My new tenant has paid a deposit but not moved in. She says she will start paying rent when she moves in but hasn’t given me a date. I have sent her a tenancy agreement but she hasn’t signed it. What are my rights?
Start paying when she moves in. No chance Have you signed? Do you mean a holding deposit Or the 5 weeks security deposit?
Did you not arrange a check in? That’s the point where I have them sign the tenancy agreement and hand over keys. At that point, they’re liable for not just deposit but first month’s rent… and then ongoing rent/utilities/council tax etc.
Can you give us more detail about the timeline here and what you have/haven’t done with them?
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I haven’t met her in person as she lives quite far away so she doesn’t have keys yet
Have you let property before?
Yes, for years but never had a problem before
If she has just paid a holding deposit and not signed the tenancy, then immediately forget her & re advertise your property. You do not want this tenant.
You either need to refund the holding deposit or withhold it, depending on exactly what was agreed, and whether you can prove the prospective tenant has lied or misled you.
I sent her the tenancy agreement last month. Tenancy to start on April 1st. Asked for deposit and first month’s rent. Deposit paid on April 7th. One weeks rent paid on April 21st. I asked for May’s rent to be paid on April 28th. Again, one weeks rent paid yesterday. Can I just find someone else?!
Oooh. good question, I dont know. So she has not signed a tenancy agreement, but has paid some rent, so she will have a tenancy agreement by default…but then if she has not moved in, does she? She may just have a contract, not a tenancy.
You need more specialist & knowledgeable advice than mine.
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If you’ve accepted rent from her and she’s paid a deposit, you have a tenancy agreement even if she hasn’t signed a contract (I assume you have already protected that deposit and sent her the required paperwork for that (along with all other paperwork)).
She’s already in breach of that contract (again I assume it’s a standard AST) by not paying the first month’s rent in advance by the date on the contract (again, assuming you have a date on the contract). You need to therefore follow your policy (again, assuming you have one) for tenants who fail to pay rent on time.
If you don’t have one, here’s what I suggest. You travel to wherever she is to meet her, get her to sign a tenancy agreement and hand over keys. You arrange a date for a check in at her convenience. Also ask her at that meeting to transfer remaining rent owed for the first month (and likely the 1st of May payment) and tell her you expect her to set up a standing order from the next 1st of the next month onwards (assuming that your tenancy agrement stipulates this as part of the contract). Point out that her her home is at risk of being lost if she does not make rent payments.
Granting a tenancy to someone you haven’t yet met wouldn’t be my approach. I therefore think that meeting her in person is essential given that the tenancy has got off to the worst possible start. It’s quite possible that the whole thing would be sorted out by meeting her. At the very least, it will confirm what you’re up against if she decides to be even more difficult.
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When has tenancy /move in date been agreed for? And when exactly were they due to pay 1st months rent? Not clear they have done anything wrong yet. If you and tenant haven’t actually agreed a move in date you may not have a contract as you have it seems agreed neither verbally nor in writing that the tenancy is going ahead with an agreed payment date and agreed tenancy start date and it’s not been signed. If they were supposed to pay 1st month on April 1st and if a contract is in place and have paid only 1 week they are already in arrears.
I’d get legal advice @David122 may be able to advise
If they have now got a contract (I ‘think’) under RRA from 1 may you have to hand over the keys otherwise you are in breach yourself and could face a large fine 40k.This would be the case even if they’d paid no rent at all. This is one of the scenarios discussed for RRA elsewhere (see below). You are supposed to just go through the courts to get the rent arrears.
I’d go and meet them or at least speak. You can explain they are in breach if your contract /agreement specifies when the 1st month is supposed to be paid by and they haven’t done that. And explain you will not hand over keys till 1st month rent is paid. (They may not be aware of the legal position and have paid you 1 week holding deposit and a further week so clear do want to move in. ).
Remember they will be paying for current place too at moment so will be short of £ this month
Good luck
(From property118)
(From nrla)
Key Implications for Non-Payment under RRA:
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Immediate Action: If a tenant fails to pay the first month’s rent upon move-in, they are in arrears. Landlords can serve a Section 8 notice for rent arrears, which now requires a 4-month notice period, or faster if the court allows.
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Preventive Measures: Landlords can now use stricter screening, such as interviewing tenants, requiring guarantors, or obtaining rent guarantee insurance, as they cannot legally accept rent before a tenancy is signed.
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Legal Standing: Even without a written contract, if the tenant has moved in, a verbal tenancy exists, which carries the same obligations for the tenant to pay rent.
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Debt Recovery: Rent arrears remain a valid debt
er… how so? You even admit they’re “already in arrears” in your own message.
Do the payment of rent and the communication not clearly establish a verbal tenancy at the very least?
Good point about the keys not being handed over in terms of RRA but does your advice not to hand over keys until first month’s rent is paid in full contradict that and risk the LL being in breach of their responsibilities?
