Don’t forget to cancel your NatWest standing order* at least 3 days before the payment due date or you could end up losing money!

There’s a good example in The Observer’s “Your Problems” series, where someone lost £1,125 after NatWest refused to stop rent payment the day before. Bank said it was too late to retrieve money so he ended up paying the former landlord and the new one. Read more here to find out why.

Other banks have no problems stopping the standing orders on the same day that payment is due and will credit the money if necessary.

*A standing order is when you tell the bank to pay a fixed amount to someone straight from your account at regular intervals. The money is taken from your account automatically on a fixed date and will show up on your statement.

UK’s leading housing and homelessness charity Shelter acknowledges the fact that it is often very difficult to get the landlord to do the repairs. A very useful step by step guide (with sample letters) has been put together for tenants to use.

GETTING REPAIRS DONE

Reporting repairs
Always report the problem to your landlord in writing. Call if the problem is urgent.

Complaining about repair work not done
If your landlord does not carry out the repairs, you can write to them again, explaining that if repairs are not carried out within a certain time frame, you will take further action.

The action you can take will depend on the nature of the repairs needed and what sort of tenancy you have. If you rent privately, your landlord may try to evict you rather than do the repairs. Always consider the risks and talk to an adviser before you take action!

Warning your landlord that you’re contacting the council
If the state of your home is affecting your health, the environmental health department of your local council may be able to help you take action. Before contacting them, write to your landlord to let them know – this may spur them into action. Remember that council tenants do not have this option.

Doing repairs yourself
If your landlord is refusing to carry out repairs or is being unreasonably slow in getting the work done, you might be able to do the repairs yourself and pay for them out of the rent. However, this is very risky as you may put yourself at risk of eviction. Always get help from a specialist housing adviser before you decide to take action in this way.

Even if you have very strong tenancy rights, you must follow the correct procedureand send all four of the following separate letters in order:

1. Letter 1: explain that you are going to do the work yourself unless the repairs are done within a reasonable time.
2. Letter 2: Send your landlord quotations for doing the work from three reputable contractors. Explain that you are going to go ahead with the cheapest quote unless your landlord arranges for the repairs to be done within a certain time.
3. You’ll need to pay for the work yourself and send your landlord the receipt. Use letter 3 to enclose a copy of the receipt from the cheapest contractor and ask for your money back.
4. If your landlord does not give you back the money, use letter 4 to explain that you are going to deduct the money from your future rent. You must have sent the first three letters before you attempt to do this.

Download sample letters from Shelter

“You can’t tell who’s going to be a bad tenant from how they come across in person; two of the worst tenants I’ve come across were a trainee barrister and an English teacher,” says Paul Shamplina from Landlord Action. The man who made a business out of evicting tenants has some horror stories for Telegraph readers – read the article.

Here is the list of things that landlords are advised to do in order to avoid troublesome tenants:

- Ask to see bank statements for the past 3 months. Check income and expenses to see if they can afford the rent.
- Ask for photo ID to ensure they are who they say they are.
- Get a reference from their employer.
- Get a reference from their current landlord, but make sure he or she isn’t providing it to get the tenant off their hands.
- Ask for a guarantor – a parent will be fine.
- Consider rental insurance cover. It will pay if tenants don’t.

Landlord Action’s three-step service: step one (serving notice) £115, step two (instigating court proceedings) £565, and step three (eviction) £198. Landlord Helpline (0800 856 7878; www.landlordaction.co.uk 

So, when was the last time you looked at the estate agent’s window?

Hunters estate agents has 24 branches from Andover to Harrogate and is now recruiting 750 people. But these new staff members will not be working in the branches. Instead, they will be “mobile operators” working across the UK from their cars and homes rather than traditional high street offices. The firm has already tried out the no-office sales strategy and claims it to be a success.

They have not been operating in London but I guess there are no limits now?!

I know that agents are rarely in the office anyways. If organised well, why not, if it helps cut the costs, and make the service cheaper…

Is this the end of tenancy agreements on paper?

