How To Make A Complaint Against Your Letting Agent

My parents left me a house in Swansea and I decided to rent it out. The managing agents I use to look after the property have been sending me inspection reports saying that the house is tidy and clean. However, when I recently visited the property (I live in Jersey) the ceiling was hanging down in one of the bedrooms where there had been a leak, the ceiling in the kitchen had a big mark where there had been a leak previously and I had not been informed, there was a black mark around the fuse box which looked as though there could have been a fire and the garden was a total mess (which was my father's pride and joy where all the fences were down and the garden was totally overgrown. When I visited the Agents the next day, they were totally indifferent. I threatened them with legal action but to no avail. Unfortunately I was only in Swansea for a couple of days but since being back in Jersey my e-mails and phonecalls have been ignored. I am at my wits end as to what to do. I have also since found out (on facebook) that the tenant is leaving. Can anyone give me some advice as to what to do next please?

@Linda. Go back. Or send someone else round. Take photos. Preferably with the date stamp in the picture.

Then fire the agent, and hire someone else. And this time sit down and read the terms and conditions and discuss with them what you expect by way of inspection and notification.

Then do the repairs, keep the receipts and then sue the agent in the Small Claims Court for the entire cost of the work. You may not get the whole amount, but they are contractually obliged to act on your behalf and to not inform you of the works can easily be argued to have increased the cost of the works required by the delay.

Great site, btw! I'll try to keep this brief but a long long story! Basically, rented out my house through a well-known High Street Agent - won't name them and shame them, for will probably go to litigation, and its possible, if not probable, that some really bad LA's may be undercover.... hey, I sound paranoid! Nope, just that I rented out my house, July 2013 for what was meant to be a long let. From day 1, LA's more than useless, no one to do the Inventory, all staff couldn't stand them, finally done same morning of commencement of Tenancy I could go on and on re non-disclosure pre-contractual as to the size of the party ( 4 adults, two toddlers and a cat) Non- provable - all hearsay evidence there, but I managed to get them out a month early - by early surrender. The house was a mess, I cried when I saw the state of it - not only dirty and there was not a speck of dust anywahre at handover, , but damage so unbelievable, I really did have to sit down and cry. As a Christian, I even gave them a welcome present of chocs, flowers, on the day of move in, when tenants were waiting for LA to hurry up with the Inventory - at my cost, sadly. Even LA came out to 'help', though not qualified to do so, don't know about that - think they have to take some sort of Inventory course - but as soon as she got through door, she said and I quote verbatim - thank God for that, I can't stand them in the office any more' Now that stood me in good faith, of their abilities to fully manage my unit, didn't it!

Anyway, because T's so bad, from day 1 after moving, and one day, when I have time, will relate to you all the Tenants and the LA's from hell, that I was employing and paying them £400 pcm to do so...

Just to tell you how bad LA were, they submitted my claim to DPS without my permission. I was on hols at time: I couldn't get back I in time to present all the documentary evidence of the damage, filth, blood even - don't, it was a nightmare and still is! LA just signed it off as clean, missing the obvious cobwebs, and the very noticeable blood on floor. Because I was scared of these horrible tenants, knew where I lived, and had missed the deadline to get doc evidence in to DPS, I just let them keep it. Sometimes life is easier if you just accept bad LA and bad tenants!

But now I have got a bit of the fire in my belly back to name and shame these LA's whom from the very start, were bias to the Tenants. The management was soooo poor, I'd be here all day to tell you.

Early surrender of Tenancy and got them out in May. Asked to be present at checkout: done without my knowledge. House was clean? What with blood and cobwebs and all the damage done.....

Obviously I am a bit ticked off at the moment recounting it all. Sorry guys!

OK, no dealing with LA since asked what to do with their post - July time. Advised to chuck it in the bin, and I quote verbatim. I forwarded it to LA.

But my big prob now is, how long do I have before starting formal complaint, mindful that contract ended May, yet still had dealings with the chap who did the check out ( who had never seen the house before and thought that was CLEAN????) Hey, I am reasonable, but I am talking damage, burn marks to carpets, blood - but after my rant, sorry, my question is, how long do I have to make a formal complain against LA. It looks bad that I let their T's have their deposit back and some dopey persons at the DPS did nt even grasp the concept that when renting out through a LA, the tenants become the LA's tenants. Phwwww!

So basic question is, now I am back and seen the damage to my house, have I left it too long to start the ball rolling - yep, I know all about ARLA, PO and all that, but first off, I need to tell this well known High Street agent that I am not a happy bunny. Anyone know if there is a time-limitation to do that?

Sorry for going on! But months later I am still finding damage - that is how bad they left my beautifully clean house in a pristine condition.

Just off for another cry now! Hope you found this helpful re your own problems, but there are some really good LL out there in the private sector, such as me, but had misfortune to let to a 'professional letting agent'. What a joke!!!!!

OK, said enough! Sorry for length of this, but cathartic - got it off my chest! x

Me again, just had to compliment whoever started this site off! I'd ask your permission to enlargen that pen sketch of throttling a LA and hang it on my wall! I will chuck money at this case, for I am very principled, so don't think such LA like that should get away with it: also for tenants sake with a hugh LA presence like that on the High Street. Of course, there are some good tenants out there, didn't mean to suggest otherwise, just that third parties betweem good LA's and good Tenants, such as really crap LA's, ruin the relationship. It was my misfortune I got really bad T's and really bad LA, that I was paying for their - shall we call it their 'optimum service'. What a joke. Just want to know if I've left it too late since May after formal serverance of AST to start the ball rolling. Cost me money, already handed over a £2000 deposit back to them due to the characrer of these people - but will chuck money at this, just to name and shame this bunch of LA's who actually think it is ok to throw old tenants post in bin as policy????? Hmmm. OK, thanks for any replies - busy off on business trip, but will say in advance thanks for any replies. Am only asking one question though - have I left it too late since May to make a formal complaint to LA? Cheers guys and gals!

