A Tenant's guide to renting

GoodTenant

tbs624 wrote: »

Thanks for your post. Despite the Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010 it is still worthwhile a T checking out the mortgage status of the potential LL from the start. LLs who fail to have CTL are also likely to fail to meet other LL obligations. LLs seek much information on their prospective Ts and it is equally important that prospective Ts do their research.

As a newbie poster you perhaps haven't realised that you should not use the forum to promote your own website. See Forum Rules up above.

Thanks tbs624, please note I have no connection with the web link I included, I just did a search for the mortgage repossessions act and this was one of the clearest explanations I've never even heard of the company that own the site and hadn't realised they provide legal advice, so apologies for this but I am aware of that rule and didn't intend to break it.

With regards to your point above, I kind of see your point, however the point I was trying to make is that as a tenant there is a lot to do when renting a property and checking that the landlord has a buy to let mortgage should not be number 2 on the list in my view (I wasted a lot of time trying to find out if my landlord had a buy to let mortgage). I have rented properties where I verified that the landlord had a buy to let mortgage and they were useless.

Conversely, a friend of mine has been renting an excellent property (with an excellent landlord) for 4 years. He asked the landlord a couple of weeks ago if he had a buy to let mortgage and he said he hadn't so I really don't think its as clear cut as you say.

MissMoneypenny

GoodTenant wrote: »

Thanks tbs624, please note I have no connection with the web link I included, I just did a search for the mortgage repossessions act and this was one of the clearest explanations I've never even heard of the company that own the site and hadn't realised they provide legal advice, so apologies for this but I am aware of that rule and didn't intend to break it.

With regards to your point above, I kind of see your point, however the point I was trying to make is that as a tenant there is a lot to do when renting a property and checking that the landlord has a buy to let mortgage should not be number 2 on the list in my view (I wasted a lot of time trying to find out if my landlord had a buy to let mortgage). I have rented properties where I verified that the landlord had a buy to let mortgage and they were useless.

Conversely, a friend of mine has been renting an excellent property (with an excellent landlord) for 4 years. He asked the landlord a couple of weeks ago if he had a buy to let mortgage and he said he hadn't so I really don't think its as clear cut as you say.

3 posts to date from you and strangely, all trying to stop tenants protecting themselves and their families, by checking to see if the landlord has permission from the mortgage lender.

If the mortgage company has not given permission to let the property, then it is an illegal let and the fixed term of the tenancy is not honoured in a repossession. Tenants' should always protect themselves by checking that the landlord has permission to let the property. It doesn't take long to do this. See the sticky on this board for links.

tbs624

JoeA81 wrote: »

I think I agree with tbs624, and MissMoneypenny's long running sticky thread on the subject seem to suggest that this is still something that Tenants should be aware of.

It does however strike me that I first started this thread back in 2008, and many things have changed since then. Is there anything else that anyone has spotted in the OP that may need to be updated?

Not so much something that has changed but, looking back though the OP, you mention asking a potential LL how many properties s/he lets out and how long s/he has been a LL - neither of these queries necessarily helps show you how "good" a LL might be.

Years of experience as a LL can produce some wily old dogs who have got away with ducking and diving from their responsibilities for a long time. If you check out some of the court cases we have flagged up on the "Evict a rogue LL" thread you'll see that some of those errant LLs had large portfolios of property *and* had been operating as LLs for several years.

Conversely, you can get a new LL with just one property who has thoroughly done their research and will be utterly compliant with their legal obligations.

On a separate note, it may be as well to add a note about Ts actually checking, once the tenancy has started, that the LL *has* scheme registered the tenancy deposit as they said they would ( and are required to do in Eng/Wales).

