SMILE Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 Hi all Well I've gone and done it now. I've signed the tenancy agreement with the new tenants and I am due to let them into my house this coming Bank Holiday Monday. I spent AGES putting together the tenancy agreement additions which the letting agent have attached to the tenancy agreement, a copy of the head lease applicable to my property has also been attached, BOTH tenants signed it, I did and it was witnessed by the girl at the letting agent. All seemed ok until I got home and realised that the tenancy agreement hadn't actually got a date on it AT ALL !!! APART FROM the official start date of the tenancy agreement and the official end date of the agreement ! I've been in business in other fields and in my experience all legal documents usually have a date on ? .....I'm so mad at myself for not noticing it.....I was busy checking everything else was ok / in order !!!! I also noticed that on the first page the letting agent had forgotten / omitted to put in my new forwarding address which is the address that the tenant is REQUIRED in law to serve any notices to if / when required. To be honest, the rest of the agreement looks fine and touch wood I think I have covered most of the important issues. My dilema now is ....Is this still a legal document ? Perhaps I am panicking unnecessarily but I'm not sure if it is ? and indeed whether I should be letting the tenants in on Bank Holiday Monday ? I agreed during the meeting to let them in on this day as this is the only day one of the tenants (wife) can get time off from work to move. I am due to do the check in (including inventory - which I will get both tenants to sign and I am arranging for an independent witness to be there as well.) tomorrow. PLEASE tell me this is all ok ? I'm absolutely shattered after getting the house totally prepared, all checks, making it spotless etc.....and I'm now feeling gutted and worried that there might be a problem, despite all my efforts ? Unfortunately, I can't ring a solicitor as its Sunday morning 2am ! , my letting agent is shut and Bank Holiday is tomorrow HELP !!! PLEASE let me know what you think ? As usual, your help / advice will be appreciated PS -Is it ok if I just add my forwarding address to my copy of the tenancy agreement for the serving of notices and a date ? and ask the tenants to bring their copy with them ? Also, someone I met in the week has told me to take my copy of the tenancy agreement to my local town hall to be stamped (apparently he has a lot of let property and does this everytime) Does anyone have any experience of this and believe its a good / wise thing to do ? THANKS I promise I'm coming towards the end of all my questions....I need to sleep soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trojan Posted May 29, 2006 Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 Hi Smile, First of all do not panic. The date on the top of the lease can be the start date of the tenancy. As it sounds like you have both signed already, simply date both copies and both initial both copies. Prepare a document headed "Notice under section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987". Incluide the address and names of both parties on this additional document and add in the following wording: "Notice under section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 the Tenant is hereby notified that notices (including notices in proceedings) must be served on the Landlord by the Tenant at the following address:" [ Add in your UK address] your address must be in the UK. Ideally prepare two copies and get them signed by both parties and dated, ideally on or before the start date of the tenancy. Right that is that one dealt with. The next is stamping of the agreements. In 17 years of doing this I have never heard of my local authority stamping my agreement. So forget that and put out of your mind what you have been told so far. The stamping of agreement is usually carried out by Inland Revenue. Stamp Duty has gone through some changes in recent years and as someone else deals with this for me, I am a little rusty on this subject myself. But the best source of advice for stamping of the agreement is Inland Revenue themselves you can speak to the stamp office in Birmingham: Birmingham Stamp Office 5th Floor Norfolk House Smallbrook Queensway Birmingham B5 4LA Telephone: 0121 633 3313 DX: 15001 Birmingham This can be sorted out once the tenancy has commenced. At one time it was the case that tenancy agreements were not valid in court if they had not been stamped by Inland Revenue. I have taken more than a couple though court and obtained successful evictions without a stamped agreement. But all the same for your own peace of mind talk to IR first thing Tuesday. Regards & Good Luck By the way, just to make you feel a little better, remember that from the 27th February 1997 all tenancies in written form or not are deemed to be assured shortholds for a term certain of 6 months", which means the danger of getting a sitting tenant is impossible. But it sounds as if you have is tied up subject to the Section 48. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMILE Posted May 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 What can I say ? !!!! Thanks very much for taking the time to reply. It is very much appreciated and I might just sleep tonight !!! SMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted May 29, 2006 Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 It is no longer necessary for anyone to stamp the Tenancy Agreeement. That went out years ago. Don't know who is advising you of this practice but they are wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trojan Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Tenancy agreements do still require stamping if you follow the rules to the letter. As I say I do not have access to my member of staff this weekend to pick brains, however, Inland revenue should be contacted to confirm your position. In the past I have found them to be an excellent source of advice and information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Rules Trojan? Shorthold Tenancy Agreement only require a stamp if the let is over 1 year and exceeds a sum of 5k which is why most Landlords only sign up for for 6 Month lets to avoid paying another tax to Smiler Brown. Even if you do sign up for a longer let, the Letting Agents make the documents 364 days to keep it under the year thus avoiding payment. As far as producing the Agreement in Court business without a stamp the Signed Tenancy Agreement is a legal document and the Court will accept that stamped or no stamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trojan Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Melboy, 1) I have said already that I have taken unstamped agreements through court and obtained successful possession. 2) I wanted to correct you saying that stamping no longer exists. 3) I believe in everyone being better informed, that is why I felt it better for SMILE to fins out for himself through IR stamp office. 4) If you followed the "rules" or legislation to the letter we would all be paying SDLT on lettings even with six months at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webb Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Trojan, As a landlord for a number of years I've never heard of a need for stamping for an AST. What's this about? And what "rules" am I not "following to the letter"? According to the SDLT guidance notes SD3 on IR website, tax only applies for rentals of 7 years or more. However I am no expert at reading this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Webb.....Trojan is talking beyond the normal AST that most Landlords work to. Yes, there was a time when even an AST was stamped and renewed every 6 Months but that is no longer the case for the everyday Landlord. I havn't worked on the stamped AST for over 10 years now. Check it out on the Inland Revenue website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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