Landlord shenanigans

Soldato
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So we are due to move into a new house next week, but we find out today the landlord now wants to add an extra £200 to the deposit and 6weeks rent in advance (rather than the 4weeks we had agreed to in speaking) before we can move in.
Unfortunately nothing has been signed beyond paying for the letting agency fee's.
I'm gonna kick up a fuss with the letting agency tomorrow over how inconsiderately late the landlord has decided to land this upon us, but is there anything else we can do?

Its not so much the money aspect of the deal its the total disregard the landlord had towards us in leaving this so late, i'd tell them to stick it normally but our current place has got a new tenant set to move in when we leave and im not one to screw people over.
rant over :)
 
Associate
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Never rented to be honest so my advice will suck. But personally I would say to the letting agency at this late time in the processing you dont have the cash available to pay the extra charge. If this was something they said from the beginning could be a charge you might not have a leg to stand on but if not then thats the route I would go.
 

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Soldato
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You want the place and it is not money you won't get back (or have spent on rent anyway), i would talk to the letting agency and see what they say but without a contract (how are you going through a letting agency with no contract?) you don't really have any ground to stand on unless the agency can pull some strings. Try to get a contract though, seems like the sort of landlord that might suddenly give you a weeks notice to vacate at some point in the future.

Don't go in too hard though otherwise they are just as likely to turn around to you and say they don't want you moving in at all.
 
Soldato
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tell them to stick the deposit, they can have the rent in advance (you need to pay it sooner or later). Make it plain to the agents that it is the landlord that is reneging on the deal, and therefore any fees paid will have to be returned - this should get the agents on your side...
 
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Associate
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tell them to stick the deposit, they can have the rent in advance (you need to pay it sooner or later). Make it plain to the agents that it is the landlord that is reneging on the deal, and therefore any fees paid will have to be returned - this should get the agents on your side...

Unlikely.

OP, verbal contracts mean sod all, you've signed nothing so the landlord can do whatever he wants. In my experience it's rare that anyone ever gets their deposit back at the end of the tenancy, unfortunately. Rent in advance is still rent, so that doesn't matter provided you can afford it.
 
Man of Honour
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In my experience it's rare that anyone ever gets their deposit back at the end of the tenancy

This is not true - most people will get most or all of it back aslong as they don't let the landlord pull one on them and treat the property with a bit of respect. One thing that is quite handy tho in getting the deposit back is taking photos when you move in and just before moving out so you have some kind of proof against their inevitable claims for any and anything to try and retain as much of the deposit as possible tho.
 
Soldato
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tell them to stick the deposit, they can have the rent in advance (you need to pay it sooner or later). Make it plain to the agents that it is the landlord that is reneging on the deal, and therefore any fees paid will have to be returned - this should get the agents on your side...

If you really want it I'd try this route also, although I'd probably phrase it more tactfully.

I'd also be wary of adding anything to the deposit if they're pulling something like this early on. In fact, I'd be wary of the entire deal so it really does come down to how much you want it.
 
Soldato
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Unlikely.

In my experience it's rare that anyone ever gets their deposit back at the end of the tenancy, unfortunately.

That's completely NOT the norm. The majority of people DO get their deposit back or atleast some of it. These days even more so.
 
Soldato
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Unlikely.

OP, verbal contracts mean sod all, you've signed nothing so the landlord can do whatever he wants. In my experience it's rare that anyone ever gets their deposit back at the end of the tenancy, unfortunately. Rent in advance is still rent, so that doesn't matter provided you can afford it.


Its not upto the Landlord to decide this, its the Deposit protection service that decides if any deposit is forfeit.

To be honest i'd tell them to stick it and i'd be having words with the letting manager.
 
Soldato
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As long as the deposit goes into a DPS (as is the law) you should get every penny of it back.

And if it's not in a DPS and he refuses to give you any of it back, then by law he will be made to pay you 3x the original deposit (iirc), so you'll be quids in. :cool:
 
Associate
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So you have handed over money to the letting agent and not signed anything?

Surely when you hand over a deposit you sign a tenancy agreement at the same time which says exactly how much money you are going to hand over prior to moving in......
 
Associate
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Unlikely.

OP, verbal contracts mean sod all, you've signed nothing so the landlord can do whatever he wants. In my experience it's rare that anyone ever gets their deposit back at the end of the tenancy, unfortunately. Rent in advance is still rent, so that doesn't matter provided you can afford it.

As long as you spend an hour or so inspecting all aspects of the property, taking photos of any damage you will get all your deposit back (minus damages you do). You will get an inventory list -note all issues including minor scrapes etc and return this to landlord/letting agent.

Landlords generally ask for increased deposits if they believe there is a higher risk. Perhaps enquire why there is an increase
 
Soldato
OP
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Basically if he's doin this now...u know he is a bad landlord, avoid.

Thats my thoughts on it to, not the best president to set before your tenants move in, we are there first foray into letting as well i believe. They want the 2weeks extra rent to change the payment date to the 1st of each month rather than the 15th of every month (our move in date). Something they should have thought about before agreeing to let it out :rolleyes:

tell them to stick the deposit, they can have the rent in advance (you need to pay it sooner or later). Make it plain to the agents that it is the landlord that is reneging on the deal, and therefore any fees paid will have to be returned - this should get the agents on your side...

This is the angle I'm going to take, the landlord is not gaining anything out of this request other than 2weeks extra rent. Thankfully the agents know what they are asking is unfair.

So you have handed over money to the letting agent and not signed anything?

Surely when you hand over a deposit you sign a tenancy agreement at the same time which says exactly how much money you are going to hand over prior to moving in......

Nah the only thing we have signed is the agreement for the letting agency to do the checks etc. The only money paid is this as we were set to pay the rent and deposit the day before we moved in.

Had they requested all this beforehand we would be much more willing to agree to the terms but 7days prior to moving in :rolleyes: its a tad unfair and i doubt many people have the ability to conjurer up £500 at such short notice. The only thing that's stopping me from telling them to stick it is the tenant due to move into our current place, I'm not prepared to mess them around.
 
Associate
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27 Jul 2011
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6 weeks deposit is common, I wouldn't worry too much about that - what I find unusual is the 6 weeks rent in advance part.

If they've given you the AST to sign, I'd check to see if this 6 week figure is written in there. On the assumption that it's your standard contract, it'll charge rent on a monthly basis and this is all you can be asked for.
 
Soldato
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Thats my thoughts on it to, not the best president to set before your tenants move in, we are there first foray into letting as well i believe. They want the 2weeks extra rent to change the payment date to the 1st of each month rather than the 15th of every month (our move in date). Something they should have thought about before agreeing to let it out :rolleyes:

If that's really the reason they want it, then tell them they can have 2 weeks in advance, and you'll pay a full month's rent come the 1st.

Shouldn't be a problem. If that's the only reason they want (unlikely)
 
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