Can you trust the landlord who promise to clear out his stuffs in the flat you are going to rent?

Have the Landlord put it in writing that the items will be moved by ______ date. Do you get a move in report or checklist at the time you move in? If so, add a letter to it stating all of the things you need done/moved prior to your signing off.

This would not be legal here in most states, as the apartment must be cleaned prior to move in.

Insist they move it before you move in. Refuse to pay rent for any days it is not out of there. Either that, or tell him you will hire a removal company to take the stuff away and then deduct the cost from your rent. If he doesn’t agree, you won’t move in.

@SpatzieLover Well, I am supposed to move in next week, and I called estate agent and she just told me that. I will ask her to put in pre-contract agreement and ask them to put it in writing. The bloody estate agent should have told me yesterday but they are just shit.

@wundayatta if I don’t move in I will be homeless!! But yeah, I think I need to force them to move out the stuffs before I move in. I worry that once I moved in they will never move the stuffs out.

Send Estate Agent a note saying that the landlord has one week to retrieve his bits and bobs. After that, you leave it on the curb (garage, porch, whatever.) Pile it up next to the front door, throw a tarp over everything, and ignore.

@gailcalled I emailed the agent saying that it is pre-contract agreement that landlord has to move the stuffs. I think if they don’t give me the date to move the stuffs, I would say this to the estate agent. I am half thinking to look for somewhere else!!! It is such a pain and I really lost confident to estate agents in London!

I got let down 2 times already last 2 times were they took my deposit and then told me the landlord gave it to someone else from other estate agent!!!

@Londongirl: Is English your second language? When you write to the estate agent, have some one edit and proofread your letter. You want to lead from strength.

If you want, send fluther a rough draft and I (or anyone else who wants to help) can check it out for you. (Stuff is a vague word but should only be used in the singular if you are going to use it.)

LIst each article of furniture; to wit:

One table 3” x 6’, one floor lamp, one upholstered arm chair, etc.

Give him time. At first it seems it’s not his fault.

@gailcalled thanks for your information.

@Hibernate Well, they said landlord said someone let him down to move the stuffs and he will move it probably after I moved in. I think I need him to put into the contract and when they are removed and then I will put them to rubbish after certain date. I don’t want to move in and need to clear up his stuffs before I can put my stuffs in.

(@Londongirl: Stuff and not stuffs, please. And you really mean possessions.

@gailcalled List not Llst please. Is English your first language?

@gailcalled don’t [some don’t like it while some of us accept these correction ].

@Hibernate: If you are writing a business letter about contractual issues, you want your language to be accurate, precise and correct. Is that not useful advice in relation to @Londongirls’ problem?

(What does List not List mean. And how is this relevant?)

I’m a native English speaker and would be honored if @gailcalled edited anything I wrote. She didn’t get to 40k by being dumb.
She is absolutely correct about making the business letter look perfect – and she is offering the help for free! Nice.

@gailcalled. You made a typo that probably does not show up on your screen LIst List. I have a hard time seeing it too with my poor screen resolution.

@Hibernate thanks for that. I think a couple of people here like to patronize others.

@gailcalled I don’t see you type perfect accurate and precise English and besides, I have not asked for your help in my English. Cheers.

@worriedguy But I didn’t ask for her service and if she was trying to help me she could have private message me instead. I find someone correct my writing in public forum a bit patronizing, don’t you think?

Anyway, please don’t hijack my thread, it is not very respectful.

@worriedguy I said thanks often enough too.
@gailcalled I know you wanted to help but some people don’t like to be “helped” like that .. they take it as an insult.
@Londongirl before going defensive remember people here like to help.

@Hibernate True, but I don’t know their intention, some people here are using the ‘help’ to make themselve feel better by patronizing other people who they believe are non-English speakers.

@Londongirl I can assure you @gailcalled didn’t get that high lurve by being nasty or trying to hurt people or put others down by patronizing. She truly is a nice person.

If anyone corrects me or gives me advice I disagree with I simply say “thank you”. Life is too short.
I would recommend a proof reader though. I speak, read, and write Japanese reasonably well but I never send out an important document without having a native speaker check it. Good luck.

