so pleasing.
This particular agent has an in house referencing system which when explained to me (blagged) as being incredibly thorough has turned out to be pretty darn shoddy.
There were 4 tenants required and after 2 weeks I've received 3 unconvincing references and nothing on the 4th person as yet though this is ongoing.
I'm hoping that i'm not being too pedantic and that sombody here can clarify a few things that left me more than a little concerned with the tenants being put my way and their viability to pass any other third party reference company..
The reference documentation on the tenants has been done using Experian e-consumerview and i've been handed an A4 summary page on each tenant. (My biggest concern is the first of the three things I mention below):
1) Under the 'search details' heading you have sub headings of 'Person 1' 'Match' and 'Source'.
Only 2 of the 3 tennants have values in the 'Match' (person and family respectively) and 'Source' (Voters roll for both) columns. The third person has 'none' and 'none' in both fields. This concerns me. Should it?
2) Public information field has 0's for all tenants which i've been informed means they have no default payments or ccj's and is fine by me if true (clarification please).
3) All 3 tenants have lived at current addresses for exactly 3 years and 0 months. Odd or not?

Other than the above there is a lot of refernce material which is still to come but i'm very uncomfortable with the length of time this is all taking (2 weeks to date).
I wrote the agent an email stating my concerns as I have to be out of my property shortly and also what i'd expected to see in order to feel more comfortable with the process. I gave them until midweek coming to resolve. I also followed up with a visit but have basically left not having satisfactory answers to any my points raised (believe me there were more than the above). Answers like 'You know how it is with young people and keeping hold of payslips', and 'You know what it's like chasing up HR'. Things which are none of my concern but should have been the agent's if they wanted me to reflect positively on the spleil the manager had given me on his first visit.
After a long hard thought since leaving the office I would like them not to procede with these tenants.
I have a conscience and I do feel bad for the tenants but I really am unhappy with how things are being handled and have not been made to feel confident that they will be able to maintain the rent for the duration of the tenancy based on what I have before me.
I however feel that if I tell the agentthat I don't want to continue with their services (at least with these tenants) they will throw the clause which says that after an introduction has been made and an offer accepted and referencing started that I will have to pay several hundereds of pounds if I withdraw from the deal before completion or possession commences.
Is this clause enforceable as is or would I have a valid argument (length of time, only 3 tenants, validity of forms).

Cheers all.

Guest101

I'll be honest, I can't stand letting agencies and their reference gathering methods. But im a private person, I would never hand over a payslip for example, and if that meant i didnt get the house/flat, so be it. I'm abit old scholl with my word is my bond, which doesnt suit you i guess. (and i do understand your position too).

What are you worried about realistically? You could insist on first and last month's rent paid upfront if your really concerned?

johnscales

Thanks for input Guest101.
I guess i'm disappointed in that i'd already been messed about by one agent who was trying to push anyone who walked into their offices at me after saying they'd had a big database of people on their books (therefore already referenced) promising how good they would be and then having their prospective tenants fail the third party referencing.
However, with these guys referencing inhouse it has meant slower gathering of information and created an argument in that I haven't felt the provided documents have been scrutinised sufficiently whereas the agent does despite the inconsitencies.
This makes me nervous though I take your point about asking for money upfront as it would make me feel somewhat better. I kind of like the idea that a third (referencing) party will be casting an objective eye on things.
I also understand that private landlords do things which may seem more risky to those whom go through agencies but i'm not ready for that yet (not confident enough).

G_M

You MUST be satisfied with the applicants. If you are not, instruct your agent not to grant a tenancy. That is rule one.

Please quote the exact clause. It requires "an offer accepted ". Offer by who? The tenants? Accepted by who? The landlord? How can this happen before vetting is complete?!

If satisfactory refs/credit checks are not received, naturally the LL can reject the applicants (or what is the point of referencing??!)

So the Q is who decides if the refs are satisfactory? Ultimately, it must be the landlord.

So I would fight any attempt by the agent to claim their fee if you reject the applicants.

edit:

1) Under the 'search details' heading you have sub headings of 'Person 1' 'Match' and 'Source'.
Only 2 of the 3 tennants have values in the 'Match' (person and family respectively) and 'Source' (Voters roll for both) columns. The third person has 'none' and 'none' in both fields. This concerns me. Should it?
2) Public information field has 0's for all tenants which i've been informed means they have no default payments or ccj's and is fine by me if true (clarification please).
3) All 3 tenants have lived at current addresses for exactly 3 years and 0 months. Odd or not?

1. Yes. If you don't know who he is you will have difficulty suing him if needed. However there areexplanations (eg he is young/never registered to vote) . Have they done ID checks? What? Passport?
2) I believe so
3) No. They were probobly asked for their current address, and if less than 3 years, for the previous address too, and replied with a single address.

2 weeks seems a long time for 3/4 refs! What is hapenning about employer/previous LL refs?

My advice? Take over and DIY!

I also understand that private landlords do things which may seem more risky to those whom go through agencies but i'm not ready for that yet (not confident enough).

Sorry - this is cr*p! You seem to have a sensible attitude and would clearly do a better job than these agents.

