A little more protection for tenants...?

Carrie_bie

Hi Everyone,

I had an idea this afternoon which I'd like to share with you all - I've decided that landlords should also have to pay a security deposit like the existing Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

I've been renting for the last 17 years and had some great and not so great landlords. I'm pretty sure I'm a model tenant - I'm very clean (no mould or limescale in my bathrooms!), considerate, always pay on time for anything I am responsible for and never ever leave a mess at check out. I try to do everything by the book (aka contract) and I expect the same from my landlord - if I'm paying a tonne of cash for a service I expect to receive it!

However as a tenant you're still very much at the mercy of your landlord, ultimately you need secure home with power and water. Sometimes you never really know if your landlord is an a***wipe until you finish your tenancy and wait for your deposit to come back.

I have once in the past used the deposit dispute resolution service to stop unfair deductions and they were very good... but it got me wondering, is there anything aside from a small claims court that a tenant can do to claim losses from their landlord??!?

Why isn't there an equivalent bond paid by the landlord to reassure the tenant?? Surely this would be easy to rectify... much easier than setting up a landlord licence scheme?

tom9980

You have possession of the Landlords house worth typically a 6 figure sum is that not enough?

Carrie_bie

Not sure I understand your point Tom.

I pay to have possession of the property whilst I'm living there - are you advocating tenants withholding rent if they perceive a loss from their landlords' negligence?

Also sometimes tenants pay the rent for the entire tenancy in advance so this iwould not be an option to them.

Slithery

Carrie_bie wrote: »

I have once in the past used the deposit dispute resolution service to stop unfair deductions and they were very good... but it got me wondering, is there anything aside from a small claims court that a tenant can do to claim losses from their landlord??!?

What sort of losses are you thinking of? I can't think of any situation where my LL would owe me money without small claims being sufficient.

allypally26

I totally agree.

I had a previous LL who delayed my move in by a week because he wanted to deep clean the flat. When I moved in I had to spend three hours cleaning he had left food in the cupboards (rotten food) his girlfriend’s uniform in the washing machine and the bathroom was filthy. Even the check in report stated poor under the cleaning section.

He left drawers which were supposed to be removed, it took a month for these to be removed and his parents had to remove them.

It took me calling the environmental health for him to fix a damp problem (not due to the way I live before anyone starts, it was a structural issue and he had previously painted over the problem).

The joke was in the end he tried to take £180 off my deposit for cleaning even though the check out said standard of cleaning good.

Now I know that the comments will be you didn’t suffer a financial loss but actually I did. Living there was stressful it impacted my work as I had to constantly email/call etc to get him to sort things out, which ultimately did not help my career.

Cakeguts

Does it ever occur to tenants to do a bit of research about the product they are going to rent? I think most people seem to do more research on a television that they are about to buy. Most people want to know which company made it and are they paying too much for a television from that company.



If you are looking for a rental property why would anyone think that someone who is moving out and letting it for the first time would be a better landlord than a landlord with lots of very well looked after properties who minded about customer service? Of course the ones who mind about customer service also tend to charge more. Renting is the same as many other services/products. You get what you pay for.

allypally26

The flat I looked at was in a block I looked at three. All were the same price.

One had a really odd layout and was dark.

One was owned by a lady in the Navy and was managed by the letting agents when I viewed it was cluttered by the current tenants stuff.

The one I rented was owed by a guy who had previously rented it out but had moved back in due to his girlfriend’s course being in the area. Again this was managed by the letting agent.

I researched the agents all are pretty rubbish in the area. I was moving from London I had a few tick boxes and these blocks of flats fitted them until I got to know the area. I also paid over the odds in the end so please don’t try this you get what you pay for crap.

LL’s here charge market rate regardless of the level of service they give or don’t in this case.

theartfullodger

You'd be better off requiring references from previous tenants showing that the landlord is decent, honourable and complies with legal & contractural requirements.


Never understood why tenants don't require these.. Cheap/free, what landlord (that demands references the other way round) could possibly complain?

babyblade41

theartfullodger wrote: »

You'd be better off requiring references from previous tenants showing that the landlord is decent, honourable and complies with legal & contractural requirements.


Never understood why tenants don't require these.. Cheap/free, what landlord (that demands references the other way round) could possibly complain?

That is an excellent idea ,

fishpond

babyblade41 wrote: »

That is an excellent idea ,

That is of course assuming you can find the previous tenant, as some seem to disappear off the planet, with out paying some/all of their bills.

babyblade41

fishpond wrote: »

That is of course assuming you can find the previous tenant, as some seem to disappear off the planet, with out paying some/all of their bills.

Well yes but they won't be getting there deposit back... I think for genuine renters who have moved mutually and need a ref , then to reciprocate it would be doable, with a few tweaks