A Tenant's guide to renting

grifferz

You should post this as a new thread as that way more people will look at it.

ashokatomik wrote: »

I am renting a property along with 4 others in East London. Each tenant has a separate agreement with the landlord who actually acts as a letting agent for the house owner. He also maintains the property.

Sounds unusual, but probably irrelevant.

Whoever owns the property is your landlord. Everyone else is their agent.

ashokatomik wrote: »

We don't feel that we are liable since the bath taps were beyond warranty and had been used by the house owner for a long time before we moved in. The break happened at a join with minimum force due to normal wear and tear. We had used the taps for almost 6 months without any mishaps and knew very well how much force was required.

So who is right and why?

It's the LL's tap so the LL needs to pay for it to be fixed. They may well do it on their insurance.

If the LL can prove it was your fault that it broke then they may pursue you for it. If you do not agree that you should pay then the LL has very few options.

They could wait until the end of your tenancy (break clause, end of fixed term, or give you S21 notice and end your statutory periodic tenancy, whatever your situation is) and then try to deduct it from your deposit.

They could sue you for it.

Either of those routes are going to involve them having to prove that you misused the tap, so sounds hard to prove.

If you want to know what your LL's options are as regards getting you out of the property then you'll need to tell us what sort of tenancy you have (AST?), when it started, when it ends, etc.

Anyway, post this in a new thread is my advice.

jordcluff

Now then all.

My girlfriend and I have applied for, and had accepted, tenancy on a house, on the basis of a property being advertised on rightmove.co.uk as 'Unfurnished'. On viewing the house (before putting down any money) we confirmed with the agent that the furniture currently in the property would be removed, and so we proceeded with the application on this basis (can you tell where this is going yet?); however, on having paid the fees, the deposit, being given the keys to the property and paying the first month's rent in advance, it turns out the furniture is still there, and the letting agent is now refusing to remove the furniture, stating:

'It was advertised as part-furnished' (it most assuredly was not)
'the landlord lives in the US, and has no provision for moving/storing the furniture elsewhere in the UK'

We have evidence, in the form of screenshots of the advert on rightmove.co.uk, that the property was advertised as unfurnished, and since they don't appear to be ready to change their minds about this, I was wondering what our rights were in terms of getting money back. My initial opinion would be that because the property was mis-advertised and the application we made was therefore under a false assumption (twice confirmed by the agent), that we're entitled to all of our money back, including the fees, if they don't agree to make the property in a state which we expected it to be, but if anyone has a more informed opinion I'd be happy to hear it. I just don't want to get ripped off, and I'm prepared to take the time and effort needed to stop them from doing this to us, if it is at all possible.

Thanks in advance for any advice, it's enormously appreciated in a stressful situation.

Trying my best to stay cool :cool:

petermead83

Very true. We have rented somewhere before that hasn't had central heating and only single glazed windows in some rooms. Landlords aren't too keen to spent thousands on putting in central heating for somebody renting it.

paintpot wrote: »

Great post.

I would also suggest advising tenants to pay great attention to the structure of the property rather than just the aesthetics like the colour of the walls and carpets. I have read many posts where tenants have rented a property only to find that it has a leaking roof, rotten windows, draughts, damp etc. This will become less important after October if the proposed Energy Performance Certificates come into force for new tenancies but things like structural problems, lack of double glazing etc can also impact on the cost of utilities. (Some) landlords will cover up damp issues with a lick of paint for example so looking inside cupboards/built in wardrobes can often reveal tell tale signs that might not have been painted over. Also opening kitchen cupboards, opening windows, looking at the boiler to determine it's age and whether it looks like it is on it's last legs (not always easy to tell from that granted) etc will show the general state of repair.

I'm a landlord!

HTH

jrd06

Hi all,

I am/was a recent tenant but have now “moved out” of my flat in London, as of two months ago, and returned home for personal and work reasons.

