Letting agent application

perksy01

My partner and I have recently found a house we would like to rent… Unfortunately it is advertised via a letting agent and so has some exorbitant fees to pay to begin the process!

To avoid the additional fees for a joint application I was planning on applying for the property in my own name only. Now I understand that this leaves me as sole tenant and that my partner would have no legal rights as a tenant but is it ok that we both live in the house as normal ? and would this be breaking any terms of the tenancy agreement by doing so ??

sealady

perksy01 wrote: »

My partner and I have recently found a house we would like to rent… Unfortunately it is advertised via a letting agent and so has some exorbitant fees to pay to begin the process!

To avoid the additional fees for a joint application I was planning on applying for the property in my own name only. Now I understand that this leaves me as sole tenant and that my partner would have no legal rights as a tenant but is it ok that we both live in the house as normal ? and would this be breaking any terms of the tenancy agreement by doing so ??

We wanted to do something similar but our agent said that they had to do all the necessary checks on all the adults living in the house.

lexi

perksy01 wrote: »

My partner and I have recently found a house we would like to rent… Unfortunately it is advertised via a letting agent and so has some exorbitant fees to pay to begin the process!

To avoid the additional fees for a joint application I was planning on applying for the property in my own name only. Now I understand that this leaves me as sole tenant and that my partner would have no legal rights as a tenant but is it ok that we both live in the house as normal ? and would this be breaking any terms of the tenancy agreement by doing so ??

can only advise as to what we do. we charge one application fee per house. if only 1 tenant wants to go on the tenancy then thats ok, but he/she is liable at the end of the day & they still pay the one fee. it isnt unusual for husband/wife or girl/boyfriend partnerships to only have 1 on the tenancy. we dont penalise anyoneas most couples are honest and say who is to be living at theproperty. at the end of the day the tenant on the agreement is the liable one. however we do frequent property checks so reduce risk of a multi let which we dont take. spose this doesnt help your situ but i would say its unfair to charge seperate application fees, but thats our company policy not the one you are trying to let from. good luck!

lil_me

Our agents were the same as sealady's, every adult in the house needed to have all the checks etc done.

Have you tried putting a letter through the door to see if the LL is interested in renting directly?

tbs624

When there are two occupants, but only one has their name on the tenancy, the other (if an unmarried partner) is classed as an “excluded occupier”, and will have few rights: s/he could only stay if the LL does not ask him/her to leave, but can be evicted without the LL needing to provide a reason or obtain a court order.

A LL would still have to give “reasonable” notice - what’s “reasonable” generally depends on whether you have an understanding LL, how long you’ve lived there, whether the rent is paid monthly, weekly, quarterly, and whether they have a new tenant ready & available to move in. The notice can be either verbal or written. Most reputable LLs would still use a court possession order in these circumstances, to safeguard themselves from the risk being accused of a criminal offence during any eviction.

If you were married, then there a few more rights - the married partner can pay rent and stay until requested to leave by a court, rather than just on the LLs notice.

Anyone who is asked to leave a property in these circumstances should always seek legal advice or clarification from a Law Centre, CAB (most CABs have a LL&T specialist or a good relationship with a local community lawyer who can advise) , Shelter, or a Tenancy Relations Officer on the Council’s private sector housing team.

With both of you on a normal AST a LL has to give you 2 months notice, and if you don’t move they can only evict you on a court order Clearly only you can decide whether the risk is worth taking, but some agents’ admin/credit check charges are so high that they are the equivalent of 2/3 of a month’s rent on a new home. Shelter 0800 0808 4444 - quick call to talk it through?

The alternative is that you maybe look for a self-managing LL who won’t charge you more than a basic credit check fee (between 26-50 quid depending on level. Gumtree or the local LLs Association (yellow pages), local property ads etc.

It really is time these fees were regulated to a fixed fee, in direct proportion to the amount of actual work undertaken by a LL/LA ,and were charged per property rather than per tenant. I asked MSE Martin if he could take the issue up as a future campaign but he is understandably busy with the wide ranging "credit crunch" issues currently.

You can also sign up here: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/lettingfees/ whilst the govt are looking at the private property rentals market (petition set up by another MSEer)