Top five rules for renters to check on their property agreement before sealing the deal

EVERY Saturday, The Consumer Crew are here to solve your problems.

Mel Hunter will take on readers’ consumer issues, Amanda Cable will give you the best advice for buying your dream home and Judge Rinder will tackle your legal woes.

Jane Hamilton, property expert

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AROUND a fifth of Brits now rent their home rather than own, according to official figures.

Since 1997,  the number of renters has  doubled — with sky-high property prices making owning a home a distant dream.

But   many new renters are not aware of the quirkiest rules imposed by landlords or their mortgage lenders.

Now experts  are urging people  to check their contracts before they sign up.

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Peter Savage, president of letting agent body ARLA Propertymark, says: “The most important thing to remember is that once you sign the tenancy agreement and move in, you are still bound by it.”

Here are  five rules renters need to know:

1. If you are paying the energy bills, you have the power to switch suppliers. Check your tenancy agreement to see if you need to inform the landlord.
2. Landlords  are not happy for tenants to start redecorating  — but you can ask. Seek permission to install  shelving  or anything which may damage the property.
3. Some landlords will allow pets if you pay a higher deposit to cover  potential damage. Make sure it is   in your contract.
4. Do not be a dope. There is usually a specific clause in  contracts which says tenants must not consume illegal substances.
5. Although it is legal to run a business from a residential property, you must ask your landlord for permission if you want to do so. Your landlord will need to inform their mortgage provider and get permission from the freeholder if in flats.

Buy of the week

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Wimbledon has some of the UK’s most expensive property. But you can serve an ace with this stylish one-bed in SW19. The  shared-ownership apartment is a tennis ball’s smash away from the All England Club and is yours for £140,000 for a 40 per cent share at zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/51369011.

Deal of the week

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GROW your money with this bargain buy. As celebs flock to the Hampton Court Garden Show this weekend, add a floral touch to your bedroom with Morrisons’ Ditsy Stripe bedspread for £27. It is a tenth of the price of Morris & Co’s  £275 Strawberry Thief bedspread from John Lewis.

SAVE: £248

Judge Rinder

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Q) I BOOKED a flight to Tokyo via Brussels in May as I had business meetings in Japan. The first leg of the journey was from Birmingham to Brussels and I turned up at the check-in desk two hours before take off.

 Here I was informed that I had been placed on standby due to the flight being overbooked by the airline. As I only had a one-hour connection time in Brussels it meant that I was unable to catch the onward flight to Tokyo. I had meetings planned in Tokyo for the Saturday and any alternative flights would not get me there in time, so I was forced to abort the journey.

I asked to speak to the check-in super- visor who told me that in the circumstances I should be liable to a refund and a note was put on the booking to that effect.

Four months later  I still have not received the refund, even though I have chased the travel agent.

Philip, Birmingham

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A) You are entitled to a full refund. Given what you experienced at the airport,  you might even be able to claim the expenses incurred getting to and from the airport.        It is wholly unacceptable that you have had to wait so long for your money back.

You have two options, and  I suggest that do both. Firstly, write to the head of ­customer services of the airline making clear what happened then email the same to the travel agency.  In your correspondence, make sure you notify them that unless you receive a full refund within 14 days you will take them to the small claims court. The process is easy these days and you have a cast iron case.

A FINE MESS

Q) I RECEIVED a parking  fine from a company that say I ­overstayed my time in a car park by 59 minutes.

I explained that I was using the pub and on entrance to the pub you are asked to notify the bar staff if you intend to be in the car park longer than two hours. I had duly spoken with a member of staff who I gave my vehicle number to before I ordered my drinks.

The parking fine was for £100. I appealed against this as I followed the instructions. The appeal failed so I went to the pub and spoke with the staff member who admitted that it was busy and  she probably forgot to put my details through, but she would  get the ticket cancelled. I have since received a ­letter saying the fine has not been paid and it is my last chance.

Brian, Kent

A) The unusual situation in this case is that a staff member at the pub has clearly admitted negligence was the reason you ended up with the fine.