IF there’s a contract they are in arrears, so in the wrong, but without knowing what’s been agreed and as there’s not been any signatures we dont know that yet. (I’ve clarified to make clearer that’s what I meant). That needs legal advice. If I pay you something but it’s not been clearly agreed what the payment is for we may not have a contract [see eg below]. If I send you a contract offering to sell you something for £1000, and you send me £250 and then a further £250, you havent shown you’ve agreed to the price of £1000, and if it’s not paid when due on the original offered contract you havent agreed to the payment date either. So it’s not clear there is any contract but this needs proper legal advice. We dont know what exact communications there have been apart from the payments
It would probably be better if there isnt a contract yet as then the £ can just be returned and no tenancy started.
But without the details and legal advice I’m not sure tbh so said legal advice should be sought
(I havent advised not handing over the keys only telling the tenant that’s what LL will do - to encourage payment before keys are handed over)
best
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"For a contract to exist, it must include essential elements such as offer, acceptance, consideration, and the intention to create legal relations.
Key Elements of a Valid Contract
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Offer: A contract begins with an offer, which is a clear proposal made by one party (the offeror) to another (the offeree) to enter into an agreement on specific terms. The offer must be communicated effectively and must express a willingness to be bound by the terms upon acceptance emlaw.co.uk**+1**.
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Acceptance: Acceptance occurs when the offeree agrees to the terms of the offer. This acceptance must be communicated to the offeror and must correspond exactly to the terms of the offer. Any changes to the terms would constitute a counteroffer, which negates the original offer"
well, by your own definition, the offer has been made clearly and specifically.
The acceptance is evidenced by both the full payment of a deposit (and the contract should clearly state how much this is as a proportion of monthly rent - and we don’t know that because the OP hasn’t given us much to go on) and that “one week’s rent” has been paid twice. These payments indicate that the tenant knows full well what the financial terms of the offer are and has accepted them by paying amounts in relation to them as opposed to something arbitrary which might “constitute a counteroffer”.
So, I’d argue, and act as if a contract is in place.
Yes, double check it legally (something tells me the OP doesn’t have a solicitor specialising in residential property).
But, meet the tenant because a lot can be achieved and possibly the whole thing untangled by doing so.
@tatemono what’s not clear to me is if it’s been accepted - does part payment count as acceptance? And if accepted why hasn’t the agreement been sent back signed?
Based on payments and what tenant has communicated, tenant seems either to think 1/4 of the rent due is acceptable or that 1weeks rent per month somehow ‘holds’ the property till they move in and then pay the full monthly amount. That isn’t the deal the LL offered and could easily be seen as a counter offer. They don’t seem to have accepted and agreed payment of the full monthly amount starting 1 April so haven’t accepted and agreed the T&C offered.
but totally agree with you the cautious thing is to assume there is now a contract and to speak to the tenant/potential tenant because as you say it’s got off to a very bad start. May be (hopefully) can be resolved without going through courts over arrears (which isnt option for another 2 months anyway under RRA).
@P37 Subject to legal advice on whether there is a contract or not, if it was possible I’d write to or better speak to tenant saying that "their counter offer is not acceptable and that either they should pay the full amount due as set out in the tenancy agreement and accept its terms and pay the arrears or they should find another property. As LL you shouldn’t be getting 1 week rent per month to suit the tenant till they choose to move in That’s not the deal you offered. You have a mortgage and bills to pay. If they don’t want the property anymore that’s fine in that case you won’t pursue them for the arrears. You can easily find someone else who is willing to pay the monthly rent when due. They can’t mess you around and if they don’t want to pay the right amount when due why should you trust them with your property "
Best
did you do affordability check? Guarrantor?
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It sounds as though she has a tenancy contract, but not yet a tenancy. A tenancy only arises when she takes possession. Under the old rules if you refused to now let her begin the tenancy, you would be in breach of contract and she could sue you for her excess costs but would have to actively look for another property to mitigate her losses. The RRA changes things a bit and defines the signing of the agreement as “entering into a tenancy”. The implication being that not allowing her to begin the tenancy could be a more serious offence.
You have presumably issued her with an AST, so can probably claim to be operating under the old rules, but you may want to get legal advice on this.
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and presumably @P37 could counter sue for the losses from breach of contract relating to rent arrears until a new tenant found, cost of marketing again
And as LL in that situation @P37 would have to take steps to mitigate losses such as marketing the property as soon as possible to minimize losses - which is what @P37 possibly wants to do…
Is that correct?
Best
Why would offering to pay a quarter of the monthly rent specified and only paying the full amount after move in be considered accepting the contract T&C, rather than being considered a counter offer?
Is there a legal precedent allowing the tenant to behave like that, even tho it’s clearly not what the LL offered in the AST sent for signature?
Best
Theres been no request to alter the terms of the contract, which could only be deemed to be in force if the tenant accepts it, (usually by signing). Payment of even a weeks rent would be consideration, which is the other main requirement for a contract.