Perhaps a suggestion too that Ts familiarise themselves with the way the respective Schemes operate, from the info on the Scheme's websites, in advance of the end of their tenancy? We seem to have had a fair few panic posts from Ts who have no idea what the process is, possibly because their LL has failed to pass on the prescribed info. We could also mention that Ts should keep their log on info to themselves - posts too about LAs asking for Ts to hand them over to "speed things up"....;)

Dannidoo31

Hello- new to all this..!!
We (my husband, I and my 2 children) have been renting for a few months since we sold our house. The house we are renting seems to have a drainage problem! The toilet is forever blocked and the foul tank has started leaking into the kitchen. We spoke to the Letting Agents and they informed us that that a problem with the drains is nothing to do with them. If it is blocked it is our problem and if its the drains it the council. We successfully unblocked the toilet with the help of a bendy curtain rail a few weeks ago only for it to block and leak into the the kitchen again on New Years Day (nice!!). We have since again successfully unblocked it with the use of an electric cable, a pipe and by drilling a hole in one of the pipes (which obviously we will fill again). My question is, if this happens again obviously we are going to have to get a professional drainage company in which is going to cost a fortune. It looks to me like this is a problem which has afflicted the property for some time (the bathroom is fairly newly fitted and it looks like the toilet has been moved, the toilet pipes have lots of bends in it which seems to contribute to blockage problem- also the previous tenants moved out after 6 months even after practically re decorating the entire house)... Is the agent right? Is the expense/time/problem with the drains down to us to deal with?? Any help would be appreciated!!

tbs624

Dannidoo - welcome as a newbie You'll get a better response if you start a New Thread specifically for your query - button available top left of screen from the main House Buying Renting Selling Board

tbs624

On Consent to Let - thanks to Trollfever for flagging this up, from Experian one of the 3 big credit referencing agencies

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=39866624&postcount=10

Lakelady_2

This may have been mentioned before but keep it in mind.
We have just rented via Reeds Rains, we understood from the landlord the electric supplier was Npower but we were also starting to receive bills from Spark Energy.

Long story short is that Reeds Rains have it in their contract that they can change your supplier and they did. What alot of hassle this has caused.
Just beware.

tbs624

Challenge them Lakelady. It's a form of restrictive practice IMO. If you are responsible for paying the utility bills then you should quite simply be able to shop around for the best deal.It should be sufficient for you to notify the utility company to the LL/LA

The LAs are on an earner with this one, to the detriment of Ts. Read through the small print of your tenancy agreement and strike out these sort of clauses, signing next to the amendment.

Write to your MP and also contact the local Trading Standards Officer.

Lakelady_2

tbs624 wrote: »

Challenge them Lakelady. It's a form of restrictive practice IMO. If you are responsible for paying the utility bills then you should quite simply be able to shop around for the best deal.It should be sufficient for you to notify the utility company to the LL/LA

The LAs are on an earner with this one, to the detriment of Ts. Read through the small print of your tenancy agreement and strike out thses sort of clauses, signing next to the amednment.

Write to your MP and also contact the lcoal Trading Standards Officer.

Thanks for your reply. Have spoken with LA who say Spark Energy should have phoned and asked (they didn`t) Also spoke to another guy there who was very apologetic and said he will call off Spark Energy`s bailiffs.
The bills we were receiving from Spark Energy actually relate to another meter but addressed to us, in our name. We have been paying npower.
However its obviously a new money earner for the LA`s so we should all beware and I will contact Trading Standards.

Geminist

Hi All

I have a question regarding contents insurance for a tenant (I rent a room in a shared house) and hopefully I've posted at the right place.

I am renting a room in a house where previously I was staying with the landlord. They are the nicest landlord I've ever seen (not raised my rent as mine is an all inclusive, cooked my dinner when they're around, invite me to family parties etc). They moved out recently and rented out the two remaining rooms to complete strangers and let's just say they are not the most trustworthy (not to the point you can ask them to leave though) people.

I lock my room and keep my stuff properly. I am quite worried about things being stolen by my house mate and how to replace them. The contents I am looking at are computers, stereo etc (basically electronic gadgets) worth about £3k. I know there are contents insurance but I don't know how it works for a private tenant (I've had a quick read on the front page here).

I will speak to my landlord about this but I like to know what my options are. Is it possible for me to take out an insurance only for the contents I mentioned and cover them against theft?

Many thanks for all your help!