An interesting article in the Cash section of the Observer today looks at the increasing tendency of tenants to check up on their landlords before signing a tenancy agreement. And quite right too! As has been reported on this blog in the past, innocent tenants have been known lose their homes at short notice and through no fault of their own, due to their landlords dishonesty. To quote the article:
“When the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) started compiling buy-to-let data in the second half of 2005, only 200 investment properties were in mortgage arrears of three months or more. By the first half of this year, this had soared to 5,400. Repossessions of investment homes also climbed, from 400 to 2,800, during the same period.”
Rules are now being put in place to protect tenants from this sort of thing, but even if they do not actually get evicted, the threat of eviction can cause massive worry and upset.
So what can tenants do to protect themselves? Referencing a landlord in the same way that landlords reference tenants is one good option. The article refers to TenantVerify, a service used by many landlords. However there are now also special services being developed for tenants, for example that provided by Rentchecks.com which costs £24.95. You need to get the landlords permission to carry out the check first, but if the landlord refuses to give this, that is a bad sign in itself and indicates that he has something to hide.
The article also points out that if the tenant rents via an agent who is regulated by one of the professional agent organisations such as ARLA, this will offer some protection, as “a good Arla agent will check the landlord’s mortgage and insurance company have been informed the property is rented.” However you cannot guarantee that this will be done, and as many agents are in financial difficulties, it is possible that they will not enquire too deeply if they think it will scare off a new customer.
There is no doubt though that using a regulated agent is safer than using an unregulated one, who may turn out to be a ‘cowboy’ who will provide a poor service, or even ‘do a runner’ taking with him other people’s tenancy deposits and rent. The agents regulation organisations to look out for are:
- ARLA – the Association of Residential Letting Agents
- RICS – the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
- NALS – the National Approved Letting Scheme
- NAEA – the National Association of Estate Agents
All of whom will have client money protection in place, a complaints procedure (via their professional organisation), and whose staff are likely to have been properly trained. It is also a good idea to check whether the agent is registered with the Property Ombudsman.
Another thing tenants need to check, is what is being done about their tenancy deposit. Most tenants should now know that deposits need to be protected by one of the government authorised tenancy deposit schemes, but it is surprising how many people, including many landlords who should know better, are unaware of this. For example in a recent survey the DPS discovered that some 30% of deposits were still not being protected. Talk to your landlord or agent about this and find out which scheme is being used before paying the money over.
The article concludes by saying that if tenants find debt collectors knocking at the door this is bad news and they should seek advice from a reputable organisation such as the Citizens Advice Bureau as soon as possible. Another good choice is Shelter who have a free housing advice helpline on 0808 800 4444.
However even if the worst does come to the worst, thankfully it does look as if more lenders are now willing to appoint a receiver instead of evicting the tenants, and if you find yourself in the position where your landlords lenders are threatening to evict you, you should contact them and suggest this to them. Or get Shelter or the CAB to help you with this.
Have you had problems with your landlord? Or have you any tips on checking up on landlords before renting? If so please leave a comment, below, I would love to hear from you.
See more help for tenants on Landlord Law.
I am about to embark on a research project into this matter. I myself am tenant, but have never experienced the repossession. I was astonished to find the huge gap in the market regarding tenant protection. To your knowledge, are the recently available landlord checker the only options out there??
The only service available for tenants that I could find when researching for this article, was the one from RentChecks.com. This does not mean that there are not others, but if there are, they are not easily found via Google.
I succeeded to an assured tenancy on the death of my father in 2008 – teh family are former owners, and the garden had mutual ‘no build’ clauses on it. The late owner was 95, and so stroke disabled she signed her will by motioning with her hand. her accountant was also LPA, though we never got a copy of the document. He stole our rent book and tenancy agreement – we were in the middle of several cancers in the family, wrote exhaustively for its return , but no show. He used an ARLA agent who conspired with him – refused to reissue a rent book so we paid without prejudice. We had 2 years of every trick in teh book tryign to get my Father and I out. Then he himself died – unlawful act manslaughter – he was in the mortuary for 5 months – and this bastard accountant wouldnt leave me alone! His arla agents failed to turn up at the jurisidciton meeting with teh rent book adn Deeds tothe garden . His builders threateened to smash the windows BY EMAIL ! and I still couldnt find a solicitor to help on legal aid, adn shelter oly give advice.
IT was sold at auction in may this year – teh ‘deeds’ have been replaced by an ordnance survey map, without the no build covenants – !! It s been purchased by a recetnly discharged bankurpt ‘property developer’ who was put into involuntary liquidation in 2009. I’ve had two accusations of ‘arrears’, b een given a bogus account number to pay the rent into, had a bogus solicitors firm ‘mediating ‘ between us, and had the bastard banging on the door demanding rent taht I couldnt pay because of the accoutn details, and asking neighbours about me. NO LEGAL AID SOLICITORS WANT TO KNOW – THE RENT , THE NUMBER OF BEDROOMS , THE RENTAL PERIOD WERE ALL MISREPRESETNED IN TEH AUCTION CATALOGUE – and the council have said it cost s them too much money to take them to court!The police said ‘fraud was nothting to do with them’. You just get sent to CAB, who tell you to see a solicitor – shelter jsut reiterate whats on their website , and tell you to see a solicitor – NO ONE CAN FIND ONE IN TIME.
I gota crime number from ‘actionfraud.co.uk’.
The new pig has just sent a S. 132 notice asking for an 80% increase in rent – if i apply for HB, I lose the chance of a hearing at the RAC – its above the LHA allowance for a single person , and therer are so many repairs the accountant didtn do, I dont have a single room i coudl let out ot t a lodger.
The law just lets them eat you whole now – i’v felt suicidal since the auction – teh agents published my name in the catalogue like i was a fixture rather than adecent human being – I dont have any arrears at all – we have never had arrears since 1933 – theh agents gave my private telephone number out to complete strangers , and I had months of fear whenever another prosepective BTL pig wanted a viewing – one refused to leave until i signed an assured shorthold tenancy on the spot – and the police wouldnt come!!!
These people are scum! And the law is utterly unjust.
What an awful story.
You say that there are rent arrears. Have you considered trying to find a solicitor who could make a claim for compensation for this under a no win no fee agreement? Have a word with our referral service, they may be able to find someone for you: http://www.solicitorsinternetservices.co.uk/ (scroll down until you see the form) or ring 0800 157 7602.