ValHaller

Where you would end up in difficulty is rejecting these tenants on anything other than credit references at this stage - although the worst is that you reimburse the tenants their fee out of your pocket and argue later with the agent.

But it seems to me that there are enough objective deficiencies that it is not difficult to turn this lot down.

Guest101

I do absolutely see your point.

There is a feeling growing in this country, of mistrust and bad experiences. This forum is full of them, and whilst you must be 100% happy (and i do mean that, make sure you are), the vast majority of tenants are good, hardworking people who pay their rent, bills etc on time and just want to have some privacy.

This is one of the most popular forums for advice on this, and there are millions of tenants in the UK, the servers would literally burn if the problem was anywhere near the perceived level.

I'm annoyed that, for example, a recent application was declined, but not because of my credit, or anything, i am unemployed, but through no fult of my own and willing to pay 6 months upfront. And i'm looking for work. I'm a good honest person, with a family (just take my word for it ) - but the land lady refused my application because she thought the children would fall down the stairs of her house, and i would sue her?!

1: I look after my children
2: if they did fall, i think getting them treatment would be top of my list, not £ signs.
3: if she'd bothered to research the topic, ie the house must be in a good state of repair. Then she would know her liabilities and where they end.

But instead I feel like my ability to look after my children is being questioned. Well i wont be renting from her (obviously) and i wont be using the agent either.

Basically my point is tenants have a hard time, some dont help themselves, but some are unlucky because landlords want the 'perfect' tenant. They dont exist, and what it comes down to is a gamble, a cost - profit ratio. The odds of getting a tenant who will cause you problems are low (obviously some areas are worse than others), but all these checks and things (which mean nothing at the end of the day, I have no references, but would be a great tenant. Person B might have references from his job, and lose it 2 weeks later, references from a previous landlord, who could be his friend, and good credit because he's not had any) can mean you miss out on a good tenant and end up paying for an empty house.

It's got to be a balance, a balance your happy with, because it is your property at the end of the day. Just my 2 pence

johnscales

I'm hoping it doesn't come to the agent having their noses put out of joint too much and calling foul on me and demanding payment.
I've composed a detailed letter explaining my reasons for not feeling comfortable with the current set of tenants and instructing the agent, with this in mind to cease any further activity with this group but to continue their search for ones suitable as requested.
I totally hear you Guest101 regarding the perfect tenant not being out there (though I intend to be J ) and tbh I was actually coming around to the reality that hey, these guys are young and would probably have a hard enough time as it was passing reference checks such that they might fudge a few things as technically they were earning enough to cover the rent. I did want to give them a chance. Believe me I’ve done the six year stint of not being able to get credit and as hard as it was it showed me (the hard way) how not to over extend myself. But the fact remains that I did that stint because I shafted some companies for money I owed them. The fact that on the face of it the agent appears to be shovelling people through the door without performing adequate checks not only shows disregard for me but also to the tenants. They could afford it but at what cost? Anyhow that’s not for me to say but it has been said by all, at the end of the day it’s my property and I have to be happy with who goes into it. Nobody really sets out wanting to shaft the landlord (and possibly the people with whom they live). I was almost willing to give them a chance but for the encounter I had with the agent. Rather than trying to bend me to his will and pretty much dismiss every one of my concerns he could have at least shown some empathy to the fact that his teams work was p*ss poor. Trying to convince me that the inconsistent paperwork in front of him was nothing to worry about was a mistake and ultimately had me to leave his office with the niggling feeling that they weren’t working for me at all and what the heck was I going to be paying them for if they weren’t even listening to my concerns. It gets your back up and then you just want to stop everything there and then but find yourself having to be diplomatic when what you really want to say is naff off. lol

I've noticed i've really gone off on a tangent so I know it's late.
Sorry for the length of time in replying and all this rambling. I have heeded all your replies. I'm really grateful and feel about ready to put this thing to sleep and take it to the next level come what may.

G_M

johnscales wrote: »

I'm hoping it doesn't come to the agent having their noses put out of joint too much and calling foul on me and demanding payment.
I've composed a detailed letter explaining my reasons for not feeling comfortable with the current set of tenants and instructing the agent, with this in mind to cease any further activity with this group but to continue their search for ones suitable as requested.
.

In a letter of this sort, "less is more".

Do not give detailed reasons (which could lead to a debate on the detail &/or be quoted back at you in any dispute over fees), just a brief "I am not satisfied with the referencing results of this group, therefore kindly inform them they have not passed the checks, and place the property back on the market.

For the avoidance of doubt, please ensure that applicants short-listed for referencing meet the following basic requirements:
*
*
"

johnscales

G_M, you the (wo)man? I did keep it brief. Received a call from the big boss who, while not seing too much of a problem with the referencing(?!), was happy to put the property on th market again without too much fuss. He was also much easier to talk to than the previous guy. The one point which neither of them could answer was the 'match', 'status' field of one of the applicants being none, none and it gave me great satisfaction hearing silence when I put to them what you'd said regarding it.
Mainy many thanks to you sir/madame :T and thanks to all for your constructive input.

G_M

johnscales wrote: »

G_M, you the (wo)man? ...
....
Mainy many thanks to you sir/madame :T and thanks to all for your constructive input.

Please- all this praisewill go to my head...

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