Price of flat goes up after I have paid to secure it

saturdayedition

Hi everyone, looking for some advice here. I have searched but can't find anything similar to what I am asking.

I viewed a rental flat last week and this morning paid £150 to the estate agents to 'take it off the market'. They take my details, I agree to send in proof of income, and we make an appointment for me to sign the contract and pick up the keys for next week.

A couple of hours later, I get a call from the agent who says that the landlord has decided he wants an additional £100/month for the flat; that there had been a "breakdown in communication" about its price. Ha. I am 99% certain the LL has just decided he can get more.

I absolutely do not want to pay that extra money, but the flat has a lot of advantages and otherwise works perfectly for me. Anyone been in this situation before? Would you negotiate and offer a bit more?
Thank you.

G_M

Either

* demand that the agreement be honoured at the rent discussed - you never know, you might be lucky!

* agree the new rent and sign

* negotiate an agree a rent half-way between the original and new rent proposed

* walk away and demand all you fees back immediately

always_sunny

assuming no lease agreement was signed, no one is in any binding contract I would think?

Say, your circumstances had changed (loss of job, better flat found, etc) and you decided not to lease the flat after paying the holding fee, depending on what you signed when you handed over the holding fee, you could also walk away from the deal.

Why should it be different for the other party? Maybe the LL got a better offer!

itchyfeet123

always_sunny wrote: »

assuming no lease agreement was signed, no one is in any binding contract I would think?

Say, your circumstances had changed (loss of job, better flat found, etc) and you decided not to lease the flat after paying the holding fee, depending on what you signed when you handed over the holding fee, you could also walk away from the deal.

Why should it be different for the other party? Maybe the LL got a better offer!

Perhaps I'm cynical, but I'm assuming this was the LL's/agent's strategy all along. Get people through the door at one price and then demand more later, assuming that people will be somewhat committed -- given notice at the current place, felt a few days relief at getting to stop the torture of looking at places. If there was a better offer, it's to the agent's advantage to say as much rather than put it down to "communication difficulties" which just makes the whole thing seem dodgy.

Assuming this isn't the only flat in town, I'd keep looking, probably with a different agent. They (the LL and/or agent) have shown how much respect they have for you and how they'll behave when something needs repairing or it's time to return your deposit.

If you don't take the place, make sure you get your holding deposit back. They lost the marketing time because of their deceptive actions while you were acting in good faith.

goodwithsaving

Walk away. If you agree to higher rent the LL has won and will probably hike it in a year's time and you'll have to move again anyway

saturdayedition

Thanks everyone. I am very strongly leaning towards walking away, as I suspect what itchyfeet did as well, that this tactic was planned from the beginning.

teddysmum

There should be no problem with recovering the deposit as what is offered is not what you agreed to and the EA has admitted the problem is between them and the landlord,so not of your making.

nLdn

itchyfeet123 wrote: »

Perhaps I'm cynical, but I'm assuming this was the LL's/agent's strategy all along. Get people through the door at one price and then demand more later, assuming that people will be somewhat committed -- given notice at the current place, felt a few days relief at getting to stop the torture of looking at places. If there was a better offer, it's to the agent's advantage to say as much rather than put it down to "communication difficulties" which just makes the whole thing seem dodgy.

Assuming this isn't the only flat in town, I'd keep looking, probably with a different agent. They (the LL and/or agent) have shown how much respect they have for you and how they'll behave when something needs repairing or it's time to return your deposit.

If you don't take the place, make sure you get your holding deposit back. They lost the marketing time because of their deceptive actions while you were acting in good faith.

This! If the agent is going to be the middleman between you and the landlord when you need something, do you really want that middleman to be someone with communication difficulties with the landlord? Regardless of whether the agent is trying it on (very likely) or the landlord is a pain in the !!!! (also likely), think about this bit.