Guardian: Out of office estate agents

We are proud to present you some important numbers from the popular property portal FindaProperty.com.

Here are the top 20 of most viewed London rental properties in January 2009:

Jump to FindaProperty.com.

The annual Buy-To-Let guide published on Monday by the Association of Residential Letting Agents ARLA contains a lot of valuable information for not only landlords but tenants as well.

Click here to read the electronic version.

We found this excellent overview of the key elements of a tenancy, which lists the legislation requirements of England/Wales and Scotland (page 21 of the guide).

ARLA stresses in the article accompanying this table that tenants should always insist on a written agreement (although it is not a legal requirement) in order that they are aware of all their obligations and also those of their landlord. They advise not to settle for an agreement that is bought from newsagents, as it might not be up to date. By the way – ARLA standard tenancy agreement runs to some 20 pages!

Image from Daily Mail

As soon as you know you might be getting into arrears – contact your landlord or agent, and let them know that you are having difficulties!

Write a letter, and explain why you are having problems paying the rent. Ask if you can have more time to pay. Or whether you could pay a smaller amount of rent for a certain period of time.

Don’t wait until arrears build up – contact your landlord as soon as you start having difficulties.

Last week Sutton Estates put up signs “rent dodger lives here” outside those tenants’ homes who were not paying rent. The National Landlords Association condemned the shaming, comparing the method with medieval witch-hunting. See the BBC video HERE.

More advice from: adviceguide.co.uk

The TDS tenancy deposit scheme company has posted a couple of interesting case studies on their website. A few notes with takeouts from the disputes:

1. Make sure to always compose the Check In Report before signing any contracts, and Check Out Report before moving out/handing over the keys.

CASE OF THE BROKEN HOB
There was the issue of the damage to the kitchen hob, which the landlord claimed to have occurred during tenancy. This was shrouded in ambiguity, as the original condition of the hob was unknown. The adjudicator concluded that the hob may have been already faulty, making a 50/50 split of repair costs a reasonable settlement.

2. Make sure the Check In/Check Out Reports are as detailed as possible.

CASE OF THE CRACKED SHELVES
The final issue was the condition of the fridge-freezer. Already in the Check-In
Inventory, a shelf was described as cracked upon the commencement of the tenancy.
Upon Check-Out, three of the runners were broken. Although plastic does tend to
become brittle with age, the fridge-freezer unit was only three years old. Therefore,
damage was regarded as excessive and 50% of the replacement costs were covered by
the tenant.

3. Take photos and add them to the Check In/Check Out Reports.

CASE OF THE DAMAGED FLOOR COVERING
The floor in the kitchen was noted as having small tears and marks in the vinyl, which must have occurred during the tenancy, as they were absent from the check-in report. The claim was supported by photographic evidence provided by the agents. The tenant did claim that the damage must have occurred after he left the property, but the photographs clearly showed that these marks were by no means new. A new floor had to be fitted. The original floor was only one year old. The average lifespan of a floor of this kind is 10 years, so one tenth of the total cost was deducted in favour of the tenant. The total amount came to £500.58.

3. Make sure everything in Check In and Check Out Reports is typed and NOT handwritten, especially if the reports conducted at the beginning and end of the tenancy are not carried out by the same clerk or organisation.

FROM A CASE SUMMARY
Complications arose during the case due to the fact that the reports conducted at the beginning and end of the tenancy were not carried out by the same clerk or organisation, making comparison difficult. Also the notes were hand written in the Check-In Report and in places the handwriting was not always legible.

4. Make sure the notes in Check In and Check Out Reports are clearly stated and cannot be misunderstood. Explain when necessary.

FROM A CASE SUMMARY
In places the references were hard to decipher and lacked clarity. Consequently, the Inventory could only be used as a guideline.

5. Make sure to inspect the property yourself in detail, and not leave the formulation/conduction of the Check In/Check Out Report to the landlord or any other person.