And what a brilliant site - well done, to whoever you are, who initiated it! Got to get to work now, filling doors they took chucks out of, and repainting......... and these charaltans who parade as professional LA's are just sitting there counting their money!!!!! Over to you - have a good day all of you, whether you be hard-done by T's, or like me a really excellent LL who happened to employ a LA and got a bad one and bad tenants too!

Take care all! End of rant, sorry!

My tenants just moved out of my apartment which is managed by a well know franchise. The property was handed back to the agent and they reported back as having some wear and tare and that I should also have the apartment repainted. I also gave a set of keys to another agent and to their horror they found mould and damp spores around the windows frames and also the walls! The carpets were dirty too! Whenever I have had routine inspection reports, they have always stated that the property was in clean tidy order, they never ever mentioned the condensation and mould!! What do I do and who is to blame? The agent for negligent management or the tenant?

Re: How to make a complaint - another option is to go to court!This is the only way you will have any hope of recovering any actual losses, as awards made by ombudsmen tend to be for only token amounts.
I just won compensation against my letting agents for a catalogue of failures. The judge agreed that the service was "poor" and refunded the management fee, plus compensation for mental distress, as I successfully argued that this was also a contract to provide "peace of mind".
The judge was unable to refund the letting fee due to a "no refunds" clause in the contract - but he did say that this clause was unfair to the landlord. Had I brought a claim under the UTCCR (Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations) there is a good chance that this would have succeeded.

Hi, I just rented a room from a local agent in Colchester for 3 months. They charged 110 bucks for the services. Now they are asking for my card details including security digit. I said that I will make the payment through bank transfer but again they are demanding for the card details. They are also going to charge me for additional 60 bucks as I am going to renew the agreement after 3 months. This is their policy. What should I do now if they insist about the card details?

Thanks.

Please help!! My brother found this property advertised through a estate agent.... paid the admin fees plus six months up front... signed the tenancy through the estage agent, but seems like the landlord is going to maintain himself.... hes been 2 weeks has not been issued with gas safety cert... water pours through shower unit.... the fridge which was supplied dosent work food had has to be thrown away... and too top it all tonight their is water pouring through the ceiling from now the bath...... legally whos to blame the estate agent for advertising it.. PLEASE HELP A WORRIED SISTER:-(

Hi all, thank you to recent posters, but especially to Esk: helpful info there, Esk, so thank you again.... But just to get this thread back on topic which I thought was about good LL's employing bad Letting Agents? I had the misfortune to employ bad letting agents who landed me with 'their ' tenants - 'professional' company with a High Street name They were my tenants, who the sub-let to the family from hell. Even the DPS don't understand the concept that major blue chip company were my tenants who then sub-let

I am sorry for those contributors who are renting and have a bad agent and/or landlord or both! But there are some good LL's out there, of which I am one. I was hoping to find some solace and solidarity in hearing of other LL's experience with bad Letting Agents. Thank you again Esk for most useful advice. All I know is that House was trashed, pristine condition before hand, and soooo let done by LA. No duty of care given to me, and bias towards their tenants. Highly unusual, that LA is the tenant who sublets. Any advice re litigation re LA's, highly appreciated. Thanks for listening. Sorry again to those of you who are tenants, but this post is about a LL who employed a LA as her tenant and do not know where to start re litigation.
Bye then, and thanks to the chap who started this site! Made me smile when crying at the state m beautiful house was left! Cheers, mate!

Compared to some of the messages on this board, I have no doubt that this is trivial.

I used a larger company to fully manage my property which is a 1 bed flat on the M25 belt into London. It was my pride and joy as it was my first big purchase at a younger age and hence why I could not see someone else live in there.

The landlord called numerous times during the first 6 months with things for me to sort, of which I did as I was new to this and trusted what they were telling me.
When the couple moved out they had cut into major pressurised pipework, damaged brand new lino and done a bodge job repair, marked, removed, damaged and thrown away furniture. I know some is part wear and tear but some was just wrong and they were in breech of the contract for damaging and disposing of items without informing the agent or the agent informing me.

I am now seriously out of pocket as the boiler has now broken down twice and both have been costly repairs; I have stated that this must be from the original tenants but the agents are saying that it is now!!!!!

In addition I am continuously being told one thing that results in another and more stress my way; this time round I agreed (before I knew the issue with what they had done to my flat) that the first tenants could extend the agreement by 6 months; they then changed their mind and hence moved out whereby I visited after their inventory company and a agent from the management company and they missed the pipework damage and missing/damaged furnishings!!!! that was a worry to start.

Anyway a new tenant was put in and as I had only seen the last tenancy agreement where I clearly stated 6 months as sadly the fees I have to pay for the care of my relatives has drained us and although we work all the hours we can it is still not sufficient, so I told them why I would only offer 6 months.

