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After a long search (a year), I have found a perfect property for myself and cat to rent. This was found via an estate agent who will soon put us in contact with the landlord. The two bed property is out of my price range to live there alone long term. The rent is £1400 pm, I earn 34k pa - so I am only approved to rent a property up to £1100 and realistically, I would not be able to pay this long term with the addition of bills. When I found the property, I posted an ad for a housemate that stated we would go into a joint tenancy together and I received a lot of interest. Unfortunately the person I have gone into this with can no longer move in, a risk of finding someone so quickly was always going to be are trustworthy and reliable - unfortunately they were not. The estate agent is just about to finish the reference checks for us both (mine has gone through ok) and has a holding deposit which I paid. They do not yet know of her decision to opt out. I would still love to move in and I am really worried about losing the property and also the holding deposit (although only £360 - so not the end of the world, more concerned about house). The property is unfurnished and I have everything ready to go in, I have been the primary contact throughout. What I would like to do, is speak to the estate agent/or landlord (if we have been put in contact), explain it is only me that can move in and that the other person will have to be removed from the tenancy. I am able to offer 3 months rent up front in an attempt to sweeten the deal and could also provide guarantors. I would then look to find a new housemate once moved in, and cannot see it being an issue finding someone as there are so many people in the area desperate to find somewhere. They could then be added to the 12 month tenancy with me. I was tempted to ask for a sublet contract, but after researching, this seems like a commonly refused request. I have 30k in savings which I am looking to use for a future house deposit, but I could use some of this to secure the house and then pay back into it. I also assume they will have incurred a cost of referencing checking the other person and would have to do this for someone new. We have not signed a contract yet. Do you have any advice on how to approach this to do everything possible for them to allow me to still move in?

To set the scene, I am currently in my 2nd term having signed a 'renewal agreement' 1st of March 2022. I have given notice to my landlord to leave under the terms of the break clause in the renewal agreement, however they are claiming my notice is not valid and they are trying to say I must follow the break clause in the original contract. The original break clause: ''A minimum of two months written notice must be given, but that notice can only be given after a period of 6 months have elapsed.'' ie 8 months minimum. In the renewal agreement, the 'renewal clause' reads: ''The terms of the new tenancy shall be the same as those in the previous agreement between the Landlord and the Tenant dated 1st March 2021 relating to the property ***except for any changes in the terms mentioned in this document.”*** Then directly below the 'renewal clause' is the 'break clause' which has **changed!!** ''Either party may terminate this agreement after a period of 6 months by giving a minimum of 2 months advance written notice'' I am just over 3 months into my renewal term and i have just given notice (at least 2 months) to end my tenancy at the end of the 6th month. As far as I am aware, I have followed the rules of the renewal agreement. I have even stated to the landlord that the renewal clause states that whilst it says we are to follow the original terms in the contract, it then says ''except for any changes in terms mentioned in this document'' ie the break clause is now different and does allow us to in fact give notice to terminate the agreement after 6 months. Am I right or am I right??? Landlord thinks not. I've attached our renewal agreement.

