Right, I'll fill in a few more details which might be useful, and a bit of an update. 1. I'm aware that persuing a trespassing claim would most likely be fruitless, but my point would be that if they won't do anything because of their "mistake" and expect me to pay a £50 fee because of "my" mistake, then this makes the contract inherently unfair as they can breach the contract without penalty whatsoever. 2. The LA entered the property to remedy an oversight, there was a wardrobe that was left behind, we requested that it be removed prior to our moving in, but this did not happen. We enquired when they would remove it, they offered to send someone round that day, if that was ok with us. We declined (in an email, so there is proof of this declination) on the basis we would prefer to be in, since we have a cat and worried that it would escape. We came home from work to find the wardrobe gone, and received an apology from the LA that she hadn't seen our email until after dispatching someone to collect it. 3. I had already enquired when the bank received the mandate, it was received on 13th of september, 2 days before rent was due, and therefore, the SO was set up ON the 15th, and thus too late to make payment. I have brought this to LA's attention, and she states that it was sent out 1 week after signing tenancy agreement. She claims that since the contract states that "The tenant agrees to pay the rent on the days and in the manner specified to the LA" that it is my responsiblity to ensure this payment is made (I can see that makes sense, but does this extend to ensuring the LA is performing their job properly) 4. The LA have not offered proof that the SO mandate was sent as promised, and actively tried to suggest they didn't need to supply it. 5. Unfortunately I cannot remember whether we were compelled to fill in the SO mandate, or whether we could of set it up ourselves. The latter option was certainly not offered to us (if this wasn't offered then surely it was not up to us to ensure the mandate was set up correctly? I doubt I'd make that stick, but it does annoy me that it was made to appear that we couldn't sign the tenancy without it, but somehow it was our duty to ensure it was set up!) 6. Regarding the £50 being a penalty, it is specifically described as an administration fee in the contract if the rent is overdue. Right, I think I've addressed all the points raised in the posts above. Now for an update. When we were informed of this "adminstration fee" we were told that if it was not paid, it would sit in our account until paid i.e. be that next month or at the end of the tenancy (these are almost the exact words that the LA used). We have today received an email informing us that we haven't paid (duh!!) and that if it is not paid by the next due date, they will deduct this fee from our next payment. Which will according to them mean that we will be late on our rent, and potentially incur another £50 fee as well as now oweing £50 in rent arrears. Obviously this will continue until it is paid, so on a 6 month tenancy we will incur £50 in fees and £250 in rent arrears. We may pay the fee, but ensure any invoice is marked with paid under protest. What do you think?

Hi all, Recently my wife and I moved into a new property. As part of the sign up process we filled in a standing order request for the rent (as required by the letting agent). A month later I received a letter from the bank informing me that the standing order had been set up. This letter was sent a month to the day after we moved in, and therefore the standing order had been set up too late to meet the first months rent. This form was apparently sent off by the letting agent (by post) the week after we moved in, but the bank claimed that it only received the instruction 2 days before our rent was due. Because our rent was now late we incurred a £50 late fee as per our contract, but we feel we may have been ripped off here, as the letting agent could send this form off late, and gain themselves £50. Obviously it is our responsibility to ensure the rent was paid on time, but is this clause unfair as we were not party to arranging the standing order, and there is no proof of postage on behalf of the letting agent. On another point, they have entered the property against our express wishes, and without giving 24 hours notice as per the contract. We had previously accepted this as a mix-up, but since they refused to accept the mix-up on the rent situation, should we now threaten to persue trespass in the county court? I know this seems a little spiteful, but I really hate the fact that they broke a clause in the contract, and have gotten away with it, but are fining us £50 for what appears to be their mistake.

The problem is that they claim it is for cleaning and readying of the property for the next tenant. I.e. remedying wear and tear. As far as I was aware, landlords couldn't charge for reasonable wear and tear anyway, as it would be expected?

I've been on an AST at the present property for about 11 months now and am now looking at moving out at the end of my tenancy. Reading some of the posts about people with TDS problems reminded me of an oddity that I found with my contract. My deposit is split into 2 parts. One part (£500) is held with a TDS (insurance based) and the other (£300) is called a "changeover fund" and is not. The agent claims that this fund is to pay for cleaning of the property and to bring it back to lettable standard following vacation and that it is not placed with a TDS as it is not a deposit it is a fund. They say that no money will be used if the property is left in a reasonable state. However they provided a schedule detailing what must happen on vacation and it states that any problems requiring remedy incur a £75 +V.A.T. per half hour charge on top of the costs to remedy AND that that the final property inspection will be carried out after we have left. The questions I have (and I asked question 1 when I signed the Tenancy agreement, and all I got was legalese answer dodging an MP would be proud of) 1. Is the fund just an attempt to get around the TDS idea 2. If so, would it be possible to go to the county court as if the deposit hadn't been lodged with a TDS 3. Can I insist on being present for final property inspection. Obviously I intend to leave the property in tip-top condition on vacation, but what is to stop the inspector causing damage and blaming that on me? I won't name and shame the Letting agent until I've vacated (they share the name of a famous supermarket)