Hello. About a year ago while I was at uni I got caught getting on a train without a ticket. The matter went to a magistrates court, I plead guilty by post, paid a fine and thought it was the end of it. I'll soon be graduating and am an otherwise upstanding citizen with no other blemishes against my name. I'll be moving to London for work later this year, and will be looking to rent somewhere. However I've since discovered that it seems like having a criminal record for anything, even something so minor as not paying for a train ticket, could potentially invalidate the insurance that any landlords might have. This puts me in a bit of a quandry, and as such I've got several questions. 1) Is it common for lettings agents or landlords to do a DBS (which I believe replaced the CRB) check? And if so would this conviction show up on it? Would it stop me being able to rent anywhere? 2) Would this cause most landlord's insurance housing insurance to be invalid? 3) If so, what options do I have? It seems I'm totally screwed. I'm way to poor to afford to buy a place for myself, but one stupid mistake on the train seems like it could potentially preclude me from being able to get rental accommodation. I'm really getting a bit wound up by it all. It seems completely insane that the vast number of decent people with minor blemishes on their record could potentially be unable to get rental accommodation without either lying about criminal background or inadvertently voiding their landlord's insurance, with unpleasant consequences should anything happen while renting. Anyone got any ideas?

Hi I'm just after a bit of advice on what to do. I moved to Oz a few months ago and recently rented my house out in the UK using a letting agent. I owe around 40-50 % of the property value. I just have a normal repayment mortgage on the property and did not advise the lender of my intent to rent. I was about to advise the lender that I want to rent it out and ask for their permission and I understand they will probably put me on a higher rate. I have no problem with this and can afford it without any issues but I am worried what will happen if they refuse? Can they repossess the house if they find out I am renting it out without their permission? Many thanks

Hi We have been in our current home 4 years. When we moved in no windows opened, we asked for them to be opened....2 years later the landlord opened the bathroom and bedroom window. The rest in the house are still painted shut. In the meantime the bathroom, with no air, has got disgustingly damp, mouldy, and peeling paint. We have just handed in notice and landlord states the windows were painted shut on purpose to avoid drafts through single glazing!! Also, in my notice letter i said i could not remember seeing an inventory when we moved in , as i had with past landlords, and in his response he states the estate agents have a copy along with photos. The house is not managed by the estate agents, they just found the tenant (us) and did credit checks etc. I called the estate agents today and there is no inventory and the lady seems confused as to why, yes they had photos, but it looks like after we moved in!! The landlord did not enter this house, while we were in to take photos...so was he allowed in while we were not here...and should the photos not have been taken before we moved in? The agents are sending us copies of these. Any advice would be great - i HATE private landlords!! thanks x

Hi all I wasn't sure where to post this so here goes. I have been a council tenant for nigh on 30 years. In September 2011 I underwent a quadruple heart transplant which had complications and led to several TIA's. Last wee I was diagnosed with Paget's Disease of the breast. I guess I have come to the end of my "sell by date". What does this have to do with council renting .. ah there's the rub. I am a single parent with a 26 year old son who is in full time employment and who lives with me. I receive partal Housing Benefit and partis Council Tax Benefit. My son does not pay rent but contributes to household bills such as food, fuel bills, etc. I now feel that it is imperative to have him on the rent book so that he will have a place to stay (in London) should anything happen. My query is if I name him on the rent book will: a) I lose my entitlement to reduced rent and council tax; and b) Will the council make me pay back any monies from the time he started work (3 years - which will be thousands). Any help gratefully appreciated.

Hi, Received a letter from the estate agent asking us to pay our rent into a different account. Verified this was genuine and had confirmation from Estate Agent and Landlord. Reason given below: The 2 guys who own the estate agents (Neil & Gabriel) are having problems. Neil is trying to buy out Gabriel to solve the dispute. In the meantime Gabriel is refusing to co-sign the bank transfers from the company account and Neil claims that he is unable to transfer any rent paid into this account. Neil has setup a sole trader account so he is able to transfer the money to the landlord. My concerns: - I'm breaking the terms in the tenancy agreement as i'm paying money into an account different to the one on the contract. - Neil and Gabriel aren't getting on, Gabriel could claim Neil is trying to fraudulently do him out of money - Is Neil telling the truth, do you actually need both parties present in order to transfer the money? Thanks.