I have a replacement "tenant", who has now moved in to my old room, alongside my two previous flatmates, where she has been paying full rent (my rent) via bank transfer to one of my previous flatmates, who has then forwarded both her amount and his to the Letting agency (LA).
I organised this fairly quickly and I have not informed the Landlord (LL) or LA of this change to avoid any further agency letting fees i.e. £150 reference check etc. plus the fact that there was only 3 months remaining on the tenancy agreement.

The tenancy- The contract started in January this year and will exp. in January 2014.

My deposit - This was paid at the start of the tenancy, as per the tenancy agreement, and is guaranteed within the Deposit Protection Scheme (DPS).

Questions:
- Will the LA get suspicious about receiving "double" payment from my previous flatmate and no further payments from me? (As a protective measure, should I ask my replacement tenant to wire the rent to me so that I can then pass it onto the LA?)
- Will I get my deposit back, assuming nothing changes contractually?

I am worried about my decision and any help/replies/links would be appreciated.

Thanks,
jared

grifferz

jrd06 wrote: »

I am worried about my decision and any help/replies/links would be appreciated.

What you've done is likely a breach of your tenancy agreement, but we won't know that for sure until you tell us what kind of tenancy it is and what your agreement has to say about letting other people who aren't permitted tenants stay there.

You would be best off posting this in a new thread of its own.

m4rk40

Great post thanks for the info.

Prollner

Hi there!

I was a tenant for six weeks in a house close to Norwich, UK, in Colney (1 Church Farm, NR4 7TX). I was looking for a short term rent, doing a placement there at the local university. Therefore, first I was happy to get a room in that house, not far away from my working place. My landlady there, Elizabeth Ross (Liz Ross), lived next door and I had to share the bathroom with her. I want to warn every possible tenant of her, because she behaved very badly!

A few examples:

The first day when I arrived, she showed me the house and she told me, that I can use the washing machine. After two weeks I used it first, and wanted to use it again a few weeks later. But this second time, the room was locked. The reason: She seems to be such a stingy person, that I should pay for using the washing machine, but she did not tell me! Instead, she only locked the door and let me stay with my laundry outside! (I wanted to wash my clothes only two times, I did not overuse her washing machine!) Although she is very fixated on her possession, she used my olive oil for her cooking. It seems to be that there exist rules, which only count for the tenants. In times when I have left the house for work, she entered my room and violated my privacy. She forced me to return the key for the house the day BEFORE leaving, and the peak came the next day: She refused to return the damage deposit! She made up some reasons as a water spot on the desk and extra costs for using the wireless LAN. I did not overuse it, and she did not tell me about additional costs before! It was clear that she was looking for occasions to keep the money. It perfectly fits in the pattern of this greedy person!

Never trust Elizabeth Ross when you are a tenant in Norwich and surrounding! Be careful, because she wants everybody to think she is a nice person, but the opposite is the case!

A disappointed tenant

PS: I wrote my opinion in many forums to warn as many people as possible, so do not wonder if you read this text twice or more.

jem170884

I am privately renting a property with my partner but things have come to an end and he wants to move out. I have been to see my landlady this afternoon to give her the headsup and ask her if I need to move out as the contract says if one leaves we both leave. She was a tad short with me and said she would think about it, either way is fine really but I have told her I can afford to stay in my house alone and am willing to provide her with proof of my finances, she has said that my partner must give 30 days notice and she couldn't give a difinative answer to whether this would end my tenancy or not. Her husband came in and said 'we'll write you a new contract, sorry to hear you are splitting up' so not really sure where I stand so I guess we just wait and see. My deposit is held by mydeposits.co.uk and is both mine and my partners name, he has told me he wants no claim of this money, is there anyway I can have his name removed from the deposit with his agreement? It makes no odds to me currently if his names remains but I am trying to foresee any issues long term of releasing the deposit once we have lost contact.

Utseya123

A very very good guide to a first-time or a seasoned tenant for renting. Also loved the piece of advise that ultimately common sense rules.

stewarthenry

My daughter, a student, is to rent a house with 4 friends

They have been asked to make a £300 "goodwill payment" each to secure the house. That means £1,500 in total.

This is a one-off payment and entirely non-refundable. It is not a damages deposit of any kind

Is it legal to demand such a payment in England?

Henry