My husband moved to England more than one year ago because of work relocation and I followed him moving to England a few months later. My husband signed the tenancy agreement. Two days before the end of the tenancy, we cleaned the flat (including the balcony) thoroughly with reasonable care. Two days after the tenancy ended, the problem emerged. My husband was informed by the landlord that they hired a professional cleaning company to clean the flat and asked us to pay for it. The cleaning cost is 300 pounds. It is absurd that my husband was required to pay for the fee based on the following reasons: 1. We already exercised reasonable care to clean the whole flat, the landlord sent us pictures for they found one hair and some washing powder left on the corner of the washing machine which they claimed it “dirty”, and yet no one could confirm whose hair does it belong to that unless we did some DNA test to it. 2. We checked cleaning companies online for cleaning the flat, the market price for cleaning a one-bedroom flat is 120 pounds on average. It is not reasonable to pay 300 pounds (which is more than double) for cleaning. Reference: https://www.fantasticcleanersbristol.co.uk/end-of-tenancy-cleaning/ 3. Besides, the tenancy agreement did not contain a clause that asks for a professional clean at the end of the tenancy and the Tenant Fees Act 2019 has stated that "A landlord or agent cannot require you to pay for a professional clean when tenant check-out. This includes a professional deep clean. "And "Since 1 June 2020, the term (for professional clean) requiring that payment is no longer be binding on tenant. " Thus we are not liable for any professional cleaning. The landlord argued that it is NOT a professional cleaning and argued that they did NOT force my husband to pick this cleaning company. Under the circumstances that my husband had NO choices to pick a cleaning company and he was not informed before hiring the professional cleaning company, that is called forced in NATURE. The professional company that the landlord hired cost more than double the market price which constituted the reasonable suspicion of scamming the tenant. 4. After living in the flat for a few days, my husband already found out that the ventilation of the bathroom did not work and thus it caused some mold on the sealants. Within an enclosed area like the bathroom with no windows, no ventilation, but water was needed to be used in, it is predictable that mold would grow. And my husband already sent an email enclosed with the pictures of the mold to the landlord. But they did not send anyone to fix the ventilation, which they argued that the mold on the sealants is not considered “fair wear and tear”, but luckily my husband did have the proof of the email informing the landlord about the problem in the first place. 5. The wardrobe wooden bar of the flat was broken and we were willing to fix it as we checked online that for market price it would only cost 50 pound. And the landlord wanted charge us for 100 pound. Facing the injustice and malicious action to be scammed, my husband intended to bring the issue to TDS (“Tenancy Deposit Scheme” https://www.thedisputeservice.co.uk/), but the landlord rejected this action to solve the dispute and intended to bring the issue to court. TDS cannot assist to solve the problem if the landlord does not consent to forward the case to TDS. (Ref: https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/learn-more/information-tds-lounge/faqs/ “Should I go to court rather than use TDS? Either party may go to court if they prefer. We can only deal with a dispute if both tenant and landlord agree they want us to. Most people prefer to come to us because they feel it will be quicker, cheaper and less stressful. Like the courts, we are independent, authoritative and our decision is binding. However, while we can deal with proposed deductions from a deposit, we cannot consider counterclaims or matters unrelated to the deposit.”) I strongly suggested that my husband should go to court if the landlord did not want to solve it with TDS because the landlord only wanted to scam us and by leveling up to court which took much more time and money during process would make us succumb to the injustice. But since it is my husband who signed the tenancy agreement instead of me, I could not represent him to make the decision to go to court with solving this. My husband has a job which makes him work a lot and even on weekends sometimes, with considering the resources that he needed to put in if he had to attend some court hearing, he decided not to level up this issue to court and paid the landlord the unreasonable fee. The lessons I learned from this matter and advice I want to give the tenants are listed as below, 1. Read the tenancy agreement and the Tenant Fees Act 2019 carefully, know your rights and responsibilities well before you sign, be extra careful with any clause related to cleaning issue, because this can be ambiguous and can be an excuse from the landlord or agency to deduct your deposit. 2. Take not only pictures but slow and clear video of the flat or house before you move in. If possible, ask someone to be there when you take your pictures and video. The third party being there when you take your video can be a witness when you have to raise your dispute to court or TDS. Remember to take pictures and video inside of the oven, fridge, cabinet, washing machine, dishwasher etc. anything that could be open or in the corner like under the bed because it might be used as an excused to deduct your deposit too. (My husband did not open the washing machine to take picture after cleaning the whole flat and he was accused of leaving a hair in the washing machine, which quoted by the landlord was “dirty”.) 3. Inform the landlord any problem that is in the landlord’s responsibility like ventilation out of order immediately. If you do not do it in a reasonable period of time (which is asap), you might be attacked for problems in the flat that you should not be responsible for. 4. Record any contact with the letting agency and landlord, use email for most of the time but if it is a phone call or meeting in person, record the conversation by voice recorder. 5. Be patient and stand up against injustice. Do not be afraid that this cost a bit more than the deposit. If I were my husband I would definitely go to court to solve this matter because it was not about money only, it was about justice and going against people who take advantage of the innocent. The landlord and letting companies who did not prefer to solve it with TDS and propose to take this to court are taking advantage of our mentality that we do not want to spend more time and resources fighting against injustice. I spent time writing this experience for reminding the tenants of not making the same mistakes as we did and I want to stand up to fight the injustice. And in all, I sincerely hope that less people will be scammed for not having enough knowledge about renting.

The government is about to put forward another new law that will once again make them very unpopular with landlords. There are currently plans being put forward (currently at the consultation stage) to introduce mandatory 3-year tenancies for all tenants within the private residential sector. What this means: Landlords - Longer tenancy agreements would mean a longer period of time for eviction of troublesome tenants. - With this in mind, under the new proposal, there would be a 6-month probationary period where the landlord can request termination of the tenancy agreement and regain the property. - Currently, a landlord can serve a section 21 after the probationary period has ended on the property (usually 6 months) and get their property back without giving any reason or going to court. However, with a longer tenancy, there would be a longer initial period whereby a section 21 could not be served, meaning a section 8 would need to be served. A section 8 has a lot more technicalities and does have to go through the court system. What this means: Tenants - Good tenants would be guaranteed more stability from their rented property in the long term. - Once the 6-month probationary period is up, the tenant is secure within the property for another two and a half years. If however, they want to leave, they can simply cancel the contract, giving a short notice period. Do you think longer tenancies are a good or bad idea? Original source: https://bit.ly/2OPz0Sx

Hi folks, I've had my property let for the past 10 months by an agent but I'm considering self-managing (a number of things including poor comms and errors in paperwork have frustrated me). Does anyone have any advice on pitfalls or things to look out for? The agent found the tenant, did all the necessary checks (they say) and have protected the deposit. How simple should it be to transfer over to me? House is in a ltd company, recently mortgaged on a BTL product. Tenancy is the standard Scottish form (no specified term).