You need to write urgently   to the ­manager of the pub repeating what this member of staff said to you. At this stage it is likely too late to get the ticket cancelled. The fine needs to be paid.

So either insist the pub gives you the money, or pay it then write to the ­manager demanding to be reimbursed.

Q) MY girlfriend and I bought a second-hand car from an established garage. Within the first six weeks we had to replace the clutch which cost us in excess of £1,000 and put new brakes on it, too.

When I spoke to the dealership, it said these things happen to second-hand cars, just wear and tear. The car cost £8,200 and is only a few years  old. Is the garage right?

Lee, Milton Keynes, Bucks

A) The garage is completely in the wrong. If you buy a new or used car from a dealer and experience problems with it, you have rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The Act makes perfectly clear that the car must have been “of a satisfactory quality”,  “fit for purpose” and “as described” when you bought it.  Most importantly for you, as the problems with the car emerged within the first six months of you driving it away, a judge would be bound to presume that these faults had been there from the moment that you took ownership of it.      It would be up to the dealership – not you – to prove otherwise. Because you haven’t returned the car within 30 days you are legally obliged to give the dealership a chance to repair the car (free of charge).

If it refuses to do this, get evidence from an independent mechanic and make clear to this dealership that you will be taking the firm to the small claims court for a full refund.

Mel Hunter, Reader’s champion

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Q) IN April 2018, we booked a holiday with Tui to Disneyland Florida for my wife and I, our girls aged 20 and 15 and our 13-year-old son.

We requested a room to accommodate  all of us  and, on the advice of the branch’s Disney expert, booked a room with two double beds and a single, paying a £1,250 deposit as well as £2,000 towards the balance.

As we had booked well in advance, it was only months later that we looked online and found that the fifth bed is a very small pull-down which is  shorter than our 13-year-old is tall.

Disney’s own site states that these beds are not appropriate for children over nine.

We complained to TUI, pointing out that had it told us about the size of the bed, we would never have booked the holiday.

Eventually, TUI offered alternative accommodation, but then told us that there would be building work there – so that was a ‘No’.

Due to TUI’s poor advice, we cancelled the holiday but it is refusing to refund the £1,250 deposit and has instead offered just £250.

I do not see why we have to lose our cash   when we were badly advised when booking.

 Andrew Barrett, Hornchurch, Essex

A) You say that “no one in their right mind” would pay thousands of pounds for a holiday that didn’t fit their needs. Had you known the size of the fifth bed, you say you would not have booked.

You tried to get TUI to see your point of view, but were still set to lose £1,000. I pointed out  you had been mis-sold the holiday and were entitled to a refund. TUI has now given  you what you were due.

A spokesman said: “We are  sorry to hear of the Barrett party’s experience. We worked hard to find an alternative but no  options  were suitable. We understand this was disappointing and agree that their deposit should be refunded.”

Q) I CALLED Plusnet to talk about re-joining when my contract with Talk Talk expired in eight months’ time.

The man I spoke to was very “fast talking”, and when I told him I was still under contract with Talk Talk, he said, “just leave it with me”.

He asked for my bank  details and, not knowing why, I read them out. I thought he would call me back, but he did not.

 I  later saw £197.88 had been taken from my bank by Plusnet.

I asked the  firm for my money back and was told it would be sorted, plus “a bit extra” as it was at fault.

However, three months and more than 20 calls later I haven’t got a penny. Plusnet  cancelled my contract with Talk Talk, who said I owed £300 for leaving early. Luckily, I was able to stop this.

Terence Elliott  Peterborough

A) A Plusnet spokesman said: “We have listened to his chat with our advisor and are ­confident he acted on Mr Elliot’s instructions to move his broadband account to Plusnet.”

Either way, you ­cancelled, then didn’t receive the refund.

Plusnet said it sent a cheque, which was not cashed. Once I got involved, you got the promised refund and a £100 goodwill gesture.

The Plusnet spokesman added: “We want to reassure Mr Elliott  we are taking his complaint very seriously.”