can my daughter get her money back? £200 Holding fee for room rental.

[jasdf]

my daughter went to view a room yesterday. Loved it. Rental agent (private, his own company) wanted £200 holding fee, to ensure he doesn’t show it to anyone else. She paid it as she loved it so much. £1,000 a month to rent a room. (I know, I know we’re in the south east and this is an expensive city shes renting in)

After paying the holding fee, she got a contract which states no overnight guests. She queried it and the guy said no overnight guests. He then said they could stay twice a month only. My daughter has a long term partner and she was worried about this rule, so said she wasn’t interested in the room anymore.

The rental agent said that he’s been doing his job for over 20 years and it’s standard that you can’t have overnight guests. Seriously? Is that true? You can pay £1,000 a month to rent a room and not have an overnight guest? Her current landlord is selling the house she’s in, but he’s never had an issue with guests. She’s now £200 down which the rental agent is saying he won’t refund in full. He’s offered to give half
back. Is this fair or taking the piss?

He’s taking the piss but I don’t know how she stands legally.

Legally he can hold onto the money.
She was quick to pay without reading the contract.

he told her that she has to pay a £200 holding fee and then, after she’d paid, emailed over a contract.

Legally there’s nothing she can do. She paid.

But as an aside, this is a really common clause when renting a room rather than a flat/house/apartment. Generally if you’re renting a room it means exactly that, a room in a shared house, and if say it’s a 3 bed flat and each person wants someone staying overnight that becomes 6 people and cramped, hence it’s a common rule.

I know that legally it’s probably money done the drain, but this guy told her he had a portfolio of over 20 properties, in a very expensive area. So this is a seriously wealthy multi millionaire rental agent/property owner, quibbling over giving back £200 to a poor newly qualified grad.
Not cool.

She should have insisted on reading the contract before paying the holding fee.

Lesson learned for the future.

yep, that’s what I’ve told her

her bank have been helpful and have told her they can dispute it for her.

I suppose that depends how you look at it though doesn’t it? She paid it for the purpose of preventing further viewings as she wanted the property, for all we know he’s turned down others, and now she doesn’t want it. He could have lost money there too, that’s the logic behind the holding fee really.

As I say she will probably struggle to find anywhere to rent just a room and be able to have overnight guests.

That's how he got to be "seriously wealthy"...

That’s not how the world works though.

If she’s renting a room in a flat/house share she needs to be realistic about how often her partner can stay over.

If she really likes this room she may lose out on it for nothing.

He’s a businessman not a charity. 🙄

Many room only lets are no overnight guests.

Most places won't let someone stay regularly? Imagine each room did that!

Take the £100 refund he’s offered and write it off as a bad job. Lesson learned. She won’t make the same mistake again. Is this Brighton by any chance? Absolutely nuts rental market there currently.

I rented in house shares a lot in my youth though and never paid a holding fee. Zero chance I’d go forward on a room in a house share without meeting the other occupants, either.

If your DD wants to have her BF around regularly, would it not make more sense for them both to find a place with 2 rooms available and rent in the same property, so they have their own space but could see each other whenever they want?

that’s what she’s been doing for the past year or so. In a house with four others and they’ve all had overnight guests, never at the same time and always with the agreement of the other housemates. It’s worked fine. Even at Uni, she was allowed an overnight guest in her room as long as she filled in a form.

It sounds like she’s been very lucky so far the , unfortunately frequent overnight visitors cause a lot of issues in houseshares. She may move into somewhere with the rule and be glad of it if someone she lives with had a horrible partner!

In my expereince very wealthy people will quibble over a fiver. I think they forgot or have never expereinced being on a tight budget, so probably don't understand or care how much £200 is to many people. It's a shame she didn't ask to see the contract before hand, but It's a lesson learnt. I'd take the half offered and find a new landlord/agent.

I don’t agree that he can dictate no overnight guests though, it’s not a b&b. It’s for the housemates to work out amongst themselves in a way that doesn’t make things awkward and annoying.

I'm an HMO landlord in London. There are no specific rules about overnight guests in my contracts as long as they don't take the piss and the others complain.

However when the Renters Rights bill becomes law I will have to add something, as I will no longer have the threat of eviction to hold over anyone who does indeed take the piss.

As for where she stands legally with this - no clue. But the cost and agro of trying to recover it legally wouldn't be worth it - so one to chalk up to experience.

Having overnight guests is normal use of a property, and landlord restrictions on this may be unenforceable.

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/what_to_look_for_in_your_tenancy_agreement/landlord_tenant_and_property

As you've said it's a good life lesson for her. Always read contracts before you agree to anything, and a holding fee/deposit won't be returned for change of mind - that's the whole point of it!

The world isn't run like a giant charity for the little man/little woman.

Doesn’t matter if he owns half of London - that’s irrelevant.
The whole point of holding fee or deposit is to cover any costs etc should the perspective tenant back out. He could keep it all.
She’s learned her lesson.

Until somebody doesn’t play ball, and moves in their wife, three kids and five aunties, and couldn’t care less if they are pissing off the other tenants.

If he has multiple properties, he likely has this rule due to bitter experience.