Question about flat renting contract

[dk345]

Hi Guys,

I'm soon going to be signing a contract for the new flat me and my girlfriend will be moving in to. We've passed the referencing stage, so it's just a case of waiting for the letting agents to send it out to us.

Whilst we were looking around the flat, we noticed that some things needed seeing to, like scratches in the paint work and dodgy sealant around the kitchen sink, as well as a few blown light bulbs and a borked fire alarm. The letting agents have said that these will be sorted before we move in.

Seeing as I have no prior experience here, I was wondering if it was the done thing to request that everything the agents said they'd have fixed before we moved in added as a clause in the contract, so that we have it in writing. What with all the bad press these people get, should I be asking for written obligations?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Pestilence]

Yes. Your starting inventory should have ALL noticed defects listed and signed by both you and the letting agent.

This is to prevent them never bothering to put it right, then blaming you at the end of the tenancy.

 

[dk345]

Yes. Your starting inventory should have ALL noticed defects listed and signed by both you and the letting agent.

This is to prevent them never bothering to put it right, then blaming you at the end of the tenancy.

Thank you, I thought this would be the case.

I take it I can 'suggest' changes that need making to the contract before I sign it?

 

[Lunawolfy]

The 'contract' (tenancy agreement) won't need changed, however it will reference heavily to the status of the inventory.

This is the thing you really need to plough home to them (when I first moved in I was emailing every second day with something new) there is also a grace period legally of seven days, I think, in which if you contact them about a defect it must be noted.

The bigger issue is broken fire alarm. It is OVER 9000 (joke) Percent illegal for them to allow you to live there when it is 'not to a hospitable standard' there is also a legal nightmare involved if you were to be injured due to a fire, it's complicated as they will claim you knew about it and didn't mind etc.

Also, I'm assuming you'll have some form of house insurance? It'll save your ass if you break something expensive (of yours, landlord is responsible for items left in property as per inventory) HOWEVER, any form of electronic claim is invalid if a rented accommodation has not passed a PAT test.

Bring these things up, if you don't it could bite you

Good luck and have fun, moving out at 18 with my gf was the best thing I ever did

 

[dk345]

The 'contract' (tenancy agreement) won't need changed, however it will reference heavily to the status of the inventory.

This is the thing you really need to plough home to them (when I first moved in I was emailing every second day with something new) there is also a grace period legally of seven days, I think, in which if you contact them about a defect it must be noted.

The bigger issue is broken fire alarm. It is OVER 9000 (joke) Percent illegal for them to allow you to live there when it is 'not to a hospitable standard' there is also a legal nightmare involved if you were to be injured due to a fire, it's complicated as they will claim you knew about it and didn't mind etc.

Also, I'm assuming you'll have some form of house insurance? It'll save your ass if you break something expensive (of yours, landlord is responsible for items left in property as per inventory) HOWEVER, any form of electronic claim is invalid if a rented accommodation has not passed a PAT test.

Bring these things up, if you don't it could bite you

Good luck and have fun, moving out at 18 with my gf was the best thing I ever did

Thanks for the tips. I've managed to blag free contents insurance off of Lloyds TSB with my current account, I'm waiting on the paperwork coming through, so I'll have a look at that.

I knew full well that the smoke alarm would be illegal, so I'd definitely want that sorting, but the smaller things like paint, lights and blinds aren't illegal, but when you pay £600/Month you want it to be right. I'll make sure they know what they have to do, I've asked about it plenty of times but I'm sure they'll have forgotten.

Key tip, read through the inventory

Thanks

 

[Pestilence]

Yep, the inventory is very important.

Look for things that might even seem inconspicuous or non-noteworthy. A simple scratch/scraped area on a leather sofa, for example, can see you faced with many headaches when the landlord, at the end of the tenancy, starts trying to claim a new sofa off of you for something that you saw in the beginning but didn't think worthwhile to note.