THE CASE OF THE STAINED WALLS
The landlord claimed, based on his own Check-In and Check-Out reports, that there were additional marks to the walls in the living room, parts of the kitchen, and in two of the bedrooms. He was prepared to undertake the redecoration personally at the cost of £100.00. The landlord offered no information as to when the property had last been decorated. Considering that the length of the tenancy was 17 months it was unlikely to have been recently. We considered that most of marks could be attributed to fair wear and tear and awarded £50.00 towards redecoration.

6. Report the landlord immediately of any damages in the property, especially those you are not responsible for. Otherwise you might end up paying for something you shouldn’t.

THE CASE OF FORCE MAJEURE
The Check-Out report also noted damage to the fence panels at the rear of the garden, which had been described as being in good condition in the Check-In inventory. The landlord submitted a quotation of £95.00 for repairs. The tenants argued that any damage caused during their tenancy was due to weather and the fact that the neighbour had many trees planted at the side of the fence. In our opinion it was reasonable to expect the tenant to have reported this damage. The quotation submitted by the landlord seemed excessive, and he was awarded £30.00.

7. Always report the landlord immediately of any damages in the property in writing.

CASE OF THE ABANDONED HOB
The issue of greatest concern was the removal of the hob and oven by the tenant from the property which were returned by the tenant at the end of the tenancy. However, the landlord considered them “unusable” as they had been left outside for a period of time. As a result, he was forced to pay for their replacement even though they were only 3 years old. The tenant responded that she had complained about the quality of the appliances to the landlord in the period at the beginning of her tenancy. However, there is no documentation of such a correspondence taking place and with the lack of a Check-In Inventory it was difficult to date or establish the quality of the kitchen appliances. The adjudicator considered it was reasonable that the tenant should pay half the total costs of replacement and electrical services.

8. Disappearing and not being present for the Check Out Report conduction can leave you paying more than you might have to.

FROM A CASE SUMMARY
The tenant failed to attend the Check-Out, or to respond to our communications. The adjudication could be based only on documentation supplied by the agents.

There are 3 companies that the Government has awarded contracts to run tenancy deposit protection schemes:

The Tenancy Protection Service DPS

The DPS is the only custodial deposit protection scheme, is free to use and open to all Landlords and Letting Agents. The service is funded entirely from the interest earned from deposits held. Landlords and Letting Agents will be able to register and make transactions online. Paper forms will also be available should internet access be an issue. The scheme will be supported by a dedicated call centre and an independent dispute resolution service.

The Tenancy Deposit Solutions Ltd. TDSL

TDSL is a partnership between the National Landlords Association and Hamilton Fraser Insurance. This insurance-based tenancy deposit protection scheme enables landlords, either directly or through agents, to hold deposits. Letting agents can also join the scheme.

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme TDS

TDS is an insurance-backed deposit protection and dispute resolution scheme run by The Dispute Service that builds on a scheme established in 2003 to provide dispute resolution and complaints handling for the lettings industry. The new scheme enables letting agents and landlords to hold deposits.

We have added the link to our Useful Contacts page as well.

Source: directgov.co.uk

We noticed an interesting point in ARLA’s latest letting agents survey. Among the usual questions asked from the letting agents, there was one that draws attention to certain nationality tenants.

The question from the survey was: How Difficult Is It to Obtain References on Immigrants From New EU Member States?

Letting agents had the multiple choice of answers Impossible, Very Difficult, Quite Difficult, Quite Easy, Very Easy, Don’t Know. Here are their answers:

ARLA concludes: Compared with three months ago, respondents managing properties in Prime Central London now seem to find it more difficult to obtain references on immigrants from new EU member states with the Page 40 proportion saying they find it impossible, very difficult or quite difficult rising from 48% to 51%. However, respondents from the Rest of the South East are now finding it easier (65% compared with 72% three months ago) whilst those in the Rest of the UK are having about the same degree of difficulty.

The new member states are Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria.

An anguishing story ran through the newspapers last week. About a negligent landlord from Richmond, who has been found guilty for a young girl’s death of carbon monoxide poisoning following a gas leak in his Wimbledon rental’s faulty boiler.

