New to renting - negotiating tenancy start date

letitbe90

Hi

I have just passed referencing for a flat which the current tenants will be leaving end of this month (31st).

Originally, I had agreed to start my tenancy on the 7th of April, however we have notified a few weeks back that it would actually be great if we could change it to the 14th.

I am new to renting but does this seem like an unreasonable request? At first I said if the landlord can do it we would appreciate it but if not no problem - and of course she said she wants to stick to 7th. However, is me pushing for 14th that unreasonable? Do landlords generally have a very minimal gap between tenancies? If so I'll leave it, but if you think it is quite normal to have around 2 weeks between tenancies, maybe I will push for it.

Thank you

PokerPlayer111

Its reasonable from my experience, 1 week difference is nothing.

need_an_answer

What a LL will look at it as is a void period where rent is not coming in.

It varies between LL's how much void they are comfortable and happy to deal with.

I have seen properties where the empty period is very minimal maybe a weekend and I have also seen that period stretched several weeks or even months if major work needs doing between rentals.

Whilst the property is not let it falls on the LL to cover utilities and council tax on the property as well as the loss of rental income so it is always preferable to the LL to have the quickest most efficient turnaround

At this point delaying your start date is unlikely to have much impact as the LL would probably not want to go through the whole viewing/referencing etc with another potential tenant who is unlikely to be looking for a nearer start date than you are proposing.

saajan_12

If you insist on the 14th, the LL has to take that or look for another tenant. Based on that particular market, how high is the demand for properties, ie how long does it typically take for properties to be taken off the market? Plus how long did referencing etc take with that LL/agent?

If the LL can hold more viewings / choose someone who was rejected, go through referencing and get someone else in before the 14th then it may well be worth their while ditching you. They might hedge their bets by keeping you but also holding viewings incase anything comes to fruition earlier. You have to decide
- if the LL finds another tenant, will you be able to find an alternative at short notice?
- if the LL holds off on signing an agreement with you, can you deal with the risk?
- if they do reluctantly agree to 14th but think the 7th was verbally agreed, do you want to sour the relation before it starts by going back on your word?

Cakeguts

Do you want to lose this property? By trying to get it on the 14th you are showing the landlord that you are not all that interested in it. If this is likely to be a nice property the landlord can probably find someone who can start the tenancy earlier.

aliby21

Are you dealing with the landlord or a letting agency? in my experience an agency is likely to whine on about 'the landlord wants to re-advertise' 'we have other people interested' when maybe it is just the agency making it up. I was in tears trying to sort out tenancy start last year, and it turned out the LL was ok but the agency was happy to pile on the pressure. But, it does depend how much you want to play hardball back I guess.