I made contact with them to arrange the handover in a few months as I have agents ready to value the property to sell it to my horror to be told that the property is rented for 1 year and that was what I agreed which I clearly did not, on the original email it states that they have a tenant but do not state the length and as the last contract I wrote 6 months I need to find out if this is upheld or do they actually have more power than the owner of the property!!!!! I am so upset and obviously to trusting and soft for being a landlady! I feel that I am over a barrel and have lost money and am still in the process of fighting to get funds back for the damaged pipework as the old tenants did not agree and the DPS are holding the money, although I have had to pay out for the repairs! I dread to think if I will have to take it to court the hassle and stress has been unbearable and I am a bag of nerves and distraught by this whole process I would not recommend it for those with a caring nature as you just get abused by all people and do not trust ANYONE!

The company is run by a cold hearted manager they are based in Loughton Essex, be warned and take care as they will abuse your trust!

tHE LAND LADY HAS A VALID LEGAL CASE She should get herself a contact solicitor/ Citizen advise Bureaunto sicuss her case to see the way forward., regarding the last contract she wrote 6 months. Further she need to find out if this is upheld or do they actually have more power than the owner of the property!!!!! she is so upset and obviously to trusting and soft for being a landlady! I feel that I am over a barrel and have lost money and am still in the process of fighting to get funds back for the damaged pipework as the old tenants did not agree and the DPS are holding the money, although I have had to pay out for the repairs. Dont give up the fight if she loses not to worry as she made an effort to fight injustice.
I wish her the best.
Christine H-M Advocacy

Hello Everyone
I do hope someone can help as I am so very worried and my stress & depression has got so much worse (have doctor prescribed meds for depression).
My eldest son & I have been renting a ground floor flat for 2 years now and over the last year or so had so many problems with noise from upstairs and their 4 yr old who constantly races up and down the flat sounding and feeling like an elephant is about to come crashing through the ceiling, amongst numerous other noises including washing machine running from 6:30am regularly, which obviously wakes me up, (I sleep in lounge as my other son joined us and gave him the other bedroom, also i take many other medications for pain which are very strong and wipe me out most mornings, asleep on sofa)all these noises wake me up even through strong meds meaning i get no more than 1 hours sleep at a time, through all the shouting, screaming, things being thrown and child running and seems to be jumping off furniture all mornings, whilst his mother stays in her bed watching daytime tv, so he's obviously wanting attention...

As we hear almost everything, the property obviously isn't sound-proofed and noise transmits so much. The landlord says there are slabs of concrete every so often on floors above yet doesn't seem to help deaden the noise
So not all the neighbours fault i supposeas floors, ceilings are so thin

The problem i have is the agents want me out and i have no funds to get another place for deposit and rent in advance nor is my credit record very good

I don't get, why I am the one being asked to go yet i have been the victim all through the issues and incedents with the noisy neighbours. I recently had to call the police as noise was bad one late saturday night that i went upstairs to ask them to stop (the chap was making banging on purpose because i banged my foot once on the floor when heavy banging started)

He smelt of alcohol and started threatening me and wanting to go outside to fight, which was all he was interested in, and coming right up to my face with abuse and language etc

I reported it several days later and informed my agent. The agent replied to my email rather harshly/negatively as he usually does with me for some reason and stating "well there's always 2 sides to every story"

So just because i have followed procedures and also tried the noise dept at the council, that i am being seen as the bad guy and not the victim - what am i supposed to do - roll over and keep my mouth shut and do nothing? The banging EVERY DAY for most of the day is driving me crazy.

The outcome of the noise dept in council simply stated the recording didn't give enough evidence as they say everyone uses washing machines regardless of time, all children do as this one does by running, banging etc and all children throw things even heavy items making a lot of noise and no doubt damage

Any advice and help would be much appreciated

Thank you very much

The Police won't help unless you have been specifically threatened. You should be keeping a diary of what noise occurs at what time and what it does to you and then you call Environmental Health.

But if you have been asked to move, why don't you just move? There are other places to live that will give you less misery. As regards deposit, if you leave your place nice, you'll get your last deposit back and you can use that for the next one. Borrow off friends for the rest.

Thanks Emma
But I've done that and environmental health put recording device in but as I said they reckon the noises are normal, si no luck there.

I would have moved like a shot if I could but no one to borrow from, certainly not tthat much and obviously deposit comes back way after its needed for another place, and as credit not good I would need to find private landlord which aren't many about as most go through agents now

Hi please help, ive just paid 3 agent admin fees for a property £120 me £84 my partner and £84 my teenage son to reference us for a property,unbeknown to me my partner has failed her credit check due to a CCJ, are the agents within their rights to keep mine and my sons fees due to my partners failed credit check????? any advice is welcome thanks Rob

Thank you Rory for the up-date property complaint agent lettings, this is unjust treatment for the tenant TO BE un beknown to her partner he was in IGNORANGCE to check her credit check due to CCJ. I don`t think that the agent has the legal right to keep their fees if they haven`t had aaaaaaaan tenancy agreement.

