My daughter has been asked to pay a non-refundable ‘summer retainer’ to reserve a property for the academic year 2021 to 2022, amounting to £275. It clearly states in the T&Cs that this does not constitute payment of rent, and is not the deposit as that needs to be paid a few weeks afterwards.
Now I’m not a solicitor, but the Tenant Fees Act 2019 indicates that this might be an illegal charge.
What does STW think?

I think you may be right. But I also think you’ll get nowhere. My stint of renting a few years ago was a real eye opener to the frankly **** awful state of UK renting.

Forged gas certificate.
Missing electric certificate.
People upstairs complaining of drowsiness and headaches when our get fire was on.
Crackling electronics switchboard.
Landlord stealing our water
Landlord entering the premises when we weren’t there.
Landlord not putting our deposit into a mandated protection scheme.
Llandlord refusing to return our deposit.
**** all done about any of it, apart from the landlord giving as section 21 notice and two months notice to find a new family home.

MUch of that can be dealt with – the landlord is legally liable to pay you a multiple of your deposit for not putting in a scheme and other is crimnila.

However – to go back to the OP – England or Scotland? the rules are different. Asked my missus and she says its a very technical issue over the retainer. Try shelter website for advice

Presumably if she doesn’t want to pay it her choices are: 1. start the tenancy early; 2. Leave finding a tenancy until September…

I can see why it would grate, I can also see it may be an unlawful charge but unusually I am feeling a little sympathy for the landlord – if he’s renting specifically to students they aren’t there for 12 months of the year, so unless it’s a tourist hotspot where they can make money June-Sept there’s about 3 months with no rent….

When I had a student rental you rented it from July to July. Not the landlords problem if you choose to go home in the summer. All my friends had the same (other than those staying in halls).

My daughter’s uni accommodation contracts have been 12 months, as nixie says. From the landlords point of view this would seem the sensible approach, obviously grates with me as I stand the rent. The last 2 places had 1/2 rent if it remained empty over 2 summer months so if you’re getting summer for £275, you’re doing well!

This was standard practice, and its absolute horseshit.

Its also illegal to charge a summer retainer – heres what you are allowed to charge.

-rent

-a refundable tenancy deposit capped at no more than 5 weeks’ rent where the total annual rent is
less than £50,000, or 6 weeks’ rent where the total annual rent is £50,000 or above

-a refundable holding deposit (to reserve a property) capped at no more than 1 week’s rent
payments associated with early termination of the tenancy, when requested by the tenant
payments capped at £50 (or reasonably incurred costs, if higher) for the variation, assignment or
novation of a tenancy

-payments in respect of utilities, communication services, TV licence and Council Tax

-a default fee for late payment of rent and replacement of a lost key/security device giving
access to the housing, where required under a tenancy agreement

If you call them out on it, what you’ll find is they’ll either charge full rent for the summer months and you can live there, or half rent but with advance notice of maintainance. Whatever they charge they’ll call it rent.

The state of UK renting is absolutley dire.
Landlords are generally terible people – their contribution to soceity is over charging and scamming people for a basic human need.

a real eye opener to the frankly **** awful state of UK renting.

Yeah but one generation are doing very nicely out of it and have bought up most/nearly all of the cheap housing stock in a triple whammy to current and future generations. They can leech off (predominately low/minimum wage earners) to fund their luxury early retirement.

Suits the government as well. Let the slum landlords manage the troublesome social housing tenants and dump all the social problems that come with it on private residents and the private sector. All very nicely out of the way from where they live!

Most ministers are in the same boat, nice little earner for them, their families and mates. It’s all very Victorian and no accident.

It’s win win for them, so don’t any of you bastards dare point it out!

Before you go in all guns blazing with a “this is illegal” you might want to check it is actually a tenancy agreement. A lot of student accommodation is supplied on a “license to occupy” basis rather than a tenancy – think Hotel rather than Home!

No doubt I’m being naive here but I’m a bit gobsmacked that it’s payable 10 months in advance of occupancy, I thought only gig organisers could get away with that kind of nonsense.

MUch of that can be dealt with – the landlord is legally liable to pay you a multiple of your deposit for not putting in a scheme and other is crimnila.

Access to legal redress is frequently much more complicated than just having a law exist and therefore expecting enforcement. We have very much a multi tier legal system where the cost and time requirements for the poorest in society to pursue justice is an unachievable barrier.

What’s it supposed to be retaining? What happens if you don’t pay it?

If it’s to guarantee a property’s availability, is that not what the deposit is for?

If it’s to guarantee a property’s availability, is that not what the deposit is for?

Not really. The landlord gets a better offer and gives you the deposit back. In reality it is a sweetener to stop him looking for that better offer, but arguably the place still needs maintaining, insuring, etc while it is empty over the summer.

but arguably the place still needs maintaining, insuring, etc while it is empty over the summer.

But why would someone be expected to start paying for the upkeep and insurance of a property before their tenancy starts and when they have no access to the place ?

arguably the place still needs maintaining, insuring, etc while it is empty over the summer.

My heart bleeds. you want to own a property/building then you’re responsible for it. If the LL wants to collect rent out of term time, they can rent it to someone whos going to live in it.

if he’s renting specifically to students they aren’t there for 12 months of the year, so unless it’s a tourist hotspot where they can make money June-Sept there’s about 3 months with no rent…

Maybe they should get a bloody job then.

Parasites.

there’s about 3 months with no rent….

And the property rental is loaded to reflect this. e.g. Houses in Bristol that would be around £1k to rent as a family home going for £2k plus for students.

Update:
I’ve spoken to the letting agent, which appears to be a truly reprehensible outfit! I queried all the points that have been made above, including why the deposit needs to be paid 9 months in advance, and why I need to pay a deposit and retainer to reserve the property when surely one or the other does that. They ended up tripping over their own shadowy rules, including the fact that the retainer can’t be more than 50% and yet theirs is, to end up being told ‘well that’s our rules and if you don’t like it you can go elsewhere’. She basically admitted that what they’re doing is not legal but they can do it anyway.
The issue is that Nottingham, with two Unis, has a shortage of available housing within walking distance of the campuses, so people like EliteLets can basically do whatever they like with no regard to the law, and they know that they can rent out the closest houses several times over.

But why would someone be expected to start paying for the upkeep and insurance of a property before their tenancy starts and when they have no access to the place ?

Because in theory someone else will take the tenancy earlier. Obviously not everyone but a significant number of students have nowhere else to go over summer or can’t leave because they have jobs. (At least when I was at Uni perhaps up to 10%?)