Landlord pulled out a week before I am due to move in - making me homeless

GDB2222

You are not terribly attractive to agents as a tenant, because you don't want to sign a 12 months contract. 12months contract means 12 months commission up-front. If you only sign a 6 months contract, say, that's only half the commission. You wouldn't want to work for half pay, and neither do agents. Yes, of course, you'll probably still be in the flat in 6 months time, and the agent will get a second dollop of commission then, but ...

In today's market, you may have to compromise on something. Location seems the obvious one. Or, just grit your teeth and sign up for 12 months. 

MeteredOut

5. The fact you think I'm not compromising on location already suggests you're not taking seriously how dire I'm saying the situation is. I'm looking up to an hour's travel from work. Been searching for years. It's THAT bad.

Hate to say it, but if you chose to live and work in the South East, and are struggling to find/afford accommodation, you'll probably need to extend your travel time to 90 minutes each way. Whilst it's changed for many since Covid, a 60 minute commute each way is not stretching things.

[Deleted User]

Stay where you are, do not move yet but be actively looking.

Also worth checking Openrent.

Likely they want more money hence the messing about.

Are you flexible on area, good transport links in London and might get more space for your money.

Things are very competitive now as some landlords are selling up with the increased mortgage costs and regulations. 

Rents also going up so much I rented out a 2 bedroom flat in DA17 for £1400 in March and now similar ones renting for £1600.

Agents will most likely be 12 months tenancy minimum due to their fees but with Openrent more flexible as you are in direct contact with the landlords. 

 Hope you get something soon. 

JacJac1

Have you tried Grainger Residential? They are a very large landlord with properties in London, rentals start from about £1500 - https://www.graingerplc.co.uk/find-a-new-home

I've rented from them for a long time and had no issues - much better than individual private landlords I've rented from in the past.

macman

bobbidyboo said:

macman said:

Has the agent returned your deposit? If contracts have not been signed, then yes, either party can withdraw without penalty
I suggest you remain in your current place for now, unless you have voluntarily agreed to vacate it. It will take many months for your LL to obtain a possession order. Have you actually been served with a valid S21, and on what date?

They say they'll return holdingdeposit but that doesn't get rid of the problem they've caused by telling me it was accepted - I've now lost all other options that were available in time, because of them, and will either have to stay at a hotel (often these are full), pay more than my income in hotel fees or lose my job as a result of the agent's stupidity. They're so casual about it as well. How is this even legal.

You can't remain in your current place when you're a lodger. You don't need to be served a S21. It was a temporary abode until I found a flat. It took me months just to find this temporary room- and now I have to leave here already because agent wants to up rent by £500 and main tenant can't afford it so he's moving out hence I have to move out. It's so much nonsense. Before this I was living in essentially a bedsit come hotel room with my partner for almost a year as we were so desperately searching for somewhere to live but found nothing- in the end my partner had to leave london due to running out of savings. You can't work from home when you have no home, and are self employed. It's just a mess in London right now. Even if you're a multi millionaire, you'd better make sure you have several backup places just in case something happens to your primary residence. Even if you own it. It's a total nightmare.

I'm STILL waiting for the deposit return of my previous landlord who didn't register it with a deposit scheme and isn't replying to any form of contact. They say they're short staffed. I can't afford a lawyer to fight that one. There's just so much nonsense it's impossible to run your life. How can someone who is in a respectable job earning a decent wage be almost constantly facing homelessness in England's capital city? It doesn't make sense.

It's legal, because a verbal offer is not legally binding in this instance-no contract was concluded. So wasting time and resources going to either CAB or a solicitor is simply pointless.
As others have pointed out, you don't need a lawyer to get your old deposit back. An LBN and then small claims is all you need to do that, it's a straightforward process. Deposit unprotected: then you can sue for up to 3 times the deposit. And you cannot lose, as there is no legal defence to non-protection. You should have just ignored the S21, as it was invalid.