christine

I recently bought a property and have nothing but trouble from the estate agents and their solicitors which by the way are not our acting solicitors.Unfortunately we had no option in which estate agents we used as they were the ones selling the new builds. The manager was rude and would call me numerous times during the day forcing me to exchange and complete. Their solicitors would send threating emails saying we were a joke and if we didn't complete we would lose the property as other people were interested. After we finally exchanged as this is our first property and we were worried we were actually going to use it the manager was so rude to me constantly because of my age would continuously speak down to me and be rude. He would make comments like "some of us have kids to look after" when we were trying to arrange a visit on the property he made us rush to exchange on. When I confronted him and said he would never make comments like that if I was older and he only feels he can speak to me like that because of my age he responded I never spoke to your mum like that which proved my point really. He said I was just demanding and when I didn't get my way I would throw a fit which is the most inappropriate comment to make to a customer at the best of time especially when that accusation is a lie!!!
Their solicitors who were the ones who bullied us to complete on a property that wasn't even properly ready sent 3 leases all breaking the data protection by having the old tenants name and address on it which we asked them to change all 3 time and it still wasn't done. I had my solicitors who was suppose to be working with me instead was working with whatever the estate agents solicitors said and kept forcing us to sign an incorrect lease which we refused as I wanted to see the lease had been properly corrected before I signed a legal document. We have been trying to sign a corrected lease for a month now still no sign of it I have emailed the estate agents solicitors directly as my solicitors doesn't seem to be chasing it and still no corrected lease. so after they forced to complete on a property that wasn't finished we have no signed lease and are still having to deal with rude estate agent's! is there anything I can do? I have tried to make a compliant internally through the estate agents just to have him be rude to me and make it sound like I am the one in the wrong so no solution has been made. They have brought so much stress on me so at a time where buying my first place with my partner was meant to be exciting instead has been the worse experience of my life. HELP

Landlords, beware of Whitegates estate agency in yorkshire. They are totally rubbish and inept!

They have shoddy contractors that damage properties and no re-compensation is sought, the landlord is left to foot the bill!

Avoid at all costs!

do not use Edward mellor estate agency. as a tenancy 2weeks from moving in I reported maggots in the living room. informed agency and then the landlord came around abusively it was awfull. I explained to the landlord its not personal that I was ibiding to my obligations to prevent the property from manefestaion. the agency told me oh do not woory its the landlords first house he has no peoples skills ???. I pottered along etc and vidiod the maggats moving . I wanted to move out but n where else to go. fast forward the fridge stunk even after many many in and out cleaning and frige freshners lemon etc. letting himself into the house threatning me etc. the agency were so laid back its unbeliverable . yet the agency according to terms and conditions also have a duty to the tenant and not just landlord. end result I kept the house clean tidy. also reported repairs that was not carried out appropriate timeing or not repaired at all. i am now moving out after receiving a notice 21 ha . i was going anyway ?. my rent is up to date . the agency did not even send me a curtisy letter to inform me. my daughter called the agency to ensure they were informed off the landlords actions. was only after i then get a letter stating leave the house clean. ha the house is in better standards on that scale to when i moved in. but hey does that mean i have to leave replace the maggots then to the standard it was on the inventory ???. if i did i would love to be a fly on the wall when they noticed the maggots. My leave them where i found them ??. any tips from you lot reading this ?? cheers

Please can anyone advise?? My daughter recently found a flat through Connells estate agents to rent. She was so excited to be finally moving in with her boyfriend so had no hesitation in paying a £500 holding fee. A few days later my wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer and has been given a few months to live. My daughter has now decided to stay at home to nurse her mum .
She informed Connells of this and although it was only a week after signing the agreement they have told her she will not get a penny of her holding fee back. Are they within their rights to do this as I'm very angry about it and assumed that they would return most of it at least. I'm very stressed as you can imagine.

Hi Dave,

Legally, they probably are well within their rights (depending on the terms of the holding deposit. Morally, well, they're living up to general reputation of estate agents. If I really had to defend them I'd point out that they will incur some additional costs through having to find new tenants but, if the property's halfway decent, that could be as little as picking up the phone to one of the couples who missed out.

You might try appealing to their better nature (ha!) or, if that doesn't work, a word with the local paper, although they may be reluctant to rock the boat with one of their main sources of advertising revenue. Don't let it stress you though: £500 isn't a trivial amount of money but you're better off cheerfully waving it goodbye, rather than letting it nag away at you when you've got more important things to care about.

Please advise.Euro Estate Agents in Leicester who managed my property have let me down by their poor management.They didn't take photos when the Tenant moved in & when the Tenant moved they they blamed them for the torn carpets,but the Tenant took photos when they moved in.The carpets where torn by the previous Tenants.They also deducted some money from the rent to fix an outside leaking roof & it was never done.They never did any inspections on the property.
I feel the Estate Agent need to pay for the torn carpets because of their mismanagement & refund us money for the roof.They are saying they will inform the previous tenants about the torn carpets .

Hi- Looking for advice pretty quickly if anyone has any! I have been viewing properties in Manchester, and viewed one yesterday which I immediately told the estate agent I would like to put an application in for. It was her last viewing of the day, I had filled in an application form and had cash available for a deposit and application fees. The estate agent told me to wait for the fee's until the morning and scan the application form over and email it to the email address on the application form as she did not accept cash as she was going straight home. We shook hands and as far as I was concerned it was a done deal for going so far as referencing, etc. She even agreed I could cancel any further viewings I had. I scanned and emailed all the appropriate paperwork across that night and now today, I rang up as requested first thing to pay the fees over the phone with my card to be informed that the other estate agent was in a meeting with someone else who had just put an application in? This is despite the fact I had left a voicemail before they opened asking them to call me back first thing and ensure I had the correct documentation so everything was in order. Now the estate agent tells me there is nothing she can do but speak to the landlord and I basically have no rights. Naturally, I feel cheated, frustrated, and very upset as I had finished looking and was delighted! Is there anything I can do here? Do I have any leg to stand on, or do I just have to accept that due to colleague miscommunication I am back to square one? Any help would be appreciated!

