Hello. I’m in urgent need of advice. I have signed a contract but not yet paid the full deposit. According to Openrent this means that the contract is not yet in effect. Having visited the property, after signing the contract, I discovered there are many problems and issues which need to be addressed to make the place habitable - mainly raw sewage coming up drains and significant damp. I am supposed to move in in 4 weeks time and I am not convinced that the problems can be fixed so quickly, nor am I convinced that the landlord will actually remedy them properly in this given timescale (the response I got was “hopefully have time to sort…before you move in”). It is with a heavy heart that I have made the decision to not take up the tenancy given the circumstances. Can someone please advise me on what process to follow to withdraw from this contract and what financial implications there will be? Also, will I get the week’s rent paid back to me? I love the property and wish I could move in, but my head is saying be sensible and stick to living where I am now.
you signed a contract BEFORE you saw the place Are you nuts? You are in an agreement
Oh of course I’m “NUTS” Colin. Thanks for your valuable input. No, of course I did not just do a google search and signed the first thing without viewing. These problems were not present at he time of viewing. If you want to know, I went back to get measurements etc, and that’s when I discovered the problems.
“having visiting the property, after signing the contract” is what you posted You never said you went before signing. There are tenants who say the will take a place without viewing first, stupid as it may sound. You have signed, sadly for you, this is now binding, This highlights the need to check more carefully at first. The damp would have been there at a first viewing, the blocked drain may not have been. You will lose money on this .you need to negotiate with the landlord
I’m confused about the “weeks rent paid back”? Did you pay a week upfront but not the deposit? If you don’t pay the deposit, I don’t see what the landlord can do, other than be annoyed. As a landlord myself, I wouldn’t consider a property let until I have received the deposit. I couldn’t comment on the legalities though.