Help: Landlord Needs Consent to Let before we can move in - Foxtons

Svante

Hi,

We're in a very strange situation. We found a flat through Foxtons, our offer was accepted and we were all ready to move in on Monday the 11th.

On Wednesday we get a call saying the landlord was still waiting for consent to let from our agent, he said he expected an online message any day now after filling out an online form. His lender is hsbc. It's now Wednesday (1 week since we received the call) our move in date has been delayed and we need to leave our current flat by this Saturday.

By Friday we will need to move our personal belongings into storage. We're able to live at a friend's place until the 26th but now need to pay storage and generally are unsure about the situation, especially since there's a possibility (although the landlord says he's 99% sure they will receive the go ahead from their lender, as their mortgage broker said they'd be fine and they satisfy the criteria) that he gets denied. Both landlord and agent have said though that since this isn't our fault they're willing to refund deposit, agent/referencing fees and first month's rent we've paid fully if we decide to pull out and find somewhere else.

My question is, how long does it take to obtain consent to let from HSBC?

We've started viewing other flats but the one in question is really our dream flat and we are willing to wait if we know we can move in in the next one or 2 weeks.

Also could we be getting scammed or are we being taken in some way?

Tenancy agreement will only officially start from when we officially move in so we aren't losing any money waiting for this letter.

Thanks for your help!

saajan_12

I don't know about HSBC specifically, but few general things you can check to satisfy yourself it's not a scam and the tenancy is likely to go ahead.

1. Has the LL been living in the property prior or were there tenants? (If there were tenants, he'd have needed consent to let already)

2. How long has LL owned the property & had mortgage (if its less than 12 months on a residential mortgage, some lenders don't like to give CTL so early as it rings of potential mortgage fraud as the borrower arguably should have gotten a BTL if it was planned)

3. Visit the property to see (from the street) whether anyone is living there. Is this what you expect ie. when were you told previous occupants would be moving out?

Svante

According to our agent and what we've seen:

1. The landlord has been living at the property before us
2. The landlord stated that they've lived at and owned the property for 5 years
3. It's a flat om the 3rd floor so I can't see whether or not someone is currently living there

Thanks!

If anyone knows how long this process usually takes with HSBC that would be great.

csgohan4

best to find another property as it seems the LL is trying to have his cake and eat it, Foxton's too

Mutton_Geoff

My sister has lived in rented for many years but over the last 5-6 she has got more hassle from amateur landlords deciding to sell up/change their mind about renting etc that she is forever on the move.

My advice would be to only rent from a professional rather than accidental landlord to make sure you have better long term security.

This is just one example where amateurs are clearly not approaching it like a proper business.

Svante

Could you please elaborate on this?

They seem very genuine but perhaps inexperienced. Since Foxtons is willing to give me a full refund incl. All agency fees, surely they don't stand to gain anything?

We are back to viewing again nonetheless, however we really do love this flat...

Svante

This is true, they are completely new therefore could be issues further down the line.

On the other hand they have opted for Foxtons full property management, which I've read online is quite decent... Still this situation popped up. Food for thought for sure.

SeanG79

As it is a flat, make sure the Landlord doesn't require permission to let from the Freeholder.

When we approached Nationwide for consent to let, they insisted on us providing a letter of consent from the Freeholder, even though the the Leasehold Agreement clearly stated we were able to let the property. The consent to let from the bank took less than 2 weeks. Consent to let from the Freeholder took months as they kept referring us back to our Leasehold agreement that Nationwide were not prepared to take an opinion on.

Svante

Thanks for that info!

I'll check with the landlord in case that ends up being HSBC answer.

So far, they've said they need consent from hsbc to let the flat as it is stated in their mortgage agreement they are now allowed to do so. We're just over 1 week now so maybe there's still time...

silvercar

Strikes me as responsible of the landlord and the agent to make sure that everything is legal before you move in.

Marvel1

Svante wrote: »

Could you please elaborate on this?

They seem very genuine but perhaps inexperienced. Since Foxtons is willing to give me a full refund incl. All agency fees, surely they don't stand to gain anything?

We are back to viewing again nonetheless, however we really do love this flat...

The "landlord" is very clueless, not even doing the most basic thing before advertising to rent it. I would walk away, this one has no idea.