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asquithea

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Everything posted by asquithea

  1. Who says it has to be new? Just about every asset loses value once the 'new' smell wears off, including housing. Back in 2003, my parents sold my Grandmother's house for ~ £58K. Two bedrooms, lovely big garden, next to a park, a few local shops and 10 mins amble from the town centre. Reasonably OK ex-council house in Wellingborough - only 50 min from London St. Pancras. Doesn't seem so unreasonable to me.
  2. OFT Guidelines are not the law, and frequently ignored by judges.
  3. Maybe so, but CFLs still save energy over the lifetime of the bulb.
  4. Just like the nasty dangerous fluorescent tubes we've been using for decades, then? Seriously, when was the last time you smashed a bulb? Use a bit of common sense; open the window and leave the room for a bit. Then sweep the bits up, bag it, and dispose of it the same way you get rid of any fluorescent light. After reading ghw22's post, I had a scout around for statistics. Apparently, an incandescent bulb results in 3.2x the mercury pollution compared to a CFL over 8000 hours (typical bulb lifetime). (citation) Obviously the US power generation isn't directly comparable to the UK, and there's the matter of how close you live to a power station, but I think ghw22's assertion stacks up. Here are a couple more stats: UK power generation is about 25% coal (citation) 40% of mercury pollution in the US is attributable to coal-fired power generation (citation) Also: CFL cleanup For what it's worth, I use CFLs throughout my flat. Quality still varies a bit; two of the bulbs take an irritating 1/2 second to come on, but they all reach full brightness immediately, and there is no flicker. This technology is ready.
  5. My 2p: Fit a burglar alarm (an inexpensive DIY motion-detector and siren screwed to the wall will do). Warn the agent/landlord that the alarm is fitted and normally activated when you are out. This should hopefully put the agent off any visits that you have not approved, yet allows access in a genuine emergency (such as a water or gas leak). It also improves your home security, and should be really easy to make good when you leave.
  6. Besides which, a clause against changing the locks would be completely unenforceable. As long as the tenant retains the old lock to replace it when he leaves, what loss has the landlord suffered?
  7. I agree with Elivis. You're quoting S5, which refers to an Assured Tenancy, not an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. A correctly-served S21 notice brings the tenancy to an end on the specified date -- it's just that the LL can't get possession without a court order. We're always willing to be corrected, but you're writing as if you're some sort of authority on the matter.
  8. A 'reservation fee' is quite common, but the agent should be very clear about exactly why the money is required, what guarantees it buys you, and under what circumstances it will be refunded. Write the details down, because if either side does not proceed you'll want that money back. £500 strikes me as rather expensive (it's double what I paid), and I think you should expect to receive it back in full as a discount from the first month's rent. You will most likely need to pay both the deposit AND the first month's rent up front.
  9. To shove my oar in, and hopefully summarise: If you have not been issued a S21 notice (see Sword of Damocles thread), the agent has no leverage to force you to sign a new AST. However, if you go onto a statutory periodic tenancy, you could be asked to leave with only 2 months' notice. Conversely, you will get the flexibility to move out on a whim. You should talk directly to the landlord to communicate your intention, and decide whether you want to buy 6 months' security for your £60. As always, read the T&Cs before you sign the contract, and include these costs in your rent calculations.
  10. Ground 1 would allow the LL to gain possession after the end of the AST. Sounds like standard wording to me, and I don't think it makes any practical difference since they could equally well get you out with an S21 -- but query whether G.1 applies if it makes you happier. Regarding the end of the tenancy, the LA would normally try to get you to sign an AST renewal, and typically charge an arrangement fee. You should find out what these fees will be (in writing, as part of the contract), and factor them into the overall cost of the rent. £50 - £100 is typical. Agencies do sometimes force the issue by producing a S21 notice immediately after the start of the tenancy, thereby forcing you to renew or live under the threat of court action (see pinned thread). Conversely, you could get the wording of the contract tweaked to reduce or remove the fees, or make sure there's a loophole for a non-fee Statutory Periodic Tenancy. You have quite a bit of negotiating power until you sign the contract. Make sure you know what you're signing up to, and see if you can strike out some of the terms that might cost you money.
  11. I'll throw in the link to the renter's checklist for viewings. As for a simple guide to the contractual minefield... good luck with that. Very few people around here have sufficient legal training and experience, so most people (including myself) can only offer opinions based on official guidelines, public cases, occasional contributions from lawyers, personal experience, and of course... word of mouth. Look at the questions posed by the OP. Are they clear? Do they lend themselves to unambiguous answers? Nope. Which is why you won't get anything from this topic. Be more specific.
  12. Waaay too long, and I see you pasted this over at LLZ, too. Skim-reading, I think you have a pretty weak case for the 3x penalty, because: 1) It's not clear that the deposit was received after the legislation took effect 2) The deposit has subsequently been protected. The reality is that much more straightforward claims have been rejected by the courts on the basis of point (2) alone, so you've probably already got most of the benefit you'll see from the legislation by forcing the deposit into a recognised scheme. Secondly, we're only getting your side of the story. You mentioned lots of stuff without any detail, including rent arrears and leaving the property late. From what you've not said, the LL's attitude could be quite reasonable. We simply can't tell whether you have a genuine grievance, whether you're simply motivated by this (probably illusory) penalty pay-out, or something in between. Assume that the penalty will not be awarded, and take a hard look at your case. If the remainder simply boils down to an inventory and cleanliness dispute, I'd be very tempted to drop the case and take it to arbitration with the deposit scheme.
