Renting a flat through estate agents?

[VenalWinfrey]

Dear all

I'm about to be moving and will most likely be renting a flat with a friend through a London estate agents. I've recently been hearing lots of similar horror stories from friends, saying that they're not getting their deposits back for various reasons (agents are claiming damage when it was there already, missing items that never existed etc.) - is this quite common? I only once ever rented through an agents before and did get my money back. Does anyone know if this is now just another regular con by these people, and, if so, what rights do I have in the eyes of the law in pushing to get the money refunded, providing the place is returned as it was found?

[eyeshade]

When you go in, you should be checked in against an Inventory, which is a list of the furniture (if furnished) and fixtures, and fittings white goods etc. and the condition thereof. You should have this when you go in and you need to check it thoroughly giving any comments that you do not agree with at the time, i.e. it may say washing machine (brand new) but it could have a small dent on it. You MUST check this. It doesn't hurt to take a video camera with you either, it may sound silly but if your video camera has a date on it, you can record anything that has a mark and that is not written down. You must also check the wording on your Tenancy Agreement about deposits and providing you stick to the terms of your agreement, you should be ok. Deposits are not given back sometimes when people do not fulfil the last part of their rent or do not clean the property to the standard it was when they went in. Again check the level of cleanliness when you go in and ensure you leave it the same. There! painless!

[eyeshade]

PS: There are somes rogue agents out there but look for logos, like Association of Estate Agents or ARLA. These are usually good and know the rules!