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Lettings agent taking multiple holding deposits
ktd22
Posts: 16 Forumite
We viewed a house last week which is available to rent, and absolutely fell in love with it. It is a fantastic price for the size and the area and recently refurbished so I great find.
Obviously because of this there was a huge amount of interest in the property and so the agent opted to arrange all viewings for the same day, ask any interested applicants to email in a blind offer (re: length of tenancy, their affordability capabilities etc) and then these would be submit to the landlord to review and make a decision on. We would then find out whether we were successful or not the next week. They also requested a 1 week holding deposit with the offer.
The agent is a fairly well known, albeit local, agent, with a long-standing and successful business and good reviews (bar the usual one star grumbles) so I wasn’t concerned with the safety of the holding deposit, made an offer and am now waiting for the results.
However it has just come to my attention that the paying of a holding deposit aught to ensure you are the only current candidate for tenancy, and should just be held while the agents run referencing and credit checks. The house should be taken off the market while they hold your holding deposit and the agents should not take deposits from more than one applicant at a time.
Obviously because of this there was a huge amount of interest in the property and so the agent opted to arrange all viewings for the same day, ask any interested applicants to email in a blind offer (re: length of tenancy, their affordability capabilities etc) and then these would be submit to the landlord to review and make a decision on. We would then find out whether we were successful or not the next week. They also requested a 1 week holding deposit with the offer.
The agent is a fairly well known, albeit local, agent, with a long-standing and successful business and good reviews (bar the usual one star grumbles) so I wasn’t concerned with the safety of the holding deposit, made an offer and am now waiting for the results.
However it has just come to my attention that the paying of a holding deposit aught to ensure you are the only current candidate for tenancy, and should just be held while the agents run referencing and credit checks. The house should be taken off the market while they hold your holding deposit and the agents should not take deposits from more than one applicant at a time.
So it would appear to me that the agents have behaved illegally? Should I be concerned about this and is there any action I should take?
Or should I just sit tight and await the outcome of our offer - to be completely honest (rightly or wrongly) if we get the place then frankly I’m just delighted and inclined to just move on
Or have I misunderstood the rules on this altogether and they are fine to have operated in this way?
Or should I just sit tight and await the outcome of our offer - to be completely honest (rightly or wrongly) if we get the place then frankly I’m just delighted and inclined to just move on
Or have I misunderstood the rules on this altogether and they are fine to have operated in this way?
0
Comments
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Taking multiple holding deposits simultaneously is a prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act. However, so long as all failed applicants receive back their deposits in a timely manner it seems unlikely that any enforcement action would be taken. Nobody will want to rock the boat before knowing the result and a complaint will not change the outcome after any decision.
The question is do you wish to rent from an agent/landlord who have already acted illegally before the tenancy has started?
1
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