No Lease

The Gibzilla

Hi there,

Moved into a new apartment two months ago, which was being advertised through a letting/estate agent. The owner lives abroad, so all dealings are done through the agent. I paid the deposit and month's rent, and have since paid two more month's rent, but I'm still without a lease When I signed the lease and documents detailing the contents of the apartment the letting agent said it would be posted within a few weeks, however it has since been a few months.

I tried to contact the agent after a month via email & text and received no response. I again tried to contact the agent (email & text) to find out when I would receive the lease however I still got no reply. I called and after a few attempts I got an answer. The agent was somewhat dismissive, unapologetic etc. and had the attitude of "I was busy..." and "I get X amount of emails a day." I can appreciate that people are busy, however I don't think I'm out of order looking for an update on a lease which is two months outstanding.

My problem is that so far there's been no hassle with the apartment (touch wood!) I don't require the lease for anything, other than my own records at the moment. However, a friend who is a landlord has said that I should have my copy of the lease by now and that if there are any issues with the apartment then I'm screwed without a lease.

Have I been overly naive in not getting a copy straight off the bat, or am I being overly paranoid that my tenancy is not valid? Should I relax and wait for the lease in due time or follow this up repeatedly until I receive my copy? Any advice/insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

Tl;DR Version.
Signed a lease two months ago, still not got my copy of it.

miezekatze

Your lease is still valid even if you don't have a paper copy of it. Technically, a lease doesn't even have to be in writing. Don't worry about it, I've often had to wait weeks or months until I finally received a paper copy of it.

gmisk

The Gibzilla wrote: »

Hi there,
Moved into a new apartment two months ago, which was being advertised through a letting/estate agent. The owner lives abroad, so all dealings are done through the agent.

Also just be careful you dont have to deduct 20% of rent for having a non resident landlord.........

whippet

gmisk wrote: »

Also just be careful you dont have to deduct 20% of rent for having a non resident landlord.........

not an issue as he paying an agent of the LL

The Gibzilla

Thanks for the reply, folks. I've just had a chance to reply myself. I'm just a bit put out by the dismissive approach and it has me questioning that if there is an issue with the apartment in the future then is the letting agent going to have a similar attitude to it. When the deposit and month's rent was paid there was no receipt, he text the amount paid from his phone to mine along with his name. Granted it's some form of digital acknowledgement, but still I expected a hard-copy of a receipt for my own records which I still haven't received.

Rocket147

Hi all. I am renting a house for the last 9 months without any issues. At the beginning the landlord & I agreed a lease of a minimum of 12 months, although the landlord never brought me one to sign. Not so long ago, I mentioned to the landlord should I be deducting 20% for Revenue as the landlord lives abroad. She said no that I don't have to worry about that. I have being given my notice after just 9 months, & I know its because I mentioned the Revenue although I was told a different excuse. I don't think the property is registered with the PRTB either. Have I any rights? Should I contact the PRTB &/or Revenue? Any help would be greatly appreciated

athtrasna

As you are in the property over six months you have acquired part four tenancy rights. Give threshold a call tomorrow for advice on how to deal with this

Michael D Not Higgins

Rocket147 wrote: »

Hi all. I am renting a house for the last 9 months without any issues. At the beginning the landlord & I agreed a lease of a minimum of 12 months, although the landlord never brought me one to sign. Not so long ago, I mentioned to the landlord should I be deducting 20% for Revenue as the landlord lives abroad. She said no that I don't have to worry about that. I have being given my notice after just 9 months, & I know its because I mentioned the Revenue although I was told a different excuse. I don't think the property is registered with the PRTB either. Have I any rights? Should I contact the PRTB &/or Revenue? Any help would be greatly appreciated

What was the method of delivering the notice? How much notice were you given and what was the reason given for the notice?

You have tenancy rights without the landlord having registered with the PRTB.