Rental credit ref fee - non-refundable under all circumstances?

keyser666

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Do not touch this property with a barge-pole! That the landlord doesn't have sufficient funds to have the repairs done until they have the tenant's deposit is a great big warning sign. Once you move in there will be absolutely no motivation for the repairs to be carried out at all. That they are expecting you to liaise with these alleged builders and be present during the works is just piling Pelion upon Osssa.

To lose £180 in such circumstances I would be willing to write off as a good investment against making a really terrible decision. At least you know the colour of this landlord before you are contractually tied to him.

Absolutely agree.

Mallotum_X

Walk away now, cheaper to lose the 180 than have stress with this landlord for months/years to come.

kodys_angel

Thanks for all your help guys.

Credit check was actually only finalised yesterday - it appears the agent has been telling the LL that WE were the ones causing the delays, but his failure to do his part (not sending the initial forms for credit ref, having us sign out of date declarations and failing to inform us) have resulted in 6 weeks of the delays.

We refused to hand over any money until we had had the opportunity to read the contracts so he reluctantly sent them by email today.
Given the issues experienced we had requested a 6 month contract (we were initially offered 6 or 12 months), if the wall was fixed and we didn't experience any issues we told them we would sign up for another 12 months. Today we've been told that the LL is now only accepting a 12 month contract or nothing....

Now, we've already decided we're backing out and we're probably going to try our luck at appealing for the fee back, but out of curiosity I was looking for some advice regarding a Section 21 that has been attached with the contracts.

I have tried searching here as I'm sure I was reading about Section 21 on a thread somewhere on the forum but I can't find it (it comes up with Parking fines etc).
If I'm right, this is two month a notice to vacate the property? If this is served at the beginning of the tenancy does that mean we could be asked to vacate the property with no notice?

I'm curious because we're entering an agreement with another agent to carry out referencing and hopefully move into a different property as soon as our references are returned.
Is this something we need to look out for in future? Is it standard practice to be issued a section 21 with the initial contract?

Would be grateful if anyone can educate me!

Herbalus

It always amuses me when estate agents (who should know the law) are involved in incorrect s21 notices.

The s21 basically gives you notice that you have to vacate the property, but does not enforce it, and it cannot be applied within the fixed tenancy. So your 12 or 6 months would have been completely secure.

An s21 requires a minimum of 2 months notice, which is why some people give it in the first months of the property so that if they decide to remove the tenant after the fixed term, they don't have to wait 2 months (though some notice is obviously still required) because they've already given the s21, and can apply straightaway to the courts for eviction (if tenant does not go of course).

An s21 needs to be valid though, and they cannot serve a correct s21 before the deposit is registered. As they would appear to have given you an s21 before the contract is even signed, I would simply have smiled and said nothing, knowing that it is invalid, and then give them what for if they tried to evict later on.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Please walk away from this while you can; theLL has cash flow issues and the agent is incompetent and unprofessional. I know it's tough to lose the £180, but you have a case for pursuing it through the small claims court. Complain to ARLA if the agents are members too. Next time you find a property you will know to assume they are thieves and liars and to get everything in writing.

Turnbull2000

S21 upon moving is to give the landlord/agent power of immediate eviction upon completion of fixed term, or at any point during a periodic tenancy. They're essentially trying to make you forfeit the standard 2 month notice period.

kodys_angel

Thanks all.
Formally withdrawing from this property today with an email to the agent.
We have a list of dates from HomeLet/our HR depts that show a total of 6 working days was taken by them to complete the referencing. A total of 6 weeks' worth of delays were down to the agent - initial 2 weeks not sending off the original paperwork, then further delays in responding to requests for the correct declarations to be signed.

On this basis we have requested a refund of the credit ref fee and plan to raise a case with the Ombudsman (we checked they are registered). Not sure how likely they are to help us though? Has anyone had any experience with them?

On the plus side, from viewing to moving on a separate property - super easy transaction totaling approx 20 days!

kodys_angel

***UPDATE***

Just received this email from the EA:

Lenwell do there BACS runs every Thursday, I have spoken to them and they can transfer the money on this weeks run, can you email me the bank details and I can get this organised for you?

When they transfer the money it can take a day or two to show in the account but I will ensure you are on this weeks BACS run.

Aside from the poor grammar I'm pretty happy with that

Thanks for all your help!