  13. per calendar month In other words, the rent is to be paid on a particular day each month (e.g. 5th of the month), rather than (say) every 30 days, or weekly.
  14. Like I said, I wouldn't sign such a contract in the first place. But apart from that: 1) The contract is over when the keys are handed back at the end of the term 2) The LL can state anything he likes in the contract, but it's enforceable only if he can persuade a court to uphold it. Since the utility contract is between the tenant and the supplier, he isn't suffering any loss, so there's no grounds for him to withhold money. Two common arrangements that are reasonable: - LL arranges transfer of utilities into the tenant's name at the start/end of the tenancy, thereby ensuring the next tenant doesn't get stuck with unpaid bills; - LL pays the bills, and the tenant pays the LL. Landlords do sometimes try to restrict a tenant's choice of utility supplier. Again, this is generally unenforceable except where the LL or the next tenant is going to get stuck with a bill -- such as the installation of a water meter, disconnection of telephone, gas or electricity, or modifications to the property for cable or satellite TV. The LL can't force the use of any particular supplier unless they're the ones paying the bill.
  15. Balderdash. Utility bills are entirely a matter between the tenant and the service provider, and you should refuse any terms in a tenancy agreement that allow the landlord to get involved. I can't imagine the LL would have any legal justification for witholding the deposit, even if there's such a clause written into the contract.
  16. Disposable camera with flash: £2.50 5MP digital camera: £25.00 Photographic evidence: priceless Anybody can afford to do this.
  17. Renterbob, while I personally agree with your reading of the law, over at LLZ they've found that the courts are taking a different line in most of the cases reported so far. Provided that the LL protects the deposit by the time the tenant instigates legal action (or even up to the court date in some cases), the penalty is not being awarded. In other words, this 14 day limit is basically being ignored, and if you want to claim, you'd better start the action without tipping off the landlord. On the plus side, it's at least forcing the deposit to be registered before S21 can be used, and pretty much all agents are now complying. It's just a shame (from the tenants point of view) that the real teeth of the bill have been blunted.
  18. Very true, but that doesn't really change whether the tenant gets stuck with the bill. If I were the tenant in this position, I'd want to arrange or do the repairs myself to keep a lid on the costs.
  19. Very much depends on the furniture. If it was new when the tenants moved in, then I'd say there's been some genuine damage. If not, then I don't think you have a case, because the arm could well have been cracked to start with. Even if the furniture were brand-new at the start of the tenancy, they're still only liable for the remaining lifespan. So if it cost £500 new, might reasonably be expected to last 5 years in a let property, and the tenants were in-situ for 2 years, they would pay at most £300, or the cost of repair. Same goes for carpets, appliances etc.
  20. Consensus over at LLZ (landlordzone.co.uk) is that AST renewals don't require protection of the deposit, for the reason you stated. Your AST, following directly on from the previous one with the same tenants, would definitely be a renewal. The bit about deposit protection in the AST text makes things awkward though. Assuming the AST has already ended, write back to state the reason the deposit is not covered. The worst he could do is to pursue you for some sort of contractual breach; he's not covered by the new rules, and therefore not entitled to recompense of the deposit return and 3x penalty. WRT the furniture damage, the usual questions apply: How good is the inventory, how old is the furniture, and how much of the damage could be considered fair wear and tear?
  21. Without seeing more detail, it sounds like a fairly standard contract, to me. A break clause is very common for a 12 month contract, and it usually means that either side can be released from the agreement at or after 6 months (read the fine print to see which variant applies, and make sure it's bi-lateral). Don't be afraid to ask them straight-out whether the documentation includes a section 21 notice, and have a gander at this checklist before you sign.
  22. To be honest, I don't really think the LL has any responsibility to pay for the door, unless the lock was faulty from the outset. These things happen, and unless you'd raised the problem with the lock before the incident, there's no way he could have done anything to prevent it. However, the LL is responsible for maintaining the flat's decoration, so he might need to organise the post-repair touch-ups. I agree with JB about point 2 -- usually the contract is specific about both the date and ending time. However, I think I'd raise it once and then let it go, as you'd lose far more in moving costs. Just be a bit more proactive to make sure it doesn't happen next time.
  23. Maybe a little oversimplified. The LL usually needs a certain amount of money to pay the mortgage, but unlike the housing market over the last few years, people will only rent what they can afford, which means that achievable rents are effectively capped at wage inflation. This means that rents can be held up at unrealistic levels by hard-pressed LLs, leading to empty properties even with high demand. As with house prices, Property Bee is your friend. Target LLs whose properties have stood empty for more than a month -- a sufficiently long void could be enough for £50-£100pcm discount.
  24. Eh. My advice would be NOT to rent from a friend. There's nothing quite like a business relationship gone sour to ruin a friendship. What if you damage the property? What if he gives you notice, and you want to stay? What if you want to leave early? What if he wants more rent? What if he doesn't maintain the property? There are many things that can go wrong with a tenancy. For what it's worth, £140 is roughly average. If you were paying a deposit, some (but not all) agencies would knock the fees off the first month's rent. If you do decide to go ahead, make sure you're on a properly legal footing. Get a formal tenancy agreement and inventory done and signed by both parties.
  25. And I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the fine folks on this forum who drew attention to the risks of Icelandic banks back in March. I got as far as getting the paperwork from KE, but didn't go through with it when I read about the risks. It also got me steering clear of Icesave. It sounds like things have just about worked out (this time), but I imagine that if the Icelandic banks had gone bust even a few months back, the customers would be facing a long wait to get their money back. Now if I'd only bought some gold, instead...
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