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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To say no to this house?

29 replies

Emmielu · 11/05/2012 19:39

I was meant to be moving into a house on the 28th but the landlord moved the deposit to £1100. Just the deposit. Not including first months rent. (£550) I couldnt afford that & couldnt get help from the council cause i still live with my parents. I didnt want to get help from the council cause i knew id have to pay them back & since its my first rented home id like to avoid oweing money as much as i can. Landlord wouldnt settle with my 4 offers of only having what money i have £560. So i said no to the house & started looking at others but this time via estate agents. (The last landlord was via a friend) The landlord spoke to my friend today & has said he's willing to drop the deposit as hes heard a lot of good things about me & that id make a great tenant.

Although i dont think its a good idea i take the house, i have to make sure i am saying no for all the right reasons & not just being picky. Hes willing to drop the deposit, but still wants me in on the 28th. Thats too short notice for housing benefit. He wont move the moving date to next month so he can have the whole deposit & first months rent. It has to be the 28th according to him. The house isnt finished. Still needs paint work, holes filled in, boiler fixed, fire alarms & co2 alarms put up & a door on DD's room. Because hes not taken my offers before & has tried to get an outrageous amount of money from me before i even pay rent, im not comfortable living there. My friend has even said she'd take out a loan & pay my first months rent if i pay her back. Im grateful but as i said, if i can id like to avoid paying people back. Im not desperate to move. My parents arent making me homeless or anything. I have a few viewings to see houses next week via estate agents & i cant help but feel safer through them. AIBU?

OP posts:
LaurieFairyCake · 11/05/2012 19:43

Why are you moving out from your parents - are you sure you're eligible for that much housing benefit? Confused

Original poster
Emmielu · 11/05/2012 19:46

DD is now 5 & shes not had friends round since starting nursery aged 3 cause its not my house id feel awful if anything happened to it. DD & i need space & independance & i dont plan on staying here all mine & dd's life. I rang the housing twice before i was meant to move in & asked again when i asked for the form for a claim. They pay £498 of it, i pay £50 a month. That isnt the issue at all. Its the deposit of £1100 that was the issue.

OP posts:
LolaThePregnantFlyola · 11/05/2012 19:46

have you OK'd this with housing benefit?, how much they will award you?

LolaThePregnantFlyola · 11/05/2012 19:47

sorry x post- well then i'd say keep looking its not a great place to start off if you have already had issues with the LL
As long as you & your parents are happy then wait until you feel comfortable

Original poster
Emmielu · 11/05/2012 19:48

Because i said no to the house before sending the claim & moving in i havent sent the form, have told housing benefit that im not moving now & will terminate the form. Housing benefit are fine with paying private rent. It goes into my account, i make a direct debit to the landlords account with the money that i put towards the housing benefit each month.

OP posts:
pickles35 · 11/05/2012 19:48

Its well hard getting a private rental around here on housing benefit, have you let the estate agents know you will be in receipt of it before you view anything? My old tenants had housing benefit and they found it really hard when they wanted to move from my flat.

Id make sure its all done before you hand over any cash if you do take it, Ive been stung like that many a time, and make sure your deposit is passed to a deposit scheme such as these:

Home - Deposit Protection Service
www.depositprotection.com/

pickles35 · 11/05/2012 19:49

(They did find a nice house though in the end)

AgentZigzag · 11/05/2012 19:49

Seeing as you're not desperate to move I'd go with your gut feeling, if he's trying to get cash out of you before you've even moved in I wouldn't fancy your chances of seeing your deposit again.

Although he could be legit and short changing himself just to get a reliable tenant in? Have you heard anything about his reputation on the grapevine? These things normally get round.

Original poster
Emmielu · 11/05/2012 19:50

When i ring about details of a house the first thing i ask is will the landlord allow housing benefit. If they say no, then i dont ask anymore about the house. I didnt know about a deposit protection scheme. The last landlord only said he wanted the £1100 for a security & landlords account. Why need that much for a 2 bed house thats rent it £550?

OP posts:
Original poster
Emmielu · 11/05/2012 19:51

Only people i know who know him are his sons. 1 of them is really nice. The other one lived in that house 5 years ago & it was raided because drugs were in it.

