Letting fees to be banned from June - MSE News

Comms69

itwasntme001 wrote: »

Good to hear. i think i will just up rents when it comes time to renew to compensate for lack of deposit.

And when they refuse?...


because it sounds like you think the deposit is your money; its not...

onwards&upwards

itwasntme001 wrote: »

Good to hear. i think i will just up rents when it comes time to renew to compensate for lack of deposit.

Will you evict if they don’t renew?

BurnCK

itwasntme001 wrote: »

Good to hear. i think i will just up rents when it comes time to renew to compensate for lack of deposit.

Lack of deposit? 5 weeks not enough? If you've got existing tenants, and they're good and reliable, then why would you need more than 5 weeks? Considering that deposits have to be held in a deposit scheme by law and deductions can be independently adjudicated, what is this compensation you speak of? You're not losing out in anyway.

jonnygee2

Good to hear. i think i will just up rents when it comes time to renew to compensate for lack of deposit.

If you can let your property out for a higher rent, why aren't you already charging it?

dekaspace

In Scotland they try and get around it by saying they wont let to you unless you provide them with credit searches paid for by yourself, or say its not them that charge its a third party, had a friend who 18 months ago went for a property was told being a agency worker wasn't a problem then paid the £400 deposit then was told he needed guarantor as he was a angency worker which he couldn't get so they took £100 off him for "costs" of credit check and admin.


Also in past few years have seen rents skyrocket, my old flat which I got for £250 a month inc brand new carpet and newly painted walls not goes for £350 as do other properties in area despite them not being decorated for years, I moved to that flat 5 years ago and it hasn't been carpeted or paiinted since (I know the current tenant) and LL wants to put up price more, the rate LL's are setting there is the LHA rate as they know people are desperate, that LL doesn't charge a deposit but wants rent to always be 2 months in advance so works out better for them.


I can foresee that happening in England too.

itwasntme001

jonnygee2 wrote: »

If you can let your property out for a higher rent, why aren't you already charging it?

Because the market price is what it is. Given all the changes, i fully expect rents to rise so i will raise them in a year or so. The market rents would most likely go up to compensate landlords for additional risks for letting given the changes in the law. If my tenants are good, I may not do this if market rents are slightly higher. But if rents go up significantly, I will raise rents.

System

itwasntme001 wrote: »

Does some of the deposit have to be paid back to tenants so that the landlord holds only 5 weeks? Or is it only new or renewed tenancies starting from today?

The 1 weeks refund will only apply to new and renewed tenancies after 1st June. The legislation isn't retrospective so any periodic tenancies the deposit can stay at 6 weeks.

Fantasticaly

Hello, hoping someone more knowledgable than me will be able to answer these questions for me
I have been renting my home for 10 years now, and in December a new landlord bought the house with tenants in situ.

I have had no paperwork since the house changed hands: no tenancy agreement, no confirmation of my deposit being held, and the gas safety certificate ran out mid Dec and because the meter is in a flooded cellar (which the LL won't fix), the gas engineer won't (quite rightly) check it, so the certificate remains out of date (which I believe is a serious offence).

I was on a rolling tenancy with the previous LL.

Now, my rent is £695 per month, and my deposit was £1390. So...what happens to the excess amount, given the new laws, if I have no renewed tenancy agreement? Surely I should have had a new agreement, as the previous one has my old landlord's details, as well as a different agent.

I hope that makes sense, and thanks in advance for your help

System

Fantasticaly wrote: »

Hello, hoping someone more knowledgable than me will be able to answer these questions for me
I have been renting my home for 10 years now, and in December a new landlord bought the house with tenants in situ.

I have had no paperwork since the house changed hands: no tenancy agreement, no confirmation of my deposit being held, and the gas safety certificate ran out mid Dec and because the meter is in a flooded cellar (which the LL won't fix), the gas engineer won't (quite rightly) check it, so the certificate remains out of date (which I believe is a serious offence).

I was on a rolling tenancy with the previous LL.

Now, my rent is £695 per month, and my deposit was £1390. So...what happens to the excess amount, given the new laws, if I have no renewed tenancy agreement? Surely I should have had a new agreement, as the previous one has my old landlord's details, as well as a different agent.

I hope that makes sense, and thanks in advance for your help

Your original tenancy agreement will remain in force, the gas safety is another issue all together. If it has expired due to a maintenance issue preventing the engineer from accessing the meter and the landlord is refusing to fix then he is in serious trouble.


To be honest I would start looking for somewhere else to live, check with the schemes to see if the deposit is still registered if not write to the landlord of your intention to sue and also report the lack of gas safety

Fantasticaly

Simonr66 wrote: »

Your original tenancy agreement will remain in force, the gas safety is another issue all together. If it has expired due to a maintenance issue preventing the engineer from accessing the meter and the landlord is refusing to fix then he is in serious trouble.


To be honest I would start looking for somewhere else to live, check with the schemes to see if the deposit is still registered if not write to the landlord of your intention to sue and also report the lack of gas safety

I would love to move, but sadly I am not in a position to at the moment. I am self-employed and at the moment can just about afford the rent and bills - I had to use my savings last year to keep my head above water when a lucrative contract ended, and with no money behind me I can't afford it.

Good to know the tenancy agreement is still in force, do you know how that would work with regards the new laws - i.e is it considered renewed each year?

The cellar is a huge issue - my gas meter is prepayment, and I have to wade through stagnant water every time I need to top the gas up.It's been flooded since December, and the LL has been out and pumped it out a few times, but it refills within a day, due to there being a well down there. He tells me these houses are built to stand in standing water (!!!) and that I should just get the meter moved to inside the house. But again...the engineer won't come out and move the meter when the cellar is flooded.

I have also tried to find out if the deposit is protected, but I changed my name a few years back (due to previous domestic violence) and it seems they haven't been given my new details. They told me there is a deposit held for this address but it's not in my current name.

It's all a big mess. I've now been given an inhlaer for asthma that I haven't had since I was a kid because of the damp cellar.

I'm a bit stuck really and want to gather all my information so I know my rights.