Private let advice

Dribiddi

Hi.

We may be renting privately from a landlord.
The landlord seems nice but you do hear some horror stories of these 'rogue' landlords. (I know rogue tenants are probably much more common but hopefully that will not apply to us.)
Anyone have any general advice on what questions I should be asking of the landlord before agreeing to a let just to ensure everything is above board and we have assurances that if things go wrong landlord will tend to them etc. We have always rented from estate agent before so feels like a leap into the unknown. We are in Scotland if that makes any difference

Many thanks

G_M

check the landlaod is on the council register.

He's nomore likely to be a rogue landlord that your last agent was a rogue agent.

Dribiddi

G_M wrote: »

check the landlaod is on the council register.

He's nomore likely to be a rogue landlord that your last agent was a rogue agent.

True I suppose.

He has said rent would be inclusive of council tax, energy bills and tv licence. Is this a normal arrangement? What assurances would I have he was paying these bills?

G_M

Provided this is written into the contract, you'd have the basis for a claim if he did not.

Is this a self-contained property you are renting, or a room in his home?

Dribiddi

Self contained

Pixie5740

I doubt you've rented from estate agents before. It's far more likely that you rented from landlords who used a letting agent to manage things for him. Your contracts will have been with the landlords and it's ultimately the landlords who are responsible for repairs, protecting your deposit and complying with housing legislation.

knightstyle

Sounds as if the landlord does not have permission to let?
First thing is to insist your names are registered there for council tax etc.
If the landlord says no to this you are on dodgy ground so look else where.

Mossfarr

knightstyle wrote: »

Sounds as if the landlord does not have permission to let?


What absolute rubbish.
Millions of good Landlords do not use letting agents - myself included.
Why on earth would this make you jump to the conclusion that this means we don't have permission to let?

Guest101

knightstyle wrote: »

Sounds as if the landlord does not have permission to let?
First thing is to insist your names are registered there for council tax etc.
If the landlord says no to this you are on dodgy ground so look else where.

And you base it on what exactly?

eddddy

I guess there's the risk is that the person you are talking to is a scammer, and doesn't really own the property. (So they get you to pay a deposit and month's rent in advance in cash, then do a runner.)

A letting agent would ask a LL for photo ID, proof of address and proof of ownership of the property.

If you have concerns, I guess you could try asking the LL for those. (Or you can download proof of ownership from the land registry website for £3.)

And paying any money by bank transfer would be a bit safer than paying in cash.

Guest101

eddddy wrote: »

I guess there's the risk is that the person you are talking to is a scammer, and doesn't really own the property. (So they get you to pay a deposit and month's rent in advance in cash, then do a runner.)

A letting agent would ask a LL for photo ID, proof of address and proof of ownership of the property. - This is often not the case. LLs don't need to own the property to rent it out.

If you have concerns, I guess you could try asking the LL for those. (Or you can download proof of ownership from the land registry website for £3.)

And paying any money by bank transfer would be a bit safer than paying in cash.

Honestly bank transfer is no safer than cash, your bank wont refund it