OP posts:
pickles35 · 11/05/2012 19:53

Its proper unreasonable though isnt it to charge 2x months rent as a deposit, its normally 1 months rent or 5/6 weeks rent. Sounds like perhaps he needs the money do finish the work, so if you take it make sure he puts it safe with deposit protection.

Was he going to provide you with a proper contract?

If he smells like a wrong 'un though trust your instinct!

LolaThePregnantFlyola · 11/05/2012 19:54

Ok i'd say no definitely, i feel uneasy about it.

Also you always want to get a reference if you can, and try and avoid renting from someone you know

pickles35 · 11/05/2012 19:55

Landlords are obliged to put the deposit with a 3rd party now like the one on the link I posted. So they act as a go between with giving your deposit back, and he has to justify why he is taking anything from you. Otherwise you will have a hell of a job getting your money back at the end if he does turn out to be a wrong un.

Original poster
Emmielu · 11/05/2012 19:55

He kept saying he'll get a contract written up before the 28th but hes not done it. & yet he wants all the money by the 28th. Im uneasy with it to be honest. I feel safer going via estate agents.

OP posts:
pickles35 · 11/05/2012 19:56

Yeah he does sound dodgy, if there are other nice houses around then leave it and take a look. With having a DD if anything goes wrong in the house you need to trust that the landlord is going to be good and do repairs etc quickly.

Original poster
Emmielu · 11/05/2012 19:56

He said the reason why he wants to much is because the last tenants made such a mess of it (wasnt a mess when i saw it twice) so im basically paying for the mess that the last tenants made.

OP posts:
pickles35 · 11/05/2012 19:58

You shouldn't give any money over before you have signed the contract and never sign the contract if the house isn't ready for you.

nailak · 11/05/2012 19:58

i wouldnt move in, he sounds like he will be a nightmare if you need anything doing in the house

Coconutty · 11/05/2012 20:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AgentZigzag · 11/05/2012 20:02

It's just so expensive Shock

I had to pay a similar amount in the last house I rented about 10 years ago, but that included a months rent in advance, how do they expect anyone to risk not getting that back??

Our landlord at the time was very trustworthy, but still found a ridiculous reason to keep the deposit.

Can you google the landlords name? That's what I would have done had I been on the internet, if he's a bad 'un someone will have said it somewhere (although that probably wouldn't go the same for if they're OK unfortunately).

pickles35 · 11/05/2012 20:03

I have to say I wouldnt take it with all those problems. I think some agents ask for slightly more than a months rent as a bond to avoid the tenants not bothering to pay the last months rent, and it gives them no incentive to clean up properly, but I have looked at loads lately and its never been more than an extra weeks rent.

An estate agent should do all this properly. I think leave it.

Original poster
Emmielu · 11/05/2012 20:05

Agent - i hadnt thought of googling his name! Thanks!

OP posts:
bibbitybobbitybunny · 11/05/2012 20:07

Agree with the others who say go with your gut feelings.

However, where I live it is normal to pay 1 months rent as a deposit and a months rent in advance. You always pay your rent in advance. So you would pay, say, £550 on the 1st of June and that would cover your rent from 1st June to 30th June.

But whatever Landlord you have, they must (by law) give you evidence that they have put your deposit in a Government scheme - and not banked it themselves - so that any disputes over the condition of the property at the end of your tenancy can be negotiated with your deposit safely ringfenced for return to you if you have left the property in an acceptable condition.

But ... in the meantime ... stay away if you do not trust the landlord.

Noqontrol · 11/05/2012 20:08

Landlords tend to charge more than a months rent for the deposit because occasionally tenants will just not pay the last months rent, which means there's no security if they have caused any damage. That's the general idea anyway. Deposit money must be put in a deposit protection scheme and he needs to let you know which scheme he has used. If he doesn't then there is a penalty of 3 x the deposit which is given to the tenant. So it's good to be aware of that. If you're not sure about the house then go with your gut instinct. Something better will come along and it's better than being tied into an agreement with a landlord who you can't get on with.

Original poster
Emmielu · 11/05/2012 20:10

What he was asking for in total was 3 months rent out of the 6 months id be there. But the £1100 was only deposit. Not first months rent.

OP posts:
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