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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

A (the letting agents) BU?

48 replies

HairsprayBabe · 17/01/2018 13:27

Moving to a new City an hour away from my current one on the 3rd of Jan.

Chosen a nice little place, paid fees and deposit everything so far has gone ok.

The property currently has a tenant moving out on the 31st.

Letting agent are refusing to let me go in early (the 24th) and sign the contract, with a view to getting keys and moving on the 3rd - sending a local friend to pick up keys on the 2nd.

Letting agency is not open evenings or weekends so I cannot go outside of work.

I work full time and have no leave I can take, but I do have a meeting on the 24th in the City so would be able to sign early with a contract dated for the 2nd.

Letting agent is making out that my proposal is illegal and I cannot possibly sign a contract in advance, or give the keys to another named individual, the earliest is the 2nd for contract and keys.

I disagree and after some rampant googling I cannot find anything to suggest that my way is illegal.

I cannot just cut and run and go with a new landlord because this move has used up all of my current savings and I have a new job starting on the 4th.

What can I do? Please help!

OP posts:

Original poster

HairsprayBabe · 17/01/2018 14:23

But if I set up a POA then I could get my local friend to do it all and they would have to accept that?

OP posts:

Original poster

HairsprayBabe · 17/01/2018 14:23

on the 2nd

OP posts:

HermionesRightHook · 17/01/2018 14:49

I don't think they're worrying about these specific tenants not leaving, I think they're just spoons. Some letting agents really have no idea what the actual law is, they have their preferred way of doing things and don't think outside the box ever.

milliemolliemou · 17/01/2018 16:18

SORRY HAVE NOT RTFT and OP has either moved in or her dates are wrong and it's Feb.

But for anyone else: For your safety they also need to get in an inventory clerk to make sure it's in good condition and that they or the owners can put anything right including cleaning. If they're not doing that I'd back out because you'll be blamed for any damage.

I'd also check they had the relevant Electrical and Gas safety certificates, a working fire alarm and if gas is in the flat a carbon monoxide alarm. Ditto fire extinguisher and blanket.

Who is running this flat? Is it the owners? or have they delegated to agents? If something goes wrong whom do you contact over the weekend?? Sort of fine if it's a house you're occupying by yourself but if flats .. is there a management company if the person above you leaves the bath running .. or there's loads of noise?

CuriousaboutSamphire · 17/01/2018 16:24

For your safety they also need to get in an inventory clerk to make sure it's in good condition and that they or the owners can put anything right including cleaning. If they're not doing that I'd back out because you'll be blamed for any damage. Alternatively, the LL wouldn't be able to prove you had caused any damage, which is how the deposit protection schemes see it - as the LL is supposed to be the profession!

And OP says it is with agents.... she won't know about alarms, certificates etc until she goes to sign the AST...

bigsighall · 17/01/2018 16:26

Finish work a bit early on the 2nd, train to new place, pick up keys, stay with friend on the night of the 2nd?
Might not be possible if distances are too far / work not flexible I guess.

Bluelady · 17/01/2018 16:28

Whatever you do, take photos of everything as soon as you get the keys. With agents like these, moving out could be a real palaver.

mari652 · 17/01/2018 16:33

I collected the keys for my daughter recently from the letting agent - there were detailed instructions given about me taking 2 forms of ID, signing waivers etc but nobody was interested in seeing them when I offered :/

specialsubject · 17/01/2018 16:49

Oh, right - sorry. Did misread although the schoolmarm tone isn't necessary.

Crap agent if not open weekends, which makes me think the op should check arrangements for reporting problems. What kind of letting agent isn't open on Saturday?

Bluelady · 17/01/2018 16:51

Exactly. How do people view properties?

CuriousaboutSamphire · 17/01/2018 16:55

special I think you posted before I had checked the oddity of the dates. The OP did sound as though the keys would be picked up way in advance of the end of tenancy

specialsubject · 17/01/2018 17:12

BlackHillsofDakota · 17/01/2018 17:37

I'm a letting agent, not much love for us on here but I thought I'd give my point of view.
There should be no problem with the agent allowing you to sign on the 24th but keeping all of the paperwork and not giving you a copy until the keys are collected. That way you don't have a signed copy from them and if tenants didn't move out you wouldn't have any contract.
Regarding keys, we would allow someone else to collect the keys as long as you gave permission, named them and they brought ID. However all agents are different and it may be their policy not to.
It does seem weird they are not open on a Saturday, this is unheard of in lettings and usually a really busy day.
I guess at the end of the day if they are not willing to budge and you really want the flat you are going to have to make a plan and take time off, they do seem very inflexible though.

