When you rent and go and pay your deposit/sign contract, should you come away with the keys?

[LadyOfTheFlowers]

Renting for the first time. LL says house will be ready Thurs, he needs to get oven cleaned first.

Letting agent wants us to go in and pay deposit, first months' rent and sign the contract at our earliest convenience - which is today according to DHs' work - so at lunchtime we are off to do it.

My dad is a renting veteran and says we MUST get a key today, you don't hand over £1300 and not get a key. We don't want to move in until Thurs anyway, but it would help immensely if we could have the key so I could start moving boxes up there, then DH can move the big stuff and ourselves in with a van at the weekend.

I don't know how this works - can I reasonably ask for a key today or not as he said oven won't be clean till Thurs?

I have his number - I will ring him, but am wondering.

THanks.

I think that if you are starting to pay for the place you should have a key to get into it.

If the landlord doesnt have the key to give you till thursday then is there any reason why the tenancy should start before thursday?

I think it would be a reasonable to expect to receive the keys.

The oven cleaning is a bit of a red herring

Could you give the agent a post-dated cheque for Thursday then???

When will the start date on the contract be ?? If its from Thurs and your rent is payable from then (i.e. your next month's rental will be due on 12th September, not 10th), then there is no problem.

Well, DD signed a contract & paid a deposit last December for her student house which she won't move into till next month!

But that's normal for student lettings, not sure about the real world nowadays, but iirc we didn't get the keys the same day for the flat we rented in 1979 (!) but we did get a receipt for the deposit.

If I was renting from a private landlord I'd insist on receiving keys in exchange for cash.

If it's a reputable letting agency then I wouldn't worry, pick up the keys on your lease start date.

Gracie

We are going today because this is the quietest day work load wise for DH to pop out to sign the contract so I assume the tenancy will start from today.

We will be paying our first months rent today. Unless I suppose we could agree to date it the 12th?

It seems cheeky we will be paying today but will have no key. Though maybe not as he has stated he won't have the oven done till Thursday.

I amgoing to ring him at 9. Shall I just tell him I'll clean the bloody oven?

I would aim to date it from the 12th, or see how much he will pay you to clen the oven!

do you work? could u let someone in to clean the oven on thursday? then he cant say a thing about u having keys today

if it is n't available until Thursday, that should be the date on the agreement and you can sign today, pay deposit and post date first month's rent then get keys on 12th.

As LIZS said. It doesn't matter when you pay the money/sign the contract etc., the important thing is the start date on the contract (which should be Thursday) and your future rent will be payable from then. I've done hundreds of lettings and it is the norm (providing you get a receipt etc for the deposit and rent in advance). If you insist on getting the keys today and can't move in til Thurs then you will be paying 2 days rent for the sake of it iyswim ?