If you are looking to step on to the property ladder and have no idea where to start, then we are here to help! For any first-time buyer, deciding on what type of property to get seems easier from the outset. However, once you get into the process, there is more to the property ladder than you first thought. One of the first questions you ask yourself is, do I buy or rent a house? Well, if you are a first-time buyer, you are more than likely to rent for your first home. When it comes to renting, you will come to know many terms, and one of these will be let agreed. However, do you know what let agreed actually means? Well, here is all that you need to know about it…
What does ‘let agreed’ really mean then?
As you know by now, let agreed applies to rental properties. It is where an offer has been made by a potential tenant on a rental property, and this has then been accepted by either a landlord or estate agent. After this stage, this doesn’t necessarily mean the deal is officially done as some other steps have to be taken before the keys are handed over.
The steps before the final step are where the landlord or agency needs to do checks including credit checks, immigration checks (right to rent) and contacting references that have been put down by the potential tenant. Under the credit checks, the landlord or agency must check the tenants credit score, their income to rent ratio and their present and past employment status – as agencies tend to look for people with full-time roles.
The period when the deal between landlord and tenant – the let agreed stage – is showing that both parties are committed to making the deal happen. However, at this stage, there are no official documents signed.
To start the ball rolling towards the official agreement, potential tenants must also pay a deposit – whilst the landlords do their checks. Through the let agreed stage, there are two types of deposits, and these are a holding and security deposit.
First up is the holding deposit. This is the deposit that needs to be paid in order to take the property off the market. Next up is the security deposit. This is paid in case you damage the property or incur any charges during your tenancy.
Can ‘let agreed’ fall through?
Although both parties in a let agreement set out to make the deal official, there is always a chance that it may not happen. This may be for several good reasons. For example, from the tenant’s point of view, they may decide in the latter stages of the agreement that the deal is not for them, or they may not pass the reference checks.
From the landlord or agencies point of view, they might want to explore more options such as looking at another potential claimant for the property. As mentioned above, the let agreed stage is not legally binding, so neither party will need to take legal advice during this stage.
If a deposit has been paid, and the let agreement is conditional, matters can become slightly more complicated, but easily dealt with if dealt with correctly. If the landlord or agency decided to stop the agreement from going ahead, then the tenant may be entitled to a full refund back as it was not them that decided to end the agreement.
However, if the tenant decides to stop the agreement, then your rights might be affected. Depending on the terms and conditions of your original agreement, then this will determine whether you get all or part of your deposit back.
When does ‘let agreed’ become legally binding?
As soon as the agreement is signed by both relevant parties – between the landlords and tenants – there are certain elements of the tenancy agreement that needs to be involved. This includes:
- Names of the tenants
- Name and contact details of the landlords
- Full address of the property in the agreement
- Start date of the tenancy
- Length of the tenancy
- The rent payable
- The date the rate is due
- Details of the deposit protection scheme.
As there is no cooling-off period in a let agreement, as soon as the parties sign the contracts, then this is where it becomes legally binding.
Time to move in
Once everything is signed, then it is time to grab your keys and move into your new property. So, if you are looking into buying your first property and don’t know what path to go down – either buying or renting – then we hope this has helped.
Moving out of home and into a student house is one of the big life skills you’ll learn while at university. Be sure to check out our other advice for making the process easy, such as finding out about student council tax.
