How many days should the agent getting the letting agreement ready?

Tenant Discussion
1

Hi, I am new to the forum, if I put this topic at the wrong place, please correct me.

This is the case, we are new to UK from Hong Kong, we don’t have a job yet because luckily we’ve got enough saving for at least few years living(but still, we’re going to get a job later)

Anyway, we applied for renting a house, the agent receive our holding deposit at 16 Mar, the agreed move in date is 31 Mar.

10 days gone, official agreement still not signed, we did all the reference check process immediately after we receive email from them and the referencing company, it also shown they pass back to agent already 3 days before.

Since we agreed to pay the whole year’s rent in once, the agent said the landlord accept that even we don’t have a job or don’t pass the reference check.

There’s only few days left, we have to order beds/furnitures, appliance, they take at least few days to deliver.

I call the agent yesterday, they tell me to email their manager, still no feed back.

Is this normal in UK? I don’t want to be too harsh on them since I don’t want to build up an image of HK people like complaining but we are really worried.

Any suggestions?

1 Like
2

This is not normal.
Did you get the property through an estate agent or through this website
You need to pursue the agent
You don’t want to end up being the victim of a scam where someone has taken your money but has nothing to do with your property.
The agent should be registered with a property redress scheme
You need to contact them too

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3

Hi A_A

Thanks for the reply!
I got it through an agent named Enfield, I think they’re big? They have wesites and I saw some others let agreed house by them.

I asked here because I didn’t found any other forums for tenants to discuss

4

You need to chase them. As you are an International they may have taken a holding deposit with no intention of giving you the property as you don’t know the law.

By law they have 14 days to get back to you or they have to return your holding deposit.
Check they are not advertising it still.
If they are report them to their ombudsman. That is illegal.
If you do not get the property and your holding deposit report them to their ombudsman.
You may have to go to court to get your money back.
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

5

Keep chasing. Come back for more help if they mess you around. Which area are you looking?

6

Hi, today we call them once more, they say the manager isn’t here again and the system is down, no internet blah blah blah (for 2 days consecutive? Ok, maybe? It’s more happy to choose believing someone)
They have to get back to me on monday again :frowning:

Another lady answer my call giving some BS like still checking something…blah blah blah again

Man…are all agents work like this!? Terrible!

7

Hi David,

I am looking for 3 beds in Eastleigh, a town near Southampton

8

Are they advertising the property you are interested in?
If so photograph it and todays date eg a newspaper or your iphone screen page date.
You have evidence of an illegal act and you can take legal action.
Threaten them with the ombudsman on Monday and legal action on Monday.

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9

They have actually took it off the market, but the house still not cleanup yet (I took a glance through the front window when I drive by today)
What are they thinking?

10

There is some reassurance that it is not being advertised

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11

Don’t count on it being cleaned. Agents always promise that, but don’t always deliver.

12

[Michael85] - May I just say how sorry I am that this is your experience here in the UK. What a terrible beginning for you and if I may add - welcome to the UK. It’s not always this bad, but you seem to have struck a really awful agent and I hope you will take action against them. I know Hong Kong quite well and have spent four lovely holidays there (between 1963-2016, so I saw some changes during that time). If you have recently left I am sure you have had enough to contend with without having these difficulties now. I wish you all the best of good fortune and a speedy resolution to your difficulties.

2 Likes
13

Hi everyone

Just an update to let you guys know, they finally got the agreement to me today, the manager ask me in the email do I still want to sign it, sounds like I’ve got no choice just corp with it or quit the deal, they’ll take my holding deposit and spend maybe another 2 weeks to find somewhere else.

I was thinking of delay the move in date, so I can get furniture deliver at the day i move in (at least a bed to sleep on), but I bet as simple as just changing the date on the contract, they probably will take another 3 days to do it, I am too tire to deal with them further on, so I just signed it, but I also need to extend the airbnb here for a week to wait for the bed delivery(I really don’t want to sleep on the floor -_-), that means I am paying on both side for about a week!
If they can just did it on time, I probably don’t need to waste this $600 for a week’s airbnb.

And their word of speaking are just cold!
For example, today I need to pay the rent prepayment by international transfer, it may take 2 to 4 days, so I tell the agency manager about money may not transfer on time because she prepare the contract so late, so I ask her to tell the landlord first, I will show the transfer record to proof I made the transfer, it may just delay 1or2 days to receive the money.

And guess what she said? She just replied:
We can’t give you the key until all the payment received.

Thats all, no suggestions, no advise, unhelpful, doesn’t feel like wanted to solve customer’s problems
(But incredibly, my bank made the transfer in just 3 hrs!! Amazing)

This is a really really bad experience! I don’t feel any respect in the whole process

Well, all I can say is, there’s always lesson to learn in your life

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14

I hope it works out for you.