Lower rent & deposit on tenancy agreement

peachyy

Hi, my boyfriend and I have had an offer accepted for the rental of a house and we were told the rent would be £650 and that the deposit would be £950 but we've received the contracts to sign and the tenancy agreement states that the rent will be £625 and the deposit is £900. We assume that this must be an error but we've signed and kept quiet for now in hope that everything goes through ok as it would be a bonus to get the rent at a cheaper price! My question is - if everything is signed, what kind of rights would we have if the estate agent was to turn around and say we need to pay the higher rent? Would the contract be legally binding and would they have to honour the lower price?

Thanks!

Pixie5740

Signed by whom? Just you and your bf or has the landlord (or an agent acting on his behalf) signed it yet?

HappyMJ

peachyy wrote: »

Hi, my boyfriend and I have had an offer accepted for the rental of a house and we were told the rent would be £650 and that the deposit would be £950 but we've received the contracts to sign and the tenancy agreement states that the rent will be £625 and the deposit is £900. We assume that this must be an error but we've signed and kept quiet for now in hope that everything goes through ok as it would be a bonus to get the rent at a cheaper price! My question is - if everything is signed, what kind of rights would we have if the estate agent was to turn around and say we need to pay the higher rent? Would the contract be legally binding and would they have to honour the lower price?

Thanks!

Once you move in it's binding for the first 6 months.

Guest101

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Signed by whom? Just you and your bf or has the landlord (or an agent acting on his behalf) signed it yet?

Not that this matters too much, but often this isn't a requirement to be legally binding - as the person presenting the contract, subject to there being no changes, can be deemed to accept the terms as they set the terms.


However as there is clearly an error on the contract, and this would no doubt be evidenced by the advertising, it could put the OP in a tricky position.

thesaint

By your own admission, it is a mistake.

If you were to carry on with your deception, and the landlord/agent pointed it out, and you were to stick to your guns, then I would be confident in staying there too long

peachyy

Thanks for all your replies - it's just us who has signed the contract so far so the likelihood is they're going to come back to us with an amended version. It was a very messy job by the letting agent and there were other mistakes on the agreement such as names being repeatedly spelled wrong which I pointed out and the estate agent amended the contract and sent me a new one - but the rent was still the lower price which if it is a mistake is pretty poor on their part to not pick it up the 2nd time!

We're only planning on staying there for a year until my boyfriend has purchased a house (he has just inherited a large sum of money) - so if wouldn't be too fussed if they wanted us out after a year as it's just a temporary arrangement for us. Just wanted to know really if if the landlord signs and notices later on if he'd be able to put it up again or whether the contract would prevent him from doing so.