Withdrawing from a Rental Agreement (not yet signed)

92203

Hello,

I currently live in the South East with my girlfriend. Currently living in rented accommodation while we save up for a house deposit (target £50k - This has been ongoing for some time, though we are now only 10-12 months away from reaching it).

We currently rent a 1 bed flat on a Statutory Periodic Tenancy (our initial 12 month contract finished). We really need somewhere a little bigger so that we can have family over to stay more often.

We recently found a beautiful 2 bed flat which is very well done out. We've put down a £500 deposit for it and passed our tenant referencing checks. Tenancy agreement was received on Friday, and is due to be signed early next week.

Unfortunately having subsequently walked around the surrounding area on various occasions, I have some concerns for the safety of my girlfriend, who in order to get to work would have to walk through an underpass and along a footpath which runs between a railway line (embankment) and the back of a retail park. The area is well lit and covered extensively by CCTV, though is quite isolated should anything untoward happen. Neither of us own a car and there is no bus service immediately nearby - walking or cycling are our only options.

On this basis, I am considering pulling out of the rental agreement. I have not yet signed the agreement, though accept that I will lose my £500 deposit and possibly have to pay some additional costs incurred by the letting agent when performing tenant referencing checks etc.

I have some concerns about doing this which I'll detail below ;

1) Am I likely to be blacklisted by the Letting Agent (and possibly others)?

2) To date, I've had a very good relationship with my current landlord. I've yet to provide my month's written notice, though have given him a heads up that we've found somewhere and assisted him with photos/getting the place marketed via an EA so that he as plenty of time to find someone. Am I likely to get asked to leave, and can my "heads-up" / courtesy email be construed as written notice?

3)If I do pull out,should we offer 2 weeks rent to the new LL out courtesy? I know that we are under no obligation to do so, but we put down our deposit and the flat went to Let Agreed on right move about 10 days ago.

Any opinions or comments would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks

92203

HappyMJ

1) No.
2) No.
and 3) No. The property can be re-let quickly and the landlord won't be out of pocket.

You won't have any additional costs. The £500 is more than enough to cover the costs. I would never hand over more than £100 before signing a tenancy as a holding deposit.

kinger101

I wouldn't dismiss getting some of the £500 back, unless it was explicit it was non-refundable. Explain to the agent you're still looking for somewhere new. You're still potential business to them.

AnotherJoe

We currently rent a 1 bed flat on a Statutory Periodic Tenancy (our initial 12 month contract finished). We really need somewhere a little bigger so that we can have family over to stay more often.
=====
Might it not be cheaper just to pay for them to stay in nearby hotel or b&B for a few days? What would this cost you so they can stay for "free"? Especially as you'll be moving in a years time anyway? Wont this detract from your deposit saving?

92203

HappyMJ wrote: »

1) No.
2) No.
and 3) No. The property can be re-let quickly and the landlord won't be out of pocket.

You won't have any additional costs. The £500 is more than enough to cover the costs. I would never hand over more than £100 before signing a tenancy as a holding deposit.

Thanks, yes £500 is a lot of money to have to put down as a holding deposit. The housing market down here is like the wild west. From my casual observations, rents appear to be going up ~7% per annun. In comparison, the flat we rented in the East Mids a decade ago has come on the market for little more than we paid back then!

If we were to have proceeded with the rental, we'd have had to pay over £3k up front for deposit+1st month's rent.

For the price we're paying for our current 1 bed flat(prime, central, riverside location), we'd be able to get a 4 bed detached up in the Midlands (where we are originally from).

AnotherJoe wrote: »

We currently rent a 1 bed flat on a Statutory Periodic Tenancy (our initial 12 month contract finished). We really need somewhere a little bigger so that we can have family over to stay more often.
=====
Might it not be cheaper just to pay for them to stay in nearby hotel or b&B for a few days? What would this cost you so they can stay for "free"? Especially as you'll be moving in a years time anyway? Wont this detract from your deposit saving?

I was thinking along those lines too, though we could also do with a parking space (don't have one in our current flat). Whenever we hire a car, it is always a nightmare/worry not having anywhere secure to park it. Owning a car is completely out of the question in our current accommodation

G_M

92203 wrote: »

Hello,



I have some concerns about doing this which I'll detail below ;

1) Am I likely to be blacklisted by the Letting Agent (and possibly others)?
No

2) To date, I've had a very good relationship with my current landlord. I've yet to provide my month's written notice, though have given him a heads up that we've found somewhere and assisted him with photos/getting the place marketed via an EA so that he as plenty of time to find someone. Am I likely to get asked to leave, and can my "heads-up" / courtesy email be construed as written notice?
No and
No

3)If I do pull out,should we offer 2 weeks rent to the new LL out courtesy? I know that we are under no obligation to do so, but we put down our deposit and the flat went to Let Agreed on right move about 10 days ago.
No

The holding deposit is there for situations like this (though it's a high deposit). Why would you pay more?

AnotherJoe

92203 wrote: »

I was thinking along those lines too, though we could also do with a parking space (don't have one in our current flat). Whenever we hire a car, it is always a nightmare/worry not having anywhere secure to park it. Owning a car is completely out of the question in our current accommodation

Another cost-saving, deposit-building measure then.
Focus on saving so you can move somewhere better.

92203

AnotherJoe wrote: »

Another cost-saving, deposit-building measure then.
Focus on saving so you can move somewhere better.

You are of course, completely right. I've had a bit of a wobble - approaching my mid-30s, living in a one bed flat, no house, car or any other material assets.

Another year's sacrifice will hopefully see us right, providing house prices don't go up vastly quicker than our deposit fund.