If it's any consolation, the estate agent who dealt with you is probably feeling pretty peeved that her colleague has jumped in and nicked her commission.

I don't think there's much you can do from a legal standpoint as the landlord or his agent is not obliged to accept tenants on a first come, first served basis and it would be hard to quantify a financial loss in any case.

Your only hope is if the landlord is either moved by your plight or reckons that you'll make a better tenant than the other applicant. Failing that, you're better off forgetting it and moving on, I'm afraid.

Have rented a property for nearly 2 years with my children after my separation with my husband, when I first signed I paid over 7500 as deposit and fees and 6 months up front .. When 6 months was up I signed again paying a fee and they wanted another 6 months rent up front I did this again in June having to pay up 5500 up front plus a fee... My 6 months is up in December and the letting agency are wanting me to pay another 6 months upfront .. I have asked them if I can pay monthly now but they are saying no I have also offered 3 months up front but they are determined to take the whole 6 months money or me and the kids are out at Christmas .. The boiler is broken at the property and I hardly get heating and hot water the guttering is broken it's been reported but nothing is ever done by the maintenance side .. Which also makes me wary of paying do much up front .. Are they in there rights to do this or can I stay and pay not do much up front .. Please help!!!!

Hope someone could help me, We rented a property in January 2013 - January 2015.The letting agency did not mention the initial gas reading,but they instructed us that we have to use or inserted a £1 in order to have electricity supply.After two weeks of leaving,we received a gas bill which is estimated reading.I rang the landlord cause he told us that we can contact him straightaway if we have any problem.I asked him where is the gas meter reading as we received a estimated reading,he replied dont worry i will sort it out.I was in doubt because even summer time we continiously receiving a gas bills every three months.I rang the landlord again that was about September 2013 asking where is the gas meter reading as we always received the estimated bills.I never seen no one as well from the british gas coming to get the reading.During our stay for two years we received the estimated reading.The landlord never told us the location of the meter reading.I did not give attention too much as well regarding that matter as the bills was only £10 maximum of £ 35 during our two years of stay.I did not surprised if low amount as we used gas supply for only one old fire gas
which located in the. kitchen.Before moving out i contacted all like water ,change of address and the british gas informing them that we moving out,but they were asking about the final meter reading which i. can not provide as i dont know where is the meter reading.I contacted the letting agency telling about it but i been told i need to leave my current address and contact number so tthat they can contact us when needed which i did.On June 2016 I received a letter from debt collection that we have to pay £646.00 from bill period of January 2016 to March 2016.I rang the debt collection and the british gas that we move out January 2015.They sent us onother bill which they move the date to October 2014 to January 2015 which the same amount.I contacted the letting agency and the landlord but i did not get positive answer or attention from them.I went to citizens advice Bureau but they can only help me to sort the payment.I asked help as well from ombudsman but still they did not involved the landlord or letting agency who can supposed to give the initial and final gas reading if they got one as i never seen one in the Flat.Still we need to pay but i am not happy as i wanted the initial and final reading reading during our stay but no one can help us.Im hoping you can give me advice.Thank you

My house was let through Foxtons in Battersea. Apparently I agreed online to a contract fo a two year lease with no termination clause.

I understand that this si dliberate that they can receive their fees upfront and tie up the landlord and tenants.

Now that I want to sell the property, the tenants are fefusing to leave and demanding compensation.

Foxton's fees are exhorbitant and the service is very poor and they are not interested in assisting in any way.

Hi we rented a flat in a well area .on seeing the flat everything looked good ,but day before we moved in I req to see property agan ,to my horror the kitchen oven and hob disgustingly dirty and problems with doors open. I did not relise this was going to be start of my problem,next day mov in to find no shower heads were working.sick taps when swith ed on water over fallen sink and that's why there was damp smell in Bath room and skirting board all cracked and paint flaked no heating working no fans working .no fair alarms which later after 3 wks fixed and we're 2yrs old. and problems went on and on .the shower heads took three days to repair heating had so much problem we were told we didnt knoepw how to use the heating .that's true as nit leflets given until 1wk after miveing in was sent by agen on e msil lefket.still today I'm struggling with no fans in Bathroom and kitchen .no vantilatiom in either of these rooms ,I'm on the phone to agents and there not helping ,they keep sending people to look at fans but no one wants to repair as long job.it is now 8wks since iv moved In we have very poor communication with our agents who are based in Essex when ever we complain of problems they say the previous tent did not complain and said us emails like we are stupid. They have also put me on a speaking without asking my permission where a senior member of the agents accused me of making
Things up was very rude which I heated up and nasty words were exchange and I live 2 hours away from agent have repeatly asked for them to sort problem but in there not urgent, we have had to leave our bath room door open so the air is clearing in baths but told that I will cause damp in other rooms and need three problem with fan sorte my ddaughter is asthmatic and is get regular attacks.p cause of poor vantilatiom. We have leaking water fridge which is not cooling fridge evenly as well and being told we don't clean or we are switching fridge off.it as been very stressful living in the flat as it is really cold in one of the rooms and keep getting cold but agents.please helpppp I have repeatly asked agents I will drop my rent payment I'm are in my rights ,was told by citazine3 beau in 8 wks they have to sort all your problems which they have not done.please help

As a landlord I am being refused any access to the property and when costly repairs ate needed (I have to take letting agents word for these) I am not allowed to know who the contractors quoting for the work are and don't even see the actual quotes just one line in an email from the letting agent eg cost of work is £450 & vat. I never get to know the contractors names and as such never have any guarantees for any work done. Is this fair?
Any advice gratefully accepted!

