Awaiting tenancy agreement

gymguy2017

I’ve paid a holding deposit and first months rent for a flat starting in February. I was supposed to get the tenancy agreement to sign on Friday, still not received so have chased estate agent today. Estate agent said they are chasing the paralegal to release the agreement for me to sign. Should I be worried that something dodgy is going on? Or does this sound like standard practice? Thanks.

MaryNB

I wouldn't be worried. You've got another few weeks to go. I've frequently had to chase letting agents for tenancy agreements. I've only every received a tenancy agreement to sign within about a week of the tenancy starting. 

dimbo61

Have you been into the estate agents office ?
Where did you find this property to rent ?
Have you paid a holding deposit / rent into an account that has the Lettings agents info.
Have you checked out the property ? Been and viewed it ?
If you have the address and postcode you can check what the EPC is although this should be available on the advert and is a legal requirement in order to advertise a rental property

For £3 you can download the Land Registry title from its website and know who the owners is and if there is a mortgage on the property

canaldumidi

Assuming it's a legit agent (see dimbo61's post), payment/acceptance of the rent constitutes a contract, so if the property was not made available you could claim breach of contract.

Of course, not having seen the TA means you are not fully aware of all the terms, though arguably you could decline to sign, rely on the varbal contract backed up by rent acceptance, and base the tenancy on that.

But not a very amicable way to start.....

A more concerning scenario is where a holding deposit only is paid, and the LL then backs out. This could happen if, eg the current tenant failed to leave on the anticipated date meaning the LL could not grant you a tenancy, but by accepting rent the LL is commited.

Slithery

I've never signed a tenancy agreement until the day I moved into the property.