Rental Contract Questions

[Damien]

A friend of mine has run into an issue as she tries to move from one rented flat to another.

She saw a new flat and put down a deposit of one months rent pending references and credit checks. There is no reason to suspect those will be an issue. However they have said that if the deal falls though they keep the one months rent. Is this legal? I can understand a small charge but one months rent is around £400-£500, she signed a document but as I understand it that does not override the law? It can't be right they can keep the entire sum of money can it?

The other one is she signed a extension to her current place but is now unsure if she can break it with one months rent or if she needs to wait for 6 months before she can move again. Any advice on how she could get out of the possible 6 month commitment? They never gave her a copy of the contract she signed (despite repeated requests) so doesn't know the exact terms.

Thanks!

[martyh]

A friend of mine has run into an issue as she tries to move from one rented flat to another.

She saw a new flat and put down a deposit of one months rent pending references and credit checks. There is no reason to suspect those will be an issue. However they have said that if the deal falls though they keep the one months rent. Is this legal? I can understand a small charge but one months rent is around £400-£500, she signed a document but as I understand it that does not override the law? It can't be right they can keep the entire sum of money can it?

The other one is she signed a extension to her current place but is now unsure if she can break it with one months rent or if she needs to wait for 6 months before she can move again. Any advice on how she could get out of the possible 6 month commitment? They never gave her a copy of the contract she signed (despite repeated requests) so doesn't know the exact terms.

Thanks!

Asking for a non-returnable deposit in lieu of a reference check is not normal as far as i am aware ,a small admin fee yes but a whole months rent no .It won't be illegal just immoral as the letting agency can charge what they want but should state in any contracts if depsits are returnable or non returnable ,it's a bit of a con if you ask me because the letting agency/landlord will set the standard reqired from the referencies ,all he has to do is say that she failed the reference check and pocket the money ,very dodgy

She should be able end the tenancy by giving the apropriate notice as stated in the tenancy agreement a extension to a existing tenancy is simply an extra term of tenancy and is still subject to the terms of the agreement ,6 months being the normal minimum tenancy