I am currently renting a house on a 6 month contract. As we are coming to the end of the contract I was contacted by the agent as they wanted to conduct a property check. I let them know the date i was available and took the day off work, however they didn't turn up or bother to contact me. Due to this, I was unable to hand over my written notice, which is required even though my contract is up.
They are now demanding that i pay an extra months rent and are threatening to extract the money from my guarantor. My question is, as they didn't bother to attend (i suspect purposefully), am i liable for the extra month?
Any advice would be welcome.

We are renting a property and have given our month notice to vacate. I came home today to find that all the curtains had been opened and our estate agents had conducted a viewing without our knowledge or permission. We feel violated and our contract states that at least 24 hours notice has to be given. The estate agents said a voice message had been left, but we have no record of this. Where do we stand?

I rent out a property and pay for an estate agent to look after the property. I received a telephone call from the estate agents stating the tenants had handed in their notice. I asked if any decoration needed to be done before remarketing the property for new tenants. I was told the inspection report in February had deemed everything to be fine but if I wanted to go and check it over then thats fine. I went over and discovered there was mould and water damage to the bathroom walls which had turned black and also problems in 2 other rooms. None of which had been disclosed to me and the damage looks older than 2.5 months. Obviously the expense is more so now than if I had been made aware when the damage was first noticed. Before I complain to them, where do I stand on this.

I live for the last 6 years in a flat that was originally managed by a different agency which but was handed over to Hindmarsh and Partners. I lived with mould and damp walls for years as when I first reported it, it was made out to be my fault (condensation). The advice I received was I need to wash it with bleach and water once a month to not affect my asthma. Year after year me reporting the damp and mouldy walls, a falling slap of brick plastering landing in front of my feed finally triggered the agency to get professionals in that measures the damp in my walls and their feedback was they have never came across bad damp walls like this in years.

Just to underline the agency for years pointed the finger at me! As I apparently put my draw unit on the wrong side of the room which caused the condensation as the air apparently got trapped behind it! Honest to god that was their explanation.

Once the building work started by the way I was not informed about the extent of the work even I requested to be kept in the loop, I had to live with my partner and 2 cats in a small living room with all our possessions surrounding us , sleeping and eating on our mattress on the floor for over 3.5 weeks ( had to move constantly from one room to another for the builders to complete their work). (most of our walls were drilled down to the brick inside the property! – meaning I can’t hang anything on my walls anymore as a special treatment was put on ) My partner is working from home which the agency was aware of, he had to cancel most of his conference calls as due to the drilling people couldn’t understand him. The dust caused us to having to eat out or prepare our food at other people’s houses , caused breathing problems during the night (I informed the letting agency on multiple occasions that I suffer from Asthma). I was again made responsible as I apparently rejected their offer to be moved. Never in a millions years would I have rejected their offer to be moved while my tiny flat was under construction.

Apparently they were kept up to date by the builders and the photos the builder took – however after speaking to the builders about this they have not once been approached by the agency to provide updates or to share photos.
I couldn’t believe to which extent this agency goes to cover their own mistakes.

That was one of their excuses for not paying me compensation as I stupidly kept paying rent even though the flat was inhabitable, the only offer I got after chasing and fighting was 100£ as a good will offer from the landlord which I rejected. In my eyes it’s not the landlord that cause this, it’s the agency who should take responsibility for lack of information and interest in their tenants well being. Not at one point have H&P checked on us (tenants) or our living condition neither on the progress of the work. My vacuum broke as I had to clean every day after coming home from work to keep on top of the dust to try to minimize what we breath in. The agency declined to replace it as apparently the builders photos (!that were never shared!) show a clean flat, of course because drilling down to the bricks for 3.5 weeks doesn’t cause any dust or dirt . After sharing my photos with the agency they still declined to replace my vacuum and when asking to get me a help to clean after the work was finished this was also declined.

! So basically, I paid full rent to live and sleep like a homeless person in a building site, my vacuum broke and I was made responsible to clean the flat after the work was completed !

Furthers I received an electric shock when upstairs neighbour flooded my bathroom for the second time in 8 months, the electrician pointed out that the fittings in the bathroom are not fit for purpose for a bathroom however the agency has not acted on this either. Nothing has been done apart from changing the light bulb in my bathroom after reporting this 1.5 weeks ago.

Can you help me? I don't know what to do. Do you agree with me that i should be compensated for these 3.5 weeks? What is the average reply time for the agent to let me know if he does or does not fix my bathroom issue, I am tired of having to chase the agency?
Many thanks

My son has a six months contract for a studio flat through an agency, he has nothing but problems there are other people living there who are doing and dealing drugs inside the property, also flats are now being broken into, we have spoken to the estate agent twice and he says all we can do is ring the police, but we want to move out can we finish the contract early, the smell of weed and the fact it is unsafe is making us unreliable for work as there is also screaming and fighting in the house till 5 am on some weekends

There is no need for your son to move out. Just call the Police and they will be taken away. Problem solved. In addition to which, using the property to commit a crime is a breach of the lease, so the landlord can evict them while they are in custody so they can't come back, even if they get bail. The smell of weed is unpleasant, but I cannot see how that would make "us" (your son?) unreliable for work, unless he is smoking it himself. As to the noise, wax earplugs from Boots. I live in a building with the founder members of Door Slammers R Us, and I sleep like a baby.

