Can the LL do this?

clare1076

We are due to sign a lease tomorrow for a house, when we found the house and spoke to the letting agent they stated that we need to pay a months rent which we have and then on signing the lease pay a deposit of £995.00 which is stated on the website and was told to my husband when he collected the paperwork.

Now we are due to move in tomorrow and the LL has come back to the letting agent and said they want £1500.00 deposit or we can't move in tomorrow. The letting agent is very apologetic and said this was never told to them but the LL insists it was.

Now we have to scramble around to find the extra £500.00 because we have two small children and are living with family at the moment. We don't want to lose the house as its perfect in the perfect location for my son's school.

Are they allowed to do this? Do you think they are pushing it because they know we like to house so much? The letting agents said if we pull out we lose 75% of the rent already paid, but i think we shouldn't because all along it has been stipulated that the deposit was £995.

Badger_Lady

I agree - you shouldn't (morally) lose anything. If there's an amount "lost" then it should be for the LA / LL to negotiate between them, since it's clearly an issue of communication between them (by apologising, the LA has admitted fault).

Are they really prepared to lose a willing tenant and re-market for the sake of extra deposit money (that won't make any difference to their profit)? The LL is likely to lose a lot more than this amount anyway by remarketing.

Sadly, this situation does not bode well for your future rental if your LA and LL have such a poor relationship with one another!

No advice, I'm afraid, just comments...

pinkshoes

Tell the landlady that you're not willing to to hand over the extra £500 deposit because you'd rather find yourself somewhere else to live than see your children go without christmas and christmas presents!

I would leave it up to the LA to sort out, as it sounds like they've already admitted it was their fault!

sooz

But then they would lose most of the first month's rent in agency fees.

The deposit must be protected, so you could offer to meet them half way, BUT, to give the extra amount at a later date, thus making the agency do more work.

clare1076

Thanks for all your advice.

The LA already asked them if we could pay the £995 tomorrow and the rest in a week or so. But they refused and said we couldn't move in unless they had the £1500 first.

I'm a bit concerned now but i've got to think of the kids. They need to be settled.

sooz

Is the LA managing the property, or just letting it?

If the deposit is being protected by the DPS (free service) it doesn't matter when it is paid, as long as you receive info about it within 14 days of paying it.

Can you talk direct to the LL at all? Sounds like their LA is sh*te.

I'd be inclided to tell them to stuff it, and ask for all your money back as they have misled you. Is the LA ARLA registered?

thesaint

You haven't signed a contract, so you are free to pull out, as are they.

If you want the property, you have to pay what they ask, or negotiate.

real1314

clare1076 wrote: »

We are due to sign a lease tomorrow for a house, when we found the house and spoke to the letting agent they stated that we need to pay a months rent which we have and then on signing the lease pay a deposit of £995.00 which is stated on the website and was told to my husband when he collected the paperwork.

Now we are due to move in tomorrow and the LL has come back to the letting agent and said they want £1500.00 deposit or we can't move in tomorrow. The letting agent is very apologetic and said this was never told to them but the LL insists it was.

Now we have to scramble around to find the extra £500.00 because we have two small children and are living with family at the moment. We don't want to lose the house as its perfect in the perfect location for my son's school.

Are they allowed to do this? Do you think they are pushing it because they know we like to house so much? The letting agents said if we pull out we lose 75% of the rent already paid, but i think we shouldn't because all along it has been stipulated that the deposit was £995.

You can't be made to forfeit the rent, and you should in fact be able to recover your fees and costs from the agent as they have mis-represented the deal.
Tell the LA that you think they should agree to cover the extra £500 whilst gving you time to pay it (say 2 payments of £250) if you really want the place.
Otherwise tell them you want all your money back and fees as you would not have applied if they had told you that the deposit was so much.

Debt_Free_Chick

Hold on a minute ..... the LL gets absolutely no benefit from the deposit, as it now has to be protected. They can't use it any way and it's now extremely difficult for the LL to withold it when you vacate.

I can't understand the LL's position here and suggest you go back to the Agent and ask them what the LL is afraid of? Or what the LL is hoping to gain.

It's simply madness ...... The LL doesn't seem to understand the new deposit protection rules.

thesaint

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

Hold on a minute ..... the LL gets absolutely no benefit from the deposit, as it now has to be protected. They can't use it any way and it's now extremely difficult for the LL to withold it when you vacate.

I can't understand the LL's position here and suggest you go back to the Agent and ask them what the LL is afraid of? Or what the LL is hoping to gain.

It's simply madness ...... The LL doesn't seem to understand the new deposit protection rules.

The OP hasn't paid a deposit according to what they have written in post #1.

She has paid rent, but not signed a contract.

sooz

Yes - but the point DFC is trying to make is that the (as yet unpaid) deposit amount is in dispute.

It seems rather pointless as the deposit will have to be protected, so why is he pushing for a greater amount than the LA norm?