Lost my job - lettings not willing to...

dranzer01

So let me keep this succinct -

me and my flatmate signed a pre holding deposit agreement to take a property off the market

we then had to pay a further 500 (250 each) for referencing -

the referencing agency called me and said 'is my contract going to be renewed or will it go permanent' i informed them there were talks about this with my manager a few weeks back, and she said they were looking to renew it -

fast forward - i email HR at my company asking them for clarity as to when my contract will be extended/renewed.... next thing i know (a day or 2 later) im brought into the meeting room with my new manager and woman from hr and they said 'they wont be renewing it... and for me to leave that day with effect 1 weeks notice/pay'

(as you can imagine my head was in a whirlwind.... how can this JUST happen to me, when im looking to move out....????)


so now ive gone back to the lettings agency informing them of this, and they are saying to me 'well you know... if you have lost your job or you cannot get a guarantor or you cannot stump up 3 months worth of rent upfront, you will fail the referencing check, thus making the £1,000 non refundable!!!!

THIS CANNOT BE ETHICAL/MORALLY RIGHT....

is there anyway I can get this £1,000 back for me and my flatmate (as im the one who has lost the job.... its not like i said no we dont like the property)

Is there any case laws/statutes I can quote in my letter to the estate agency?

For kindness, I am willing to give the landlord no more than £200 for holding the property... but by no means is the agency keeping £1,000, how the hell is this right for someone who has just lost his job.....?


Any help on this would seriously be beneficial!!


Thanks!

ap1985

As per Paragraph 6j of the TPO Code of Practice any deductions from holding deposits for administration costs must be fair, reasonable and take account of the actual work completed.

Did you sign a tenancy agreement?

Guest101

dranzer01 wrote: »

So let me keep this succinct -

me and my flatmate signed a pre holding deposit agreement to take a property off the market

we then had to pay a further 500 (250 each) for referencing -

the referencing agency called me and said 'is my contract going to be renewed or will it go permanent' i informed them there were talks about this with my manager a few weeks back, and she said they were looking to renew it -

fast forward - i email HR at my company asking them for clarity as to when my contract will be extended/renewed.... next thing i know (a day or 2 later) im brought into the meeting room with my new manager and woman from hr and they said 'they wont be renewing it... and for me to leave that day with effect 1 weeks notice/pay' - How long had you worked there? Did you get it in writing?

(as you can imagine my head was in a whirlwind.... how can this JUST happen to me, when im looking to move out....????)


so now ive gone back to the lettings agency informing them of this, and they are saying to me 'well you know... if you have lost your job or you cannot get a guarantor or you cannot stump up 3 months worth of rent upfront, you will fail the referencing check, thus making the £1,000 non refundable!!!! - What did they say before you paid the deposit?

THIS CANNOT BE ETHICAL/MORALLY RIGHT.... (not sure how either of those are relevant, we're talking legally surely?)

is there anyway I can get this £1,000 back for me and my flatmate (as im the one who has lost the job.... its not like i said no we dont like the property) - What were the T&Cs when you handed over £1000?

Is there any case laws/statutes I can quote in my letter to the estate agency? - Answer question regarding work first.

For kindness, I am willing to give the landlord no more than £200 for holding the property... but by no means is the agency keeping £1,000, how the hell is this right for someone who has just lost his job.....? - Depends on the T&Cs.


Any help on this would seriously be beneficial!!


Thanks!

Answers please

dranzer01

ive worked here since may or june so around 5/6 months - (contract was due to end december)

they informed me i will receive a formal letter in the post, i believe they said within 7 days....

in the holding deposit agreement it does state:

if referencing fails or if you pull out or any other amendment, the monies will not be refundable.