We recently rented a 5 bedroom house from agency . Advert has been posted as a fully reburbishet house . Since the day one we moved in there was a leak on dinning area on ceilings. We made a complaint imediatelly but the leak not been fixed. It's been 3 weeks since we moved in and last night ceilings fell on my head while I was eating . Under the plasterboard the wooden structure is bend and looks dangerous. What should I do .agency doesn't care and we have a small children in the house and the house looks in dangerous state.

Hi,

The letting agent showed me the house and I was satisfied and so I signed the contract with the contract starting from 10th of August. He gave me the keys, but when i tried to enter the house on the 19th of August the key did not work. The landlord came and said another agent had changed the key without his knowledge and ask me to spend a night and that he would give me the keys the next day. His reply was the same the next day as well and on the third day evening he calls me and says he has given the house to another person and will refund my money. But I don't want a refund I want a house. How do I file a suit against him. We are three stranded students please help.

@K M Thangavelu

If you signed the contract, he is COMPELLED by law to rent the house to you, provided that you did honour your contractual obligations up until the day he claims the cancellation. So do not be afraid to go and ask for his performance as stated in the contract or threaten with bringing the action to court if unsuccessful. So sad to hear this kind of things are happening so often...

I am currently in the process of renting a house and the agent has been nothing but trouble.

Firstly she couldn’t be bothered to turn up for the viewing and told us just to knock on the door of the current tenant and get them to show us round. It transpired she had been through a recent break up, hence the move, and was in no state to be showing strangers round her home.

Secondly once we parted with the holding fee we received absolutely zero confirmation. We had to contact her ourselves to see if she had the money. Her response was “I don’t know my online banking is down”. We still don’t know to this day officially.

Thirdly she took £270 off of us for referencing which was handled by HomeLet. She offered no help or advice on this. Referencing was complete as far as we were concerned and said so on our HomeLet log in. She then contacted us 2 weeks later informing us it was incorrect, complaining that we were holding up the process and being “difficult”. This was resolved but again we’ve had no official confirmation that she’s even received the money.

Fourthly we have been begging her to send through the contracts. It is now less than 1 week until our official move date and the date we check out of our current property. We still haven’t received any paper work and she is impossible to get hold of.

Finally she is just incredibly rude if and when you can speak to her and if we hadn’t parted with non refundable money and weren’t 1 week away from being homeless we would NOT be going through with it.

I want to make an official complaint about her but I’m afraid she will evict us once we are in or not let us move in at all.

An advice?

We have recently moved to new property but paperwork with an agent doesn't seem to be fully completed... We moved in on the 1st of November. The contract for this was actually signed beginning of October and the agent confirmed receiving deposit few days after signing the contract. Now it's been three weeks we are at the property but we have have not received the following:

-the confirmation about DPS - we have chased this as it's been more than 30 days since they receive it but the only answer we got back from them is that their accounts being under random compliance checks by dps so they won't be able to process the application on their end for another two weeks. We have asked to provide us with a pending reference number but not heard back from agent. Is this even legit? Does any of the dps schemes does 'random compliance checks on agent's accounts'?

-on the first day of moving in the agent was on site with us and took photos which he said would be used for inventory report but we have still not received anything. Prior signing contract we have question a lot of items being on site which belonged to previous tenant and we have written confirmation that these will be removed, however on the day of moving in all stuff was still in place and the agents himself refused to remove it on the spot and we were told that we can arrange removal of all the unnecessary items but need to present them a quote from bulk waste removal company as the agent would cover the costs of it. Now, we are stuck with the pile of random items as the agent is not coming back with inventory and we are not sure if we can just throw any of it.

Besides we have signed contract for a property that is meant to be 'professionally cleaned' but while actually scrubbing every corner ourselves we came across stuff such as dried vermin and rot behind cupboards. We have reported this to the agent along with other items that need fixing (some of them discussed prior signing the contract) but have not heard cleared answer apart from the fact that they need to check with the landlord regarding any repairs...

We hope sooner or later the smaller issues will be fixed but is there anything we can do about making sure that all the money we put in advance is secured? Also our rent is due in one week and by the contract we can't really postpone paying it even is issues don't get fixed.

I was given my tenancy at the house 4 weeks ago paper work given from the agent including gas safety certificate. valid till August 2018 fine . So I signed . Panic 3 weeks later by agent given me the wrong one it’s for a different address my new house safety certificate has run out in August 2017 . Number one I’m fuming but is the tennancy agreement I signed valid ??

Ellis

If you have deposited issue with your landlord.Can I have right department number

I'm gutted. I got a Catalouge when I was living with my Parents at the tender age of 21. I moved out of my parents, didn't even think about the Catalouge. Rented properties for 10 years, with no defaults. This year I decided to down-size. I found a property through the letting agents I have currently been renting with for 3 years. I was told I would need to go through the reference checks again, including a credit check. That night, I went home and created an account with experian, to my suprise I have a CCJ with the Catalouge. I went to the agency the next day and was totally upfront about the CCJ.. it was for £336 and the agent told me it shouldn't be an issue, let me contact my Manager and I'll get back to you. He called back 30 minutes later, my Manager said it will be fine, it's just £336. Great, I went into the agency, put down £2300.. all my references passed.. only to be told the Landlord isn't interested because of the CCJ. I find this so unprofessional from the letting agents, as I was under the impression they had told the Landlord otherwise I wouldn't have wasted my time and money. Not the Landlords fault, it's his property and at his discretion. Does anyone know what I can do regarding the letting agents? Is court a possibility? I will be homeless in 6 days.