ThePants999 · 17/01/2018 17:48

Legally speaking, a lot depends on the manner of the previous tenant's departure.

A tenancy can only be ended by

mutual agreement between the tenant and landlord to surrender the tenancy early, or
the tenant serving notice and then departing, or
by court-appointed bailiffs evicting after the court grants the landlord possession.

If the 31st is the date the bailiffs are going in, then the agency can be pretty confident that the property will be vacant after then. If it's either of the other two options, however, they need to be careful. The tenant could simply not leave, in which case they'd become liable for double rent (under the Distress for Rent Act 1937), but they still couldn't be turfed out. So if the agency had signed a contract saying you could move in afterwards, they'd be stuffed. Frustrating though it is, I think it's a sensible precaution on their part.

People have compared it to signing contracts when selling a property. The key difference there, though, is that the person signing the contract is the same person occupying the house, so whether they breach the contract is entirely under their control. When it comes to letting, when the previous tenants leave is NOT under the agency's (or landlord's) control.

Original poster

HairsprayBabe · 17/01/2018 18:56

There are no balifs, flat is a houseshare, had wanted to read the contract in my own time e.g have them email me it then i could sign it and either email it back or post it but they wont entertain that either.

I think that is what I will have to do, big but it will be tight as earliest I can leave is three and agency closes at 5 with getting to the station and accross the city it should be an hour and 40 so would be a squeeze.

I think it is so stressful because I havr paid almost a grand upfront and the service and inflexibility for the money is crap.

Sorry if I have come accross snippy I am very stressed with the whole thing!

OP posts:

HermionesRightHook · 17/01/2018 19:21

@BlackHillsofDakota I've dealt with a lot of letting agents, and unfortunately whilst I have dealt with a couple of very good ones, my present agents included, there's some really bad ones around I'm afraid.

Your policies sound very sensible, though.

But I've been openly laughed at in agencies for insisting on reading contracts all the way through on more than one occasion, for example, and had a terrible experience with one that my landlady ended up suing, who was messing us both about.

Unfortunately in this market (I'm in London) the agent holds a lot of the power and it's very difficult to get the bad ones to be reasonable about situations like this. Sadly the OP"s don't sound very helpful.

BlackHillsofDakota · 17/01/2018 19:35

Obviously there are always crap agents, just like in any line of work, there are good and bad. Any agency worth their salt should give you a copy of the tenancy agreement to take away and read in your own time.

I don't work in London and I think the market is very different there, still no excuse for poor or dishonest service though.

HermionesRightHook · 17/01/2018 23:31

You're quite right @BlackHillsofDakota - and there are still one or two good agencies here. But there's a lot of people that are a sound argument for massive regulation, sadly.

MyHairyToe · 17/01/2018 23:38

I’m guessing you’ve already asked for leave and been turned down? Otherwise you could phone in sick

Bluelady · 17/01/2018 23:45

If you're starting a new job you must be leaving the old one. Just pick up your bag at 2.30 and leave. They can hardly tie you to the chair. And ask the agent to at least have the flexibility to stay for long enough for you to sign the contract and give you the keys.

Original poster

HairsprayBabe · 18/01/2018 07:11

Leave was all used up over xmad could take unpaid but cannot afford to as wellal as get the train to go sign and pick up keys.

Don't especially want to just run out on old job as I still have friends there and will need to work with them as part of new job.

OP posts:

Looneytune253 · 18/01/2018 08:18

They may be worried about what may happen if the tenants refuse to leave and you already have a signed contract.

ilovekitkats · 18/01/2018 11:16

I think the agent is being a bit unreasonable as they could let you sign the agreement in advance. I have worked for an EA and we would release the keys to your friend if they produced ID and we had written authority from you in advance.

We now actively email as much as possible to tenants, in order to save money on postage. Most people prefer to get them that way.

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