Help please - Student daughter renting (AST). Does Tenancy start before receiving keys to property ?

deedee999

Hello all - newbie forumite here looking for some help

Student daughter renting in London via one year Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST).  There were some problems getting all relevant paperwork together and then authorised by the letting agency/ credit reference checking agency and the delay in signing these off - by them - meant that the keys could not be picked up until a few days after the tenancy agreement had started.

The letting agency insist that the date the tenancy starts is not the day that the keys are released.

Is this correct please ?  

Grateful for your advice in advance and happy to clarify further if not made myself completely clear - thanks !

Robbo66

Normally the tenancy would only start once possession is granted prior to that it is a binding contract provided both parties have signed, to be honest I'm not 100% sure what happens if possession is given after the agreed start date. I would hazard to guess that If the keys were handed over after the start date by mutual agreement then the tenancy would start on the date agreed as per the AST.

AdrianC

The tenancy start date is the tenancy start date.

Were the keys available for collection on the nominal start date?
If not, because the paperwork wasn't finalised, then the tenancy hadn't started... If the paperwork hadn't come through, the tenancy wouldn't have started... It wouldn't have started then been cancelled.

MaryNB

If they're saying the tenancy starts from the date at which the paper work was signed then your daughter should have been provided accommodation on that day, no later. They were legally obliged to provide access on that date or provide alternative accommodation. 

deannagone

If she signed a tenancy agreement that gave a different date to the date the keys were available (not that she couldn't collect them any earlier) I suspect she should have insisted the date of tenancy start in the TA should be changed.  But unless it was a month later, I'm not sure that a difference of a few days will make too much difference in reality.

deedee999

Hello AdrianC
Thanks for a super quick response. 

The keys were not released and made available on the tenancy due start date as the paperwork had not been fully signed off.  As a result, my daughter was chasing for days after the tenancy date should have commenced before the keys were allowed to be collected.

I just don't want to look a twit in communications with the Letting Agency.  The Agency say that the Landlord (who lives abroad and is hard to contact apparently) "does not want to push back the date of the tenancy".

Its only a matter of about 4 days delay, so I don't want to make a stand unnecessarily, but rent is £1300 per month (without bills).

Thanks also Robbo 66 for your response also :-) 

MaryNB

deedee999 said:

Its only a matter of about 4 days delay, so I don't want to make a stand unnecessarily, but rent is £1300 per month (without bills).

Thanks also Robbo 66 for your response also :-) 

So £171 worth of accommodation was paid for and not provided?

TripleH

If the landlord themselves gave not caused any delay then it is not unreasonable for him to expect to receive his full rent.

The question is who caused the delay in the paperwork not being completed correctly and in a timely fashion?

If it was your daughter, this might sadly be one to chalk up to experience as a (relatively inexpensive life lesson).

If however it was the letting agent caused the delay, I would pursue it through them and argue they caused the delay, they need to resolve it with their client.

FaceHead

Once the tenancy agreement was signed (by both parities?) the property was hers, regardless of any checks or paperwork that the landlord (via their agent) might want doing. The only paperwork of relevance is the tenancy agreement. 

When denied entry to the property she was renting, she could have a locksmith and got let in. And invoiced the landlord for failing to provide access. Obviously a nuclear option that few would go with, but it illustrates the point - it's her home on that day, and the landlord has locked her out. 

So what's the remedy for being locked out for four days - either it could be the £173 suggested above, or it could be any reasonable expenses incurred as a result of being locked out. Invoicing the landlord for £173 seems like the best move if they don't want to change the end date of the tenancy. 

theartfullodger

Once agreement signed, then there's a firm contract.  But not a tenancy.  Only when occupation taken up is there a tenancy.  Contract law covers 1st bit, tenancy law also after occupation.

tripled

The tenancy wouldn't start before the date specified on the tenancy agreement. I'm unconvinced that a tenancy can be backdated if signed after the specified start date, particularly if the tenant did not have access, but I'm not a legal expert.

What date is specified on the agreement, what date(s) was it signed by the LL and by the tenant, and what date were the keys handed over?