shyammy
22-04-2009, 22:50 PM
A letting agent has found a tenant for me which is great as my flat has been on the market for a couple of months sitting empty.
I requested the agent to add terms from the lease to the tenancy agreement as the flat is leasehold and the terms of the lease would be binding on my tenant. The tenant has signed the agreement and the agent keeps phoning to say she is ready to move in and want the keys. The only issue is I haven't seen a copy of the agreement that's been signed by her from the agent - I have to sign it too first right? I also haven't got confirmation that the deposit has been registered by the DPS. I've been telling the agent constantly that I also need to see references i.e. work, previous landlord etc and also a credit report. They've provided a 3/4 length page confirming her name/salary and classed it an "A Grade". I don't think this would be sufficient if something were to happen, and me and the tenant went to court. The court would clearly ask what measures I took to make sure she was a suitable tenant and not fraudulent.
It also took the agent ages to transfer the first months rent and security deposit into my account. When I checked that funds were deposited, I realised the agent has messed this up too. As i've not yet seen the tenancy agreement, I wasn't aware he's got her to sign a 1 year agreement when I specifically asked for a 6 month short term rolling tenancy.
The agent claims he posted all documents out to me on Saturday but today is Wednesday and nothing has arrived. I've asked him to email me everything but his email system has "gone down". The agent is a reputable city estate agency and they are ARLA accredited but the fact he keeps phoning to ask for keys before i've seen any documentation; is this legal?
I've also found out that he's released a key to the tenant. This key was for them to show viewings only.
Can someone please let me know where I stand and what action I should now take? I've decided I want to confront the agent about this as he's not responded to my emails so if anyone has any legal jargon that may help, it would be appreciated.
Thanks
I requested the agent to add terms from the lease to the tenancy agreement as the flat is leasehold and the terms of the lease would be binding on my tenant. The tenant has signed the agreement and the agent keeps phoning to say she is ready to move in and want the keys. The only issue is I haven't seen a copy of the agreement that's been signed by her from the agent - I have to sign it too first right? I also haven't got confirmation that the deposit has been registered by the DPS. I've been telling the agent constantly that I also need to see references i.e. work, previous landlord etc and also a credit report. They've provided a 3/4 length page confirming her name/salary and classed it an "A Grade". I don't think this would be sufficient if something were to happen, and me and the tenant went to court. The court would clearly ask what measures I took to make sure she was a suitable tenant and not fraudulent.
It also took the agent ages to transfer the first months rent and security deposit into my account. When I checked that funds were deposited, I realised the agent has messed this up too. As i've not yet seen the tenancy agreement, I wasn't aware he's got her to sign a 1 year agreement when I specifically asked for a 6 month short term rolling tenancy.
The agent claims he posted all documents out to me on Saturday but today is Wednesday and nothing has arrived. I've asked him to email me everything but his email system has "gone down". The agent is a reputable city estate agency and they are ARLA accredited but the fact he keeps phoning to ask for keys before i've seen any documentation; is this legal?
I've also found out that he's released a key to the tenant. This key was for them to show viewings only.
Can someone please let me know where I stand and what action I should now take? I've decided I want to confront the agent about this as he's not responded to my emails so if anyone has any legal jargon that may help, it would be appreciated.
Thanks