The Tenant Survival Guide: Essential Reading for Prospective Tenants and Those Already in Rented Accomodation

192 Pages·2008·0.56 MB·English

by  Lesley Henderson

The Tenant’s Survival
Guide
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The
Tenant’s
Survival
Guide
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Published by How To Books Ltd
Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road
Begbroke, Oxford OX5 1RX. United Kingdom
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The Tenant’s Survival Guide is designed to assist private tenants in England and Wales. However, it
cannot be construed and is not purported to be in any instance a substitute for legal advice. In
situations concerning legal uncertainties in relation to personal tenant and landlord liabilities, past,
present and future, a solicitor must be consulted. While every effort has been made to ensure that
the information contained herein is accurate, neither the publisher nor the author can accept
liability for any errors, nor any consequences legal or otherwise taken as a result of reading or the
practical adherence to the proposals contained within this book.

The right of Lesley Henderson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

© 2007 Lesley Henderson

First edition 2008
First published in electronic form 2008

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 84803 232 3

Cover illustration by David Mostyn
Cover design by Baseline Arts, Oxford
Produced for How To Books by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock, Devon
Typeset by PDQ Typesetting, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs.

NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good faith for general guidance and no
liability can be accepted for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying in particular
circumstances on statements made in the book. The laws and regulations are complex and liable
to change, and readers should check the current position with the relevant authorities before
making personal arrangements.
Contents
Preface ix
Introduction xiii
The ‘fixed term’ xiii
What difference does this make to me? xiv
What should I do to protect my interests? xvi
How will The Tenant’s Survival Guide help me? xvi
Where else could I get advice? xviii
Some final advice xviii
Lesson 1 Basic Things to Understand Before You Start
Renting 1
How renting works 1
Understanding your fixed term 2
Where to start your search 3
A word about the paperwork 5
Examining the options realistically 9
Finding the independent landlord 10
Things you need to know 11
What should you pay? 14
Choosing a property 15
Lesson 2 Viewings 19
What to look for 19
What to avoid 19
Advice about viewings 21
How to start looking 22
What am I looking for? 25
General condition 30
Renting in groups 32
Lesson 3 Deposits 35
Who deposits belong to 36
How deposits work 37
Read that lease 39
The system for deposits taken before 6 April 2007 41
The new tenancy deposit scheme from 6 April 2007 42
Option 1 the insurance based scheme 43
Option 2 the custodial scheme 46
Reasonable behaviour for both parties 47
v
vi The Tenant’s Survival Guide
Lesson 4 Inventories 49
Types of inventory 49
What to check 52
Safeguarding your deposit 54
Create a valid paper trail to protect your deposit 56
Lesson 5 How to Manage Landlord/Agency Relationships 59
Money matters 59
Options for the majority: the agent or the private landlord 59
Understanding the role of agencies 63
Understanding the role of independent landlords 64
What costs can I expect to pay? 67
Maintaining good relationships 70
And finally 71
Lesson 6 Living as a Tenant 73
Responsibility for damages 73
Can the landlord visit the property while I am a tenant? 76
Using your charms 77
Subletting 78
Rental payments 79
Lesson 7 Leases 81
What is a lease? 81
Assured shorthold leases 83
Fixed term tenancy 84
Periodic or contractual period tenancy 86
What happens at the end of the initial fixed term? 86
What you need to know about leases 88
Licences 90
And finally 94
Lesson 8 Understanding Your Lease 97
Standard terms 97
Rent issues 101
Licences 103
Lesson 9 Common Tenancy Arrangements and
Responsibilities 105
Individual tenancies 105
Tenancies for couples 105
Joint tenancies 106
Multiple individual tenancies in a single dwelling 108
Oral agreements 109
Who is responsible for repairs? 110
Contents vii
Lesson 10 When You Decide to Leave 113
Giving formal notice 113
What to do next 114
Moving out 115
Once you have left 117
Lesson 11 When Your Landlord Tells You to Leave
or Seeks Legal Possession 121
When this can happen 122
Home truths 124
What to do next 126
Possession orders 127
Summary of Grounds for seeking possession 129
Lesson 12 How Your Landlord’s Mortgage Can Affect You 133
Looking for trouble 133
Act quickly 135
Lesson 13 Harassment and Illegal Eviction 137
Harassment 137
Illegal eviction 140
Lesson 14 Houses in Multiple Occupation 143
The reason for the rule changes 143
Will my landlord need a licence? 146
You have a responsibility to keep yourself safe 147
Unfit property 149
Appendix 1 Checklist of Dos and Don’ts 151
Appendix 2 Useful Tips 153
Appendix 3 Basic Safety 155
Appendix 4 Deposit Return Letters 157
Index 160
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Preface
Having worked in the lettings industry for most of my adult life, I
have become keenly aware that practical information for tenants is not
circulating well. And that’s putting it mildly!
I can’t think of another single industry or service that comes close to
the rental sector for disputes or misunderstandings, despite its
importance let alone its economic clout. The cost of an average rental
in South East England will cost tenants as much as a pretty decent car
every single year. Even further afield, most tenants are still paying
between a third and a half of everything they earn to keep a rented
roof over their heads. However...what all tenants need to understand
from the beginning is that they are often not even the customers in
transactions that involve agencies.
What do I mean? Well, let’s buy a chocolate bar in, say, Woolworths.
Pay 40 pence and you become the customer. Along with all the
consumer protections that come with being a customer. Let’s take
another example and buy that car from a reputable dealership. Clearly,
again, you hand over the cash and thus become the customer. Simple.
Not so for the huge number of tenants who rent property via agencies.
In the overwhelming majority of instances, the letting agent’s customer
is the landlord – not the tenant. And, like any other business, agencies
respond to the needs of their customers – who unfortunately in this
case are not the ones handing over all that money each month. Far too
often the tenants’ needs get completely lost in this type of
arrangement.
It’s an interesting anomaly that the most expensive purchase of a
tenant’s year is often the very one over which they’ll have little or no
control.
ix