Letting agents tenancy agreements

jayencee

Is it unusual to ask to see a sample tenancy agreement before handing over any holding fees? I ask because I a man going to be a guarantor for my daughter and want to see the agreement before I sign up however the agency is saying she has to pay the holding fee first which obviously she will then lose if she pulls out

anselld

No, it is not unusual but then it is not unusual for agents to be a bit iffy.

They will have to show you the agreement before you sign as Guarantor otherwise the guarantee will not be valid, however that does not help with the holding deposit.

Stand your ground or find another property/agent.

saajan_12

People will often insist on following their company's usual procedure / order e.g. holding fee > tenancy agreement, but that doesnt' mean rules can't be adjusted when it makes no difference to the LA.. that is unless they are just after collecting deposits or hoping some prospective tenants shy away from questioning the agreement as they've already invested a holding deposit.

They'll need an agreement for this property eventually when they do get tenants, so can easily print one off without a tenant name / dates for you. Unless they have people lining up for this property, printing off an agreement seems easier than continuing to advertise and holding viewings so I expect they'll oblige soon if you stand firm.

martindow

A bit off topic, but there are many threads here about the open ended nature of being a guarantor. If this is a shared house, you are likely to be responsible for the entire rent and not just your daughter's share. It is not something to be entered into lightly.

Lokolo

martindow wrote: »

A bit off topic, but there are many threads here about the open ended nature of being a guarantor. If this is a shared house, you are likely to be responsible for the entire rent and not just your daughter's share. It is not something to be entered into lightly.

I suspect this is why the OP wants to see the agreement.

jayencee

I will just be guaranteeing for her but did want to see that in writing as they are already backtracking on some of the terms whicheck were verbally spoken about i.e. bills being included

fishpond

My advice.
Tell your daughter to find somewhere else & and with a different agent, as it all sounds a little suspect.

Pixie5740

jayencee wrote: »

I will just be guaranteeing for her but did want to see that in writing as they are already backtracking on some of the terms whicheck were verbally spoken about i.e. bills being included

If it's a joint tenancy then there's no such thing legally as "her share" of the rent. Each joint tenant will have joint and several liability for the total rent not just their "share." Therefore, if you are guaranteeing your daughter you will be guaranteeing the whole rent.

As said earlier anselld, if you are not shown a copy of the tenancy agreement before the deed of guarantee is executed, and it must be executed as a deed, then it won't be worth the paper it is written on. That being the case I wouldn't be pushing so hard to get hold of a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Your daughter is going to be the tenant so she should be the one finding out the information. She must have seen the advert which should say whether bills are included or not. Your daughter should also get in writing the circumstances in which the holding deposit can be kept or returned before handing any money over.

Marktheshark

As said, if it is a house share, you will also be guaranteeing any other non paying layabouts rents payments as well that share the house.