Should I be able to see contract in advance?

concrete_kid

I'm due to move into a new flat next week.

The letting agent called to say the credit check had all gone through and asked what date I'd like to sign contract and get keys. At the end of the call I asked if she could e-mail me a copy of the tenancy agreement so I could read it in my own time. The agent flat out refused without giving a reason other than it was a standard contract.

Is this normal?

Obviously I'll read it thoroughly on the day I sign it, I just found this rather obstructive. Like they have something to hide?

They have been generally difficult to deal with from the beginning, but it doesn't seem too much to ask to me that I see the contract beforehand?

caeler

No. I asked for mine before signing and it was duly sent over. If they think your signing without reading every single page then their fools. Take your time on the day and don't be rushed.

sandsni

No, you should be given time to read the contract BEFORE you sign anything.

As above, don't be rushed into signing unless you're completely happy with the contract. "Standard contract" probably means it's full of all the cr*p they couldn't be bothered altering or deleting and won't make a button of sense to you or the LL :-/

G_M

Do one or more of:

* keep pestering them to send you a copy. But they may just get p**d off and let the property to a less 'troublesome' tenant!

* go into the office and politely ask for one (beware point above!)

* go in early on the day, take contract,find seat, and slowly carefully go through it. Every time you find a clause you don't understand, make a nuisance of yourself by interrupting the staff and ask for explanation

* cross out and initial any clauses you don't like. Then sign.

* Sign, and add in brackets below your signature: "signed under pressure without reading." (no court would hold you to the contract)

BazzaDP

Why don't you s uggest you bring your own contract. Don't give a copy in advance. If they ask for one - just say it's a standard one. ;-)

Smith_007

concrete_kid wrote: »

Is this normal?

Yes..... in my experience it's normal for a Letting Agent to try to do this 'cos they are either naive and/or don't want you paying attention to the small print. :mad:

Should you accept this? Absolutely not!
Never be rushed into signing anything. Ever.
No matter how much they beg, no mater how much they plead, no matter how much they say "it's standard, everybody else does it". And never feed a LA after midnight.

concrete_kid wrote: »

Obviously I'll read it thoroughly on the day I sign it

This won't do you any good as you are only getting the contract to sign on the day you get keys & move in (standard LA tactic). If you don't sign, you will have nowhere to live and will be sat outside the LA's office in a car full of your stuff and no home to go to.

Seriously. This has happened to friends of ours.

concrete_kid wrote: »

I just found this rather obstructive. Like they have something to hide?

No sh*t Sherlock
You need no qualifications to be a letting agent. Many of them are shockingly incompetent and arrogant.

* cross out and initial any clauses you don't like. Then sign.

* Sign, and add in brackets below your signature: "signed under pressure without reading." (no court would hold you to the contract)

I'm not sure this is good advice.
I'd suggest if you do any of the above the LA will tell you to get lost. They are not lawyers and any attempt to alter their contracts will most likely be met with a refusal from the clueless 20 year old kid (in an ASDA suit) behind the desk.

Again, this won't do you any good if they only give you the contract to sign on the day you move in.

ACG

Say to them if you cant read it in advance you will end up sitting in their office for as long as it takes to read as your not signing a contract without reading it.

Smith_007

ACG wrote: »

Say to them if you cant read it in advance you will end up sitting in their office for as long as it takes to read as your not signing a contract without reading it.

As I said earlier.....
This will not do him any good as he gets the keys (and moves in) only on the day he signs the contract.

If he finds anything objectionable, he wont be able to sign (LA won't negotiate) and he will be sat in the LA's office with a car full of stuff, and no home to go to.

So far he will have only signed some kind of pre-tenancy agreement (governing reference and deposit paymets) and will have no rights to the property. In only signing a contract on the day, the LA is putting themselves in a very strong position.

ACG

Thats not true.

I rented a place for 6 months last year. I signed my contract got the keys and went to the property only to find it was a mess. I called the letting agents and told them, they said "no its not".

I told them to come round and take a look - which they declined.
I said thats fine, im coming to hand the keys back and to get my money back, i was put on hold and spoke to the owner of the letting agents who said lets not be hasty - went off to speak to the landlord and come back with some compensation for the mess (that apparently wasnt there).

You have a 14 day cooling off period, landlord and EA knows they will end up without at least 1 months rent by playing silly games which they dont want.

Smith_007

ACG wrote: »

You have a 14 day cooling off period

I do not believe this statement is correct.
http://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2011/01/24/tenants-legal-help-do-you-get-a-cooling-off-period/

ACG wrote: »

EA knows they will end up without at least 1 months rent by playing silly games which they dont want

They have already made a profit from this bloke charging advance credit reference fee's, a holding deposit and maybe his tenancy deposit (pre-tenency agreement).

The LA's office droids will happily tell him to b*gger off and do the same to the next prospective tenant rather than amend a pre-writen legal contract.

The LA have little care for the landlords voids as long as they are making money. Credit reference fee's and non-refundable deposits are a big money spinner that they can charge each prospective tenant. (Sometimes every six months as they issue a section 21 to every tenant for this express purpose). These fees will be worth more to them than their percentage share of a few weeks or months rent.


LA's play silly games all the time.
There are good ones (like yours), but this guy is placing a lot of trust in them acting reasonably.

concrete_kid

We've asked again for a copy of the conference and they have again refused.

We intend to go in and take our time looking through it, however, as mentioned above there's not really a lot to do on the day if we find lots of things we're not happy with. We're really angry about it now, and I would walk away if it didn't mean losing the £300 agency fee!