Here is a question to the blog clinic from Yasmin who is a tenant
I am a tenant, I rent a flat with my husband. We have been living here for 2 years and the property is in the process of being sold to another person who we have been told will become our landlord. The sale is imminent so we have enquired about how it will affect us and our deposit of £850 which we paid in 2012.
Our current landlord has said that he will transfer it to the new landlord when the sale is complete and it will be re-registered. He said he has no plans to deduct any money before doing this.
This week we have been contacted by the new landlord who has told us that we need to pay him a deposit of £750 so he can give us a new tenancy. He has also said that he wants to reference us to check we are credit worthy and pay a fee of £50.
He has told us that our old landlord should do a property check the day before the sale and return our deposit minus any costs for damages. Our current landlord says he has no intention of doing this and will only be providing the new landlord with a copy of the inventory.
We are really confused and do not want to pay another deposit if the other is not going to be returned. Also, why should we pay to be referenced when we have been living in the for two years and have always paid our rent on time?
Answer
The landlord is completely out of order here.
When someone buys a property with tenants living there, they are in exactly the same position as the original landlord – the phrase often used is that they ‘step into the shoes’ of the original landlord.
So the new landlord does not have to give you a new tenancy. You already have one and he will be bound by it. He is also responsible for returning your deposit money to you when you go. Whether or not the money was actually passed over to him by the old landlord.
He cannot require you to pay a second deposit if the original one is not returned. So I would suggest that you write to him and say that you will pay a deposit to him as soon as the original deposit paid to the original landlord has been returned to you.
If the new landlord wants to reference you he can but he is not entitled to charge you for this.
However, a note of warning here. If you want to stay in the property long term you do need to be aware that the landlord will have the right, as your old landlord did, to evict you under the section 21 procedure.
If he bought the property as an investment and you are good tenants there should be no reason for him to want to do this. But you never know and I am not happy with what you have said about him so far. For example he may say that he is unwilling to renew your tenancy unless you pay the referencing fee and maybe other charges.
If the new landlord proves as unreasonable as he sounds from what you say, you may therefore want to consider moving to another property, if you can find one, at the end of your fixed term.
Whichever deposit scheme the deposit is currently registered with may be able to transfer the deposit straight to the deposit scheme account of the new landlord whether this is with the same scheme or not. I recently took over the management of a let property with tenants already in place. The deposit was held with the DPS under the previous Agents name and all that was needed was the authorisation of the tenant to transfer the deposit straight to my account with the DPS.
A curious one. Maybe the new landlord is just testing them. (a bit like poking someone, to see if they blink). Or maybe, like so many landlords, he has done no research on landlord/tenant law. But he has them by the proverbials, frankly.
But maybe this talk of a “new tenancy” is positive? If they are (more than likely) out of their fixed term. If I were the tenant, my answer to the new landlord wd go like this:
“We are happy to pay forth to you a deposit of £750 – as soon as our deposit is returned to us by our present landlord – and in light of a new tenancy. We are happy to continue residing at this address and we ask that you might offer us another fixed term, for X months? We are happy to pay a referencing fee (up to £50) if you cd pls send us on the invoice, and in the event that the references are deemed satisfactory by you and without cause for concern”
Then play it by ear. If he says no, then you’ve technically lost nothing. Then play hardball and let him follow correct procedure instead. (don’t go telling him what correct procedure is; rather treat like this a game of chess.) I think you have to agree to the referencing fee, incidentally, to save yourself a revenge eviction.
But this is your money, and for that reason – if your present landlord agrees – I wd much prefer to get it back, and start over with it, in a new deposit scheme. Only and simply to avoid the inevitable arbitration hassle that will otherwise come when you move on eventually !
Last line was really meant to say:
“Only and simply to avoid the inevitable arbitration hassle that will otherwise come if it’s not done correctly, on your behalf”
And of course if the tenant protests they will get served with an S21.
Just Saying you talk of treating this like a game of chess. I get you but surely all the tenant wants is to continue living in their home. Who needs the agro? I dont want to enter a game of chess with my landlord. I want to go to work, come home, watch TV, entertain friends and know that I will still be here at Xmas, but of course ASTs and S21s deny me that security
Oh Ben, of course that’s all they want. But it’s not all they get, is it. Tenants have to fight to stay in their homes; that is the reality.
Tenants must play the game tactically. Because it is a game, and when landlords can turf you out for just protesting / disagreeing / enquiring on that made-up-fee / asking for a repair etc.. then you must plan your moves very carefully. If nothing else, so that it buys you more time at least.
“I want to – know that I will still be here at Xmas, but of course ASTs and S21s deny me that security”
What??
It is December the 9th 2014.
With only half your knowledge of the system, it is a fair bet you could still be there at Christmas 2015.
-Even supposing your landlord went completely mad and wanted to throw you out on a whim.
I just don’t get the victim bit.
JS,
I agree with the gist of your answer to the new landlord although I don’t understand why you’ve wrote it in the style of Mr Darcy.