Agent asking me to show prospective tenants the property?

oli_ro

dancingfairy wrote: »

Now it's nice if you can be flexible and helpful to the agents, by either letting them look around or by being there for viewings/doing the viewings yourself as it can smooth the relationship and help in terms of getting a good reference, building up a favourable relationship so they are less likely to take your deposit etc

Sorry, but this is wishful thinking. My experience is that EA/Landlords have no problem whatsoever claiming as much deposit as they can, no matter how flexible you are and how much you help with viewings.

Old_Git

you can show people around and be honest about the place .
Its got damp and the neighbours from hell and the landlord likes to snoop in your knicker drawer ect

ViolaLass

oli_ro wrote: »

Sorry, but this is wishful thinking. My experience is that EA/Landlords have no problem whatsoever claiming as much deposit as they can, no matter how flexible you are and how much you help with viewings.

If we're going to be anecdotal about this, then I will add my experience, which is that I've always received my deposit back in full and with no undue delay.

Plus, provided you ensure that your deposit has been correctly protected, then they can claim all they like, doesn't mean they're getting it.

martinthebandit

For me it would depend on how helpful, reasonable etc the landlord and letting agent has been in the past.

If they have been nice I would be, if they haven't then I would be introducing them to Mr Awkward.

[Deleted User]

My LL's expected me to show people round this house once they decided to sell the place. The house has a lot of problems I am all to aware of, including a boiler with the wrong temporary (for well over a year) circuit board in it.

I refused. I couldn't resist the temptation to give any prospective buyers a long list of problems the house has like you can only plug in anything on one plug in the kitchen because the rest of them come off a light circuit etc etc.

If the LL had treated me decently I wouldn't have minded at all.

G_M

ViolaLass wrote: »

If we're going to be anecdotal about this, then I will add my experience, which is that I've always received my deposit back in full and with no undue delay.

Plus, provided you ensure that your deposit has been correctly protected, then they can claim all they like, doesn't mean they're getting it.

Thanks for the balance.

Though I agree with you that anecdotes and personal experiences really add nothing to the OP's query. There are good and bad landlords, good and bad tenants.

One person's experience does nothing to help another person decide how to act! (unless that experience includes appropriate legal information or procedural advice).

G_M

oli_ro wrote: »

Sorry, but this is wishful thinking. My experience is that EA/Landlords have no problem whatsoever claiming as much deposit as they can, no matter how flexible you are and how much you help with viewings.

So you've apparantly been unlucky with LLs.

I might as well say my experience of tenants is that they all pay their rent late or not at all and scribble graffitti on the walls.

As Viola says: it's just an anecdote.

stator

Of course you are within your rights to say "No, not at all"
If you want to be nice you could say "I'll allow viewings on a particular day" when it is not inconvenient to you. The agents will probably be happy with this.

I know everyone says you don't have to clean, but if you're like me you wouldn't want even strangers coming around your house when it's not clean so I sympathise with you there.

Viberduo

G_M wrote: »

So you've apparantly been unlucky with LLs.

I might as well say my experience of tenants is that they all pay their rent late or not at all and scribble graffitti on the walls.

As Viola says: it's just an anecdote.

Its difficult to be exact as a bad tenant is someone who intentionally plays the system, a bad landlord could just be one who mistinterprets the law or has one rule for letting to tenants such as cleanliness and yet if tenant gave property back in same state would claim cleaning costs, its just an extension of the idea that you may tolerate something yourself but when it costs you money its a different idea

Guest101

Viberduo wrote: »

Its difficult to be exact as a bad tenant is someone who intentionally plays the system, a bad landlord could just be one who mistinterprets the law or has one rule for letting to tenants such as cleanliness and yet if tenant gave property back in same state would claim cleaning costs, its just an extension of the idea that you may tolerate something yourself but when it costs you money its a different idea

Don't agree.

A bad tenant does not 'play the system', there's nothing to play. A bad tenant will not pay rent, will damage property, will be anti social.

A bad landlord will generally be either unaware of their obligations and the law, or worse ignore it.

Deposits and disputes happen, but the tenant can very easily protect themselves.