Overseas spouse was "rejected" referencing by letting agent

I need urgent advice please.

I am planning to apply for spouse visa and paid referencing fees to an agency for a flat. I passed the referencing but my wife failed because she is not in the country yet and has no visa (which I will apply for her once i get the tenancy agreement).

Letting agent informed me today that they will seek legal advice from a solicitor but very likely they wont offer the flat to me because my wife has no residency yet (due to a recent ukba rule that they have to check everyone's permit). I explained to them that obviously she is not here yet and I will apply for her visa but they are not taking it.

What can I do? I've paid them £400 which, if they say your wife is failed the referencing, I wont get back?

Urgent advice needed please.

But what has your wife got to do with renting a flat? You're the one renting,did you put your wife's name knowing she isn't living here,your question isn't very clear.

Like Rayking said, your wife has no business to be a party for you to rent a flat in U.K as she is not with you yet and her name is not required to be on rent agreement to be submitted when applying for spouse visa.

The agent you paid 400 pounds for seems to be a scammer, he/she should refund your money, failing reference check did not amount to loosing your deposit,at least you haven't moved into the house. If they refused to refund your deposit, I will suggest to take them to court.

They said everyone over age of 18 has to be referenced, and their name needs to be on the tenancy agreement, it means they said that the landlord is happy for my wife to move in the flat with me. I dont know!

It is stupid because I did tell them she is not here yet but will be in a few months time. They said, and I think this is true, home office require them to check everyone's visa who is going to live at the flat.

4oo pounds was referencing fees I havent paid deposit yet. Can I do anything? There must be something I could do as i am not trying to house an illegal immigrant, it is the requirement of the home office for me to have accommodation ready for my spouse (but they said spouse visa application is not their concern!)

You wife don't need to be on a tenancy agreement.

All the landlord need to do is state the type of accommodation, and if you are permitted to live their with your wife.

It seems they're playing on your intelligence, tell them to do referencing in your name,they know this. Or pay you back your money or take them to court.if you show you don't know what you're doing,you'll lose that money.

Obie wrote:and if you are permitted to live their with your wife.

Chicken and egg problem? Before wife is granted entry clearance, can landlord say that wife is permitted to live in the accommodation?

I know Vinny.

Then again, the rules does not strictly speaking require OP to get what he is seeking.

[b]E-ECP.3.4. Says:[/b] wrote: The applicant must provide evidence that there will be adequate accommodation,
without recourse to public funds, for the family, including other family members who are not
included in the application but who live in the same household, which the family own or occupy
exclusively
: accommodation will not be regarded as adequate if
-
(a) it is, or will be, overcrowded; or
(b) it contravenes public health regulations.

I will simply get the landlord to write about the size of the accommodation, and the occupant in it.

Then i will write another letter for the ECO informing them that the Landlord could not provide the confirmation they sought, as they are prevented by Statute.

Alternatively, they could get a landlord to provide a provisional and conditional offer.

It could simply say, they wife will be allowed or entitled to stay in the property subject to her being granted a Settlement Visa. That way, both parties will be protected.

My personal experience with that was as Obi suggested, when I submitted my Husband application for the accommodation requirement I sent my tenancy agreement (I was only tenant named on the contract) and a letter attached by the Agent confirming that my Husband was planing to join me in the UK to live with at the property and that they didn't have any objection.

I hope that helps you.

ab112 wrote:I need urgent advice please.

I am planning to apply for spouse visa and paid referencing fees to an agency for a flat. I passed the referencing but my wife failed because she is not in the country yet and has no visa (which I will apply for her once i get the tenancy agreement).

Letting agent informed me today that they will seek legal advice from a solicitor but very likely they wont offer the flat to me because my wife has no residency yet (due to a recent ukba rule that they have to check everyone's permit). I explained to them that obviously she is not here yet and I will apply for her visa but they are not taking it.

What can I do? I've paid them £400 which, if they say your wife is failed the referencing, I wont get back?

Urgent advice needed please.

I'm sorry to say that you've been robbed. I was in the same situation and the letting agency said it wasn't necessary to reference my spouse because my spouse hasn't been in the UK before. I've ended up paying only £150 for myself to be referenced.
Go report the agency in question to Trading Standards..

Whats done is done, I want to know if I can do anything now? The only point they have is that she doesnt have any legal rights in the uk to which i argue that i will apply for her visa but wont happen until another few months.

Can i do anything or challenge this? They say its home office new regulation that they have to check, does that apply to someone trying to get his spouse, who isnt here yet, to come legally to the uk? This really does sound wrong what they are saying. I know a lot of agencies reference per property and not per person. Anyhow, any way I can challenge this?

They can do all the referencing they like once she arrives. But until she is in the UK and moving in you are the only person they need to carry out referencing on. Yes there is a new regulation but she isn't here yet so that point is void.

I am going to report them to trading agency and complain through redress. How can I prove it to them though? Would it be my word against theirs? They could turn around and say I didnt tell them anything! (I mean I have no written proof).

ab112 wrote:I need urgent advice please.

I am planning to apply for spouse visa and paid referencing fees to an agency for a flat. I passed the referencing but my wife failed because she is not in the country yet and has no visa (which I will apply for her once i get the tenancy agreement).

Letting agent informed me today that they will seek legal advice from a solicitor but very likely they wont offer the flat to me because my wife has no residency yet (due to a recent ukba rule that they have to check everyone's permit). I explained to them that obviously she is not here yet and I will apply for her visa but they are not taking it.

What can I do? I've paid them £400 which, if they say your wife is failed the referencing, I wont get back?

Urgent advice needed please.

Hi there, I applied for my wifes initial visa couple of years ago and all I did was took a letter from the agency stating that the flat is enough for two people and it won't violate the housing act. You don't need your wifes name on the contract and just tell them in the future my wife might come to the country. Send the housing contract and the letter to the HO as evidence.

As for the money that you spent on references, I am afraid you might not get it back.