Renting an apartment: landlord doesn't do anything, not even check the place?

Hi all,

I found an apartment through an agent's advert in Gumtree and he has been working on the paperwork (reference check, contract drawing, etc.) himself without any intervention from the landlord.

He is now finalizing everything, but one thing that struck me is that he never mention anything about meeting the landlord to go through the contract or even have the landlord perform an onsite visit for inventory and check that the apartment. I asked him about it and he said the landlord entrusted everything to him.

Is this normal or do I smell something fishy?

When I was in the US, I always met with the landlord before signing the contract. This is to ensure that both parties agreed with the contract and the landlord can verify the condition and inventory of the apartment before handing the key.

That's normal here.    But you are right to be wary of letting agents!

I'm letting my flat through an agent and this is exactly how it's working for me. If I have any problems or need a repair I call the agent and they arrange things to be fixed. I've never met the actual owners of the flat. I rent out my house back in the US through an agent and it's managed the same way. The tenants do everything through my agent, that's why I pay them 10%!

All, thanks for the quick reply!

I guess having an agent can make things a bit easier, since there is a 3rd party person that can become a mediator.

However, this brings me to other questions:

1) Who will perform the checks on the apartment BEFORE the move-in? This include:
- Inventoring the furniture. I.e. make sure there are 2 chairs and the landlord won't say there is a 3rd one!
- Checking the apartment for existing damage. I.e. mark on the wall, hole, broken washer, etc.

2) If things broke during my tenancy due to normal wear and tear, who should I contact about this and who is responsible for ensuring that it will be fixed on a timely manner?

My agent gave me an inventory sheet and I went through the flat and made sure it matched with what they had on the sheet. If it didn't, I made a note. I think I had two weeks after moving in to hand it in to the agent.

All contact should be made with the agent. If there are major problems, and you have the landlord's contact info, then I imagine you could contact them directly if you had to. I've had no issues with my agents and they've been really responsive if I've had any problems.

My mother walked through the house with the letting agent before the agent would hand over the keys to the place so any problems were noted there and then, (she took over the house before we arrived so all our shipped belongings could be transferred there from her address).

Any problems after that were dealt with through the letting agent who would then get in touch with the landlord.

Um, do not count on the agent acting as mediator. They are paid by the landlord and act for the landlord.

The agent should give you a copy of the inventory with your lease agreement.  Make sure you check it thoroughly. If they don't give you an inventory ask for one but if they don't give you one, don't worry because that means they have no proof of what was there or the condition of the place, therefore can't hold you responsible for any damage.

If anything needs fixing, contact the agent about repairs, unless your lease states otherwise.

I just spoke with the letting agent and he said the landlord have his own "Management Team" to do the inventory and apartment checking prior to the move in. This is because the landlord owns more than 10 properties.

However, he said that he doesn't know the details as the landlord only contracted him for letting the property and nothing else. No inventory, no apartment check, etc.

Have anyone came accross this, where the letting process is handled by an agent but everything else is handled by another "management" team appointed by the landlord?

Yes I have.  Be careful, make sure you check every single thing on the inventory, check every scuff mark on the wall, ever fork and spoon.  It's not didgy as such, but these people are working for the landlord, so they will not have your interests at all in mind when conducting themselves.


Vicky

I am planning to do the following:

- Create an inventory list and apartment check to be filled out by myself and signed by the landlord/letting agent
- Take photographs of every item and possible damage (hole on the wall, etc)

I am waiting for the letting agent to get back to me on the move-in process and I will update everyone.

But to summarize: it looks like that it IS a common process where the landlord do NOT meet with the tenant (me) and let the letting agent / other management team to handle everything PRIOR to the move in. Is this correct?

I forgot to ask: on the day I paid the 1st month rent + deposit, I SHOULD received the key to the apartment, right? My agent said that I must pay first and then he will confirm with the landlord that payment has been received and then the key will be given the next day.

I don't know if this is the normal practice here, but in the US and Singapore, I received the key on the day I paid the deposit and 1st month rent.

BTW, I hope my questions doesn't sound too "basic". I have been searching for an apartment in the last 2 weeks that is wheelchair accessible as my wife is handicapped. We're currently living in a serviced apartment costing GBP 1K / week and we're eager to find a proper place, not only for my wife but for my daughter. The last thing we need is finding the perfect place but getting scammed by some agent in a new country.

If anything needs fixing, contact the agent about repairs, unless your lease states otherwise.

This is another good point...read the lease carefully and make sure that you aren't liable to take care of any of the repairs to the infrastructure of the house...meaning the windows, washer/dryer, toilet, oven, fence etc. Sorry if I am sounding OTT but check out everything carefully.

Regarding if you are asking too many basic questions...no, you are not. Its a good thing to be wise to everything you can think of.

Best wishes on settling in! 

sorry, I received an error message, so my post appeared twice.

If you pay your first month's rent & deposit in cash or by bank draft (which is what most letting agents ask for), or if you provid e proof of a bank transfer, then yes you should have the keys straight away, and sign the lease at the same time.  If you pay by personal cheque, they might want to wait for it to clear.

If you pay your first month's rent & deposit in cash or by bank draft (which is what most letting agents ask for), or if you provid e proof of a bank transfer, then yes you should have the keys straight away, and sign the lease at the same time.  If you pay by personal cheque, they might want to wait for it to clear.

I am paying by cash, as the letting agent doesn't want personal cheque. So based on my previous post, there is no such thing (at least here) of giving money and then receiving the key later, right?