Hi, would appreciate anyone's views on giving out a 4 month AST and how that stands legally? I am in a position whereby i may need to offer my BTL property for rent on a 4 month agreement, but im very conscious that the minimum has always been 6 (as far as i know), so does a lesser period i.e. 4 months change the legalities of the agreement in anyway? Be great to get peoples thoughts as to the pro's and cons on such a short AST? Many Thanks

Well, here's something I've not come across previously. Tenant has caused damage on Day one of the tenancy. Friday I had professional photos taken of a staged flat, to use in future adverts. Friday evening and Saturday morning staging removed and flat cleaned. 12pm Saturday the inventory was done and at 2pm I check the tenant in. 5pm tenants tells me they've damaged the floor. I have a look and it's half a 5 pence piece gouge out of the brand new (good quality) laminate floor in the middle of the room. Credit where credit is due she did own up right away and tell me. She told me she thinks it happened while they were moving their furniture/fridge in. I'm not really sure what to do in this situation. If they'd dented the wall or door I would just want to leave it until checkout, however, because it's in a kitchen/living room and the gouge is deep and has taken off the top protective layers of wood and left the more soft looking underlayer, my main concern is when they inevitably mop or get water in the floor it could damage it further. How would you move forward?

Hi all. Can anyone please give some examples of what should be included in an AST tenancy agreement? Many Thanks! Charlie

Hi all, I am a new landlord and I am still trying to find my feet in this industry. I have found the hub very useful and I just wanted to ask how you landlords out there are planning to deal with the tenancy fee ban that is coming in to effect on the 1st June 2019? I am planning to let our a property later on this year and was wondering if there is a smart way to manage this cost? Thanks Aayesha

Hi everyone. Sorry about the newbie questions! I want to purchase my first HMO but have read some conflicting responses. I intend to buy a 4 bed property in Liverpool. When I have researched HMOs the main point was to have a property close to the city centre. Now does this property have to be in a nice 'well to do' area? Young professionals are my intended tenants. How do you price per room? 2 rooms are double and 2 are single. All advice on HMOs is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi All, I am a private landlord and I listed my rental property through a well known highstreet agent. I got a tenant who passed credit reference check, they paid 1 month rent and 6 weeks deposit to the estate agent directly. Deposit is protected. Before the tenancy start date(29th june 2018), due to personal reason , they want to back out 1.Estate agent have sent the contract to them.But they have not yet signed and sent back. 2.As a landlord, I have lost 10days and now I have to look out for another tenant. It may take atleast a month to find a new tenant My question is regarding my legal rights: 1.Considering that estate agent had already sent the contract and Though the contract is not yet signed by them , Is the tenant legally liable for 6 months contract? 2. Can the tenant get back both their deposit and Rent back? 3. I may sound greedy, but considering that I have lost few days, Is it legal for me as a landlord to retain 1 month Rent atleast? Please advise. Being a newbie landlord, appreciate your expert opinion in this regards! Thanks, Su

Hi, longtime lurker, first-time poster here! I hope someone on here will be able to give me an answer to a quick question.. I have an AST with a tenant that expires next month. For a couple different reasons, I'm considering letting the contract roll on for a few months (up to 6) and then asking her to sign a new AST (with a small rent rise) in the new year. The new contract will start on a date that is preferable to me so I benefit in that regard. The tenant is currently going through a bad time and doesn't want to sign a new contract at the moment. So the question is: Is there any risk with this strategy? My understanding of letting an AST roll on after the expiry date is that the terms will be exactly the same eg .s 21 for eviction, notice periods etc all remain the same, if any problems arose during that period. So what can go wrong if anything? thanks in advance for any advice. Mike the landlord

I have had a tenant since 2005 who is great. He's happy to stay in my flat 'until he kicks the bucket' and I'm pretty happy to have him. He came in on an AST, has had one or two more since then but we have been on month to month for years. Now I'm putting new windows in, he's agreed to a moderate increase in the rent to cover it and I'm proposing to issue him with a new tenancy agreement. He and I are both happy to commit to two years at the new rent. I've got 2 questions: 1) Does giving a 2 year tenancy give him any additional rights after those 2 years expire? 2) Does the fact he's been there for 12 years already give him any additional rights? The property is on a residential mortgage with consent to let. The lender is in run-off (not doing any new business) and never asks me anything about the lease or occupants. To be honest I think they've probably forgotten as the consent was obtained in 2001. The interest rate is 1% so I'm doing nothing to rock the boat! I could do with more problems like this - a dream tenant! All advice gratefully received.

Hi there, I have been looking at a property which is well below market value but the tenant is on a Statutory Tenancy. The tenant is in his 70's and keeps the place in good order. Has anyone please had any experience with this type of tenancy agreement. Is it best to leave it well alone? I guess my worry is what happens if the tenant is unable to pay due to ill health etc? Many thanks Mike

Not seeing how copy and paste, so added as attachment. Allan Second Consultation on New Tenancy for Scottish Private Rented Sector.docx