But being my case/situation, i didnt think it fell into any of those categories -

ive looked through the holding agreement and it doesnt say anything about sending money back or anything alike -

they would only give the monies back if the LANDLORD decline our offer or didnt want to proceed... then we'd get the funds back - minus referencing fees.... along those lines

Pixie5740

It doesn't really matter whether it's ethical or moral, what's important is if it is legal. If you were in Scotland (which I'm guess in your not) all the fees and holiday deposit would be unlawful. Whereas in England & Wales letting agents more or less have carte blanche to charge what they like providing they clearly set out the fees they charge on their websites and in their offices. They must not mislead you. They must clearly describe the cost of each fee including VAT and what each fee covers. So I think it's safe to say your £500 referencing fees are gone.

As for the holding deposit, paying a holding deposit means you're committed to renting the property
and the landlord is committed to renting the property to you, subject to checks.

Before you pay any money, ask the letting agent to confirm to you in writing:

how the holding deposit will be used
if it will be returned to you (this should happen if the landlord decides not to rent the property to you)
if it will be used towards your tenancy deposit or rent
if any of their fees will be taken from it
when some of it may not be refunded, for example, if you give inaccurate information about yourself (they can't legally keep all of it)

So did you ask for any of that information in writing? Did the letting agent ever discuss under what circumstances the holding deposit would be returned?

dranzer01

ap1985 wrote: »

As per Paragraph 6j of the TPO Code of Practice any deductions from holding deposits for administration costs must be fair, reasonable and take account of the actual work completed.

Did you sign a tenancy agreement?

TENANCY AGREEMENT would have been the next step after my final hurdle (of this situation which i am currently facing.....)

Pixie5740

I cross-posted with you.

"If referencing fails" which it has so that does seem to apply to you. However, (and I'm not saying you'll win) you could start a complaint using the letting agent's complaints procedure and if you don't get anywhere with that you can then escalate your complaint to whichever redress scheme the letting agent are a member of (legally they must be a member of The Property Ombudsman (TPO),
The Property Redress Scheme or Ombudsman Services Property).

dranzer01

Pixie5740 wrote: »

It doesn't really matter whether it's ethical or moral, what's important is if it is legal. If you were in Scotland (which I'm guess in your not) all the fees and holiday deposit would be unlawful. Whereas in England & Wales letting agents more or less have carte blanche to charge what they like providing they clearly set out the fees they charge on their websites and in their offices. They must not mislead you. They must clearly describe the cost of each fee including VAT and what each fee covers. So I think it's safe to say your £500 referencing fees are gone.

As for the holding deposit, paying a holding deposit means you're committed to renting the property
and the landlord is committed to renting the property to you, subject to checks.

Before you pay any money, ask the letting agent to confirm to you in writing:

how the holding deposit will be used
if it will be returned to you (this should happen if the landlord decides not to rent the property to you)
if it will be used towards your tenancy deposit or rent
if any of their fees will be taken from it
when some of it may not be refunded, for example, if you give inaccurate information about yourself (they can't legally keep all of it)

So did you ask for any of that information in writing? Did the letting agent ever discuss under what circumstances the holding deposit would be returned?

From thought, the letting agent didnt discuss how it will be refunded or how it will be used... no talks of that happened (as this was quite a speedy process... id say roughly 1 week from seeing to actually doing the whole process as we needed to move in)

they only sent over a link for us to fill in our details for it to be checked... then they sent over the holding deposit agreement for us to fill out and sign

pmlindyloo

Have you still got a CCJ showing against you (as per your previous thread?

If so, then you would have likely failed the referencing anyway.

What is your flatmate's position? Can they afford the rent on their own? if they can then it may be possible for you to have the tenancy in their name and you named as an occupier (and make your own financial arrangements with your flatmate)

Otherwise your options are:

Find a guarantor or get someone to lend you the 3 months rent up front.
Query the fees as suggested in the above posts.

Guest101

I'd suggest that your notice would be wrong from work, and contractually you may have longer - check.


I'd say that your money is gone as they have clearly stated that if references fail it is non refundable and you have failed referencing

PersianCatLady

THIS CANNOT BE ETHICAL/MORALLY RIGHT....
In life there are lots of things that are neither ethically or morally right but that has nothing to do with whether they are legal nor not and legality is what actually matters.