Hi there We found a house we loved and paid the agency holding fee of £288. This was also to reference us. When it came to the agency asking our current landlord for a reference, he gave us a 'bad' verbal reference based on the fact that we had constant issues with him after we had no hot water for 2 months, apparently asking for it to be fixed makes us 'demanding' tenants. Anyway, the new agency called me to tell me what he had said but said he had also been asked to fill out a written reference for us and so if he did that and it was ok, then it should be fine with the new landlord. I explained the situation and said the only thing we have ever spoken to him about is the hot water, have always paid rent and kept our flat in a nice condition he even extended our tenancy by a month, so we cant be that terrible!! Anyway, he did in fact fill out a positive written reference for us, but the girl at the new agency said she had to tell the new landlord what our current landlord had said about us!! I argued and said but what hes saying is unfair etc, she said she would present the full picture to the new landlord and see what he said. So the new landlord has refused to rent to us even though we passed both the employment and landlord reference! The agency are refusing to give us a refund of the fee even though we passed!! Its not our fault their client has decided that he doesnt want to rent to us based on untrue and unfair information. Surely the agency have to offer us an alrernative property or a refund as at this stage we've lost both our new home and nearly £300!! Thanks

Hi everyone, Found the forum on google when doing some searching on my current situation/problem. Seems like its a very helpful forum so was hoping someone will be able to advise me or shed some light on what i can do. Here is a quick(ish) summary: Me and the other half were set to start renting a house in July in Newcastle. Shes at university over there and my plan is to relocate once i have found a job. The agency emailed us saying the current tenants would like to stay until September, fair enough its saves us a few months rent as my other half wouldn't be moving in until September anyway. So dates were arranged, house would be ready and keys collected on 3rd of September. So the 3rd of September came, the day we also start paying rent and we go to collect the keys. We sit around for 30-40 minutes waiting to be dealt with yet different people keep coming and asking which house we are here for etc. Finally a guy comes out and asks when we would be moving in, i just said not today. His face lit up as if to say thank god for that. Doesn't say anything else on the matter, basically hands us the keys and says i will email you over the inventory list as i have not had chance to get it ready. So me and my girlfriend go off to the house to check it all over. Once we get there its pretty clear that the previous tenants have only just moved out. The house is an utter mess. A quick list of the things i can remember off the top of my head - Wooden laminate flooring coming apart Skirting boards been kicked off etc 90% of the walls throughout the house are all grubby/ripped wallpaper Kitchen cupboards dont shut at all Part of kitchen worktops damaged/burnt Alarm sensor on back door hanging off Holes in various ceilings around light fittings Shower hanging off the wall Sink basin loose Tiles smashed Toilet seat broken Roof mouldy/damp. The list could go on. So by the time we had took pictures of everything/documented all the damage the agency was shut. So we set off back home. Next day i phone up the agency to express my views and question what the hell is going on. I wanted to know why the house was not ready for us and why they wasted my time collecting keys when we clearly could not move into a house that is not habitable, why we are paying on rent now on a house that is not ready and what are they going to do to sort it all out. He told me he didn't want to sound political but it depends what you class as not habitable! As for damage/repairs he told me it depends on the landlords current money situation and what he can afford (so if he says he cant afford it does the house stay as it is?) Rent starts from the tenancy start date whether the house is ready or not I cant look for another house until they find someone else to take over this current agreement. What the hell should i/can i do ? I have had some basic legal advice. Do i give them the opportunity to rectify the house/redecorate or do i tell them to shove it and I'm going to find another house and cancel the payments but so far they over £1k of our money including deposits. I have already found 3 other places that we would be happy with and the companies seem much more professional. It needs sorted asap as i currently live/work nearly 100 mile away so i will be relocating there eventually but every journey is going to be nearly 200 miles at the moment, so Monday was a complete waste of my time and a day wasted off work. 1 legal company told me to write to them explain they have 7 days to sort the whole house out and otherwise its a breach of the agreement and i will opting out of it and going for a house elsewhere. They also said i could just opt out of it now but there is a good chance they will chase me and try to sue me? But i would have evidence to fight them. All this needs sorted very quickly either way, my girlfriend is due back at uni on the 24th. They are just lucky i am yet to find a job over there otherwise i would of been f**ked not having anywhere to live! What should i do? My worry is if i give them a chance to sort it all and they have proved to be this useless already, what would they be like say 3 month down the line and the roof started leaking in? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated right now, so stressed! If you would like any more information to help me out then please ask, i have probably missed something out. My head is battered at the moment. Thanks Ben Edit: The more I sit and think about it, the more I really don't even want to give them the chance to put it all right, I think I would prefer to just go elsewhere with a much more professional company.

Hi, I have been unable to use my kitchen sink and washing machine for three weeks now as I have a leak that is causing damage to the downstairs flat. I rent and I am waiting for my landlord to fix the leak but it is taking ages. I have to use a launderette which is costing me money I can't afford. If landlord delays things further am I within my rights to knock off some of my rent from to cover the excess money I am having to pay in launderette fees. Also how long is reasonable to be without a usable kitchen sink? Any help much appreciated. Thanks

Hi all; thanks for taking the time to read this. We are looking to move to a new town, and by reasons of luck and chance, we've never rented with an agency before. We've found a home we like, but it's with an agency and they are requiring a £200 credit check before advancing our application. My husband is baulking at the cost. Is there any way to get a credit check independently and hand it over to them, or is that pointless? Is an expensive credit check something we just have to accept? Thanks.