@worriedguy fair comments. I have a few occasions here that some people use it to patronize me so I wouldn’t say thank you for that. It is silly really.

Well, @Londongirl what’s the plan? What have you decided? My personal opinion is that it isn’t always great to start out a tenancy with conflict like this, and it’s really frustrating that you’ve been left in this position. However, you are in London, and you are going through and estate agent, so it doesn’t sound like you are having to deal with the landlord directly. I would be wary of suggesting that you would leave their belongings out on the street – it doesn’t foster confidence in you as a tenant that will look after their property and it is quite confrontational. (But that’s just me – personally I hate confrontation so I do all I can to avoid it.) I would, however, get it in writing that the landlord is intending to move it, ideally by a certain date. This can then be used at a later date to fight your corner.

Of course it would be better if you didn’t have to feel the need to fight your corner (it rarely brings out the best in us) and you may want to reconsider moving to this particular property. I imagine that this would mean losing your deposit though?

Personally, I have never had a landlord not do as they say, but perhaps I’ve been lucky?

@harple thank you for your useful information. I think after being let down 2 times already, I am very frustrated in dealing with people like that. I think I will insist they put it down in contract about what furnitures leave in the flat and what should move out by certain date. If they cannot committ then pre-contractual agreement is not done, so I will ask for deposit back and quickly find somewhere to move next week. I really am tried to deal with irresponsible estate agents in London. You have no idea what I have gone through…

@Londongirl You’d be surprised – I’ve moved a lot! Good luck with it all, and don’t be too proud to ask for and accept help when you need it, and we all need it from time to time.

@harple Thanks and I try to sort out myself first.

I wouldn’t worry about it too much. It might be a breakdown in communication between the owner and the estate agent. The estate agent should take responsibility for this. I don’t think you should pay rent for the days that the owner’s stuff is in the flat. Do you have a written agreement that the stuff should be taken away?

@flutherother Well, just deposit receipt, the contract has not been received yet. I think I will make sure the furnitures issues in the contract by certain date and agreed with landlord. Otherwise, I wouldn’t just take their words for it. I will speak to the estate agent tomorrow about this and make sure they put it in the contract. Many estate agents in London are very bad I’ve been messed around and some people I know also got deposit not returned etc. Very very few around are good, most of them are scumbags.

@worriedguy: I still cannot find the “List list” typo. Maybe I need magnifying glasses or younger eyes.

@Londongirl; I wish you luck with your problem. And I am sorry for giving you advice that you don’t like. But you did say, ” Anyone please give me some advice,” without being specific about what would be acceptable and what would not be.

@gailcalled I was asking for advice on the thread of the topic, not seeking an English teacher. By the way, your Llst is a spelling mistake. You will be surprised that many English speakers cannot write or spell properly.

@Londongirl It is probably just that @gailcalled made her “i” capital, which makes it appear like a lower case “L”. (i -> I) (l -> L). I personally make this mistake all the time. I assure you she did not mean to come off as offensive in any way, she was genuinely trying to help. I have had friends with less than good spelling and grammar, ask other friends to review their work when applying to a job or something of that sort. (I personally think the way you say “stuffs” is cute.)

@gailcalled Your computer may be automatically showing you “List” instead of “LIst”.
Either way, it is probably spelled correctly, with capitalization in one bad spot. A mistake I have said, I myself make frequently, probably from holding shift for a split second too long. (Not that I’m any sort of person to go to with English questions, haha.) @Londongirl Has obviously been ragged on about a few spelling mistakes here or there, and thought you were coming off as yet another person being a “Grammar Nazi” for the sake of being one, and not trying to help. Which, as @worriedguy has fully pointed out, you got that amount of Lurve from an exceptional amount of love for your help and comments.

@Prosb: I finally see it. I typed a lower case “ell” instead of “eye.” Thanks.

And I, even I, the upholder of the language gold standard, would never write anything other than informal stuff, without asking someone to edit and read. The “LIst” typo is a perfect example of needing another pair of eyes.

Sauve qui peut.

@Londongirl I think you were taking offence where none was intended. You will have a lot more fun here if you can relax a bit.