Please make sure that your landlord has a safety certificate for each appliance and/or flue, not older than 1 year, and only from a CORGI registered gas installer. Always assume that there are no certificates, until you have seen them!

HSE advises tenants:

1. Allow your landlord access to the property to carry out maintenance or safety checks on appliances and/or flues that they provide for your use.

2. Gas appliances and/or flues you own should be regularly maintained and a safety check carried out at least once every 12 months by a CORGI registered installer.

3. If there is any doubt about the safety of gas equipment it should be turned off and not touched until checked by a competent installer, and remedial action taken as necessary.

CarbonMonoxideKills.com recommends you buy a detector for the ultimate safety.

Inventory Providers are professionals, who’s job is to document the full description of the property and everything in it. The service is intended for landlords, agents or even tenants, who do not have time or knowledge to put together a complete report for a property that is being rented out. The inventory providers can be ordered for a regular “inventory report”, a “check-in report” or a “check-out report”. Some of them have invented more interesting reasons, like “mid-term report” or a “snagging report”. The letting agents used to do this but now that ARLA, too, is setting up an association APIP, we’re not sure where this is going.

Here is a couple of Inventory Providers in London:

Property Inventories
Inventory preparation for furnished 2-bed – £100
Check-in report for furnished 2-bed – £75
Check-out report for furnished 2-bed – £80
See an example of what you’ll be paying for HERE (*pdf).

Inis Inventories
Example of their inventory report HERE (*pdf)

We’re skeptical because the service is not cheap, yet the document they provide is quite basic, really (the template might need some work). We understand that ARLA is concerned about the incompetent people offering this service, as it is SO EASY to do. But shouldn’t they be concentrating on training the letting agents instead?

PS! There already IS an association for inventory providers in UK – Association of Independent Inventory Clerks AIIC.

(c) The Conran Shop

ARLA is setting up a new organization from June this year – the Association of Professional Inventory Providers (APIP):

The aim is to offer practicing inventory providers an accessible route to professional development and a ready source of information and guidance. Inventory providers will need at least 6 months practical experience and pass a multiple choice accreditation test to join APIP. They will also be required to attend a set number of hours training each year on subjects relevant to their profession or attend relevant seminars as part of their continuing professional development.

Sounds expensive, for everyone. Before you know it – they want a license, too. In any case, there is a slight pressure to use a professional inventory provider from now on, and it is not a very cheap service.

ARLA released a special statement today, saying that as the demand for housing in the Private Rented Sector is likely to soar due to the credit crunch, they are warning agents and landlords not to take advantage by cutting corners.

ARLA pointed out that both the law and best practice has moved on a long way since the early nineties when the last housing crisis produced soaring rental demand, cowboy agents and rogue landlords. They are worried that some landlords may try to cut corners and not comply with legislation covering safety and the protection of tenancy deposits. There could be an upsurge in lettings agencies opening for business, without being members of the professional bodies, having the right qualifications and providing clients money protection.

Read the full press release here.

So much for London becoming a renters market …

Q: My landlord did not think a written tenancy agreement is necessary, and in the haste of moving into a new place I did not care so much. But now, 3 weeks after moving in, I wish I had something tangible to hold on to… Isn’t he legally obliged to give me a contract?

Well, it depends. Since your tenancy started after 28 February 1997, the private residential agreement is always automatically Assured Shorthold Tenancy (unless agreed otherwise in writing). Now, if you agreed to a fixed term of 3 years and more, you are legally entitled to a written tenancy agreement. If your tenancy is shorter, the landlord does not have to give you a written agreement.

If you need something tangible, you should know, that with the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement, you have the right to ask for a written statement of any of the following main terms of the tenancy:

1. The date the tenancy began
2. The amount of rent payable and the dates on which it is due
3. Any rent review arrangements
4. The length of any fixed term

Source: DirectGov

Image: -Gep- at Flickr