Hi

My wife was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, hence undergoing treatment. I then decided to give her a better quality of life by moving her to a better home, wile i rent my current home out. We approached Thornley Grove in Sale, where they then showed us around some properties. We then settled for one and agreed to rent for 2 years with a 12 month break clause. The rental agent asked if we had CCJs to which my wife replied that she was not aware of any. By the evening the agent adviced that the landlord was willing to rent the house to us, but we needed to pay just under 400 pounds for referencing. They also adviced that if we wanted the property being removed from the market that we had to pay just under 700 pounds, which was forfietable if we decided not to go ahead. The agents then sent a link to a credit referencing portal, which we paid for unline for my wife. When this wa concluded it returned to the Agents that there was a ccj against my wife, hence they would need to ask the landlord if he wanted to go ahead because of the CCJ. The letting agent said that if the landlord would go ahead, he might require a guarantor. The agents came back to me saying the agent would not proceed. I then requested my deposits back, s no referencing was carried out and was not also moving in due to the landlords decision. The agents now turned round to say they were holding on to the 1023 pounds, they said hey would cpompensate the landlord with the 695, half of the initial month rent, for taking the property off the market for 5 days, and the 395 pounds would be kept as their administration fee, totalling 1023 pounds of my money. This was mind blowing, as they never mentioned that if u fail CCJ, the depoit for first month rental would be forfieted. I am currently waiting to go through the complaints process, as this has also affected my wife's health, as the situation is unheard off. I would appreciate any advice

So I bought a property in 2006, with my partner, I left in 2013, the agreement was as long as she stayed in the property with the children, it was fine, today I’ve found out that she no longer lives at the address and further more has rented it through a estate agent!! I’m the owner, mortgage is in my name only, mortgage account is in arrears since August 2018. My oldest child decided to leave the marital property and move in with me in September 2017. Long story police came they said it’s a civil matter, estate agent doesn’t want to take responsibility, they haven’t checked nothing, just accept a passport copy, and 1 utility bill!!

What are my options.

Sorry guys this is my 1st time reaching out.

Thanks

Can you please make clear that English legal letting are completely different from those in Scotland especially in the control of agents and the totally new lease systems

Lone female pensioner 73 yrs old, moved to France for 12 yrs in 2007.
I had one agent for 2 yrs who let it become a drugs farm with big holes everywhere, plastic tent in attic, and rockwool replaced with 8 inches of earth still there which would become a mudslide if roof leaked.

Then I let 2nd agent take over, (Fussells of Caerphilly).
I let this local estate agent manage lettings for me and 10% fee included supposed regular inspections. They told me this was a good unemployed tenant; neighbours say she was drunk day and night, lots of violent men in and out.

When I returned, the house was ruined, doors gone, kitchen cabinets gone, phone line box kicked in, cables ripped out, front door smashed in, 3 floors flooded, laminate ripped up, plumbing sabotaged, walls seriously ruined, paint over windows, electrician told me house is now illegal and should be condemned (not in writing) much more.....
The house is uninhabitable but I have to live in it due to lack of funds.

I have a broken leg, cannot walk at all and have no help, friends or family here, leg not mending. So I cannot do any work myself. Have a builders quote of between £12,600 and £14,000.

Agent claims its just wear and tear and that I am trying to upgrade my home at her expense.
She and her estate agent husband, locals with good reputation are extremely clever and intelligent members of ARLA and other bodies.

I dont think Citizens Advice are up to this.
I can only think of threat bad publicity against the agent. They are likely to offer me a few hundred pounds only and are prepared to fight me every step of the way.
They keep saying I havent seen the house for 12 years and that the previous agent left it badly though my sister saw it after redecorating before current agent took it on and it was ok.

I am ruined, it is unsaleable. Before going to France I was offered £106,000 and now its worth £60,000. A 3 bed semi detached home with front and rear garden.
Agent says its due to property prices everywhere dropping.

I have been unable to see evidence of reports for regular inspections and what she saw.
She says it was alright 2 months before I returned but this amount of damage and theft must have taken all 6 - 7 years of the tenancy.

I Just rent a fully furnished flat but I found it without dining table, curtains and faulty washing machine. I have been told during viewing and inventory all will be fixed and ready by moving in. I raised a complaint to the letting agent, their reply the landlord will not provide dining table and curtains, and the washing machine was working. The letting agent keep saying maintenance is the landlord responsibility. Furthermore, the letting agent refuse to give me the full address of the landlord unless paying £35+VAT. I cannot contact the landlord, the letting agency acts negligently. I and my children eating on the ground and without washing machine, any help or advice please.

Dear website owner!! (Or anyone on here) I am at my wits end with both tenant and agent.

In addition to persistent late payment in rent, 2 months arrears, excuse after excuse and finding out my tenant lied on his tenant applicant form I have finally given up trying to reason with my tenant and decided to move forward with an eviction - I have at least 4 grounds of which two are mandatory under Section 8.

I was furious that reference checks came back glowing for someone who - it took me - all of 15 minutes to realise had given fake numbers and email addresses for former landlord and workplace. My Estate agent claims this is Homelets fault as they "passed" these refefences and even copied me into emails with Homelet and got their management to call me and he was not liable for this.

As far as I was aware, responsibility for referencing checks sat with an estate agent regardless of what tools / 3rd parties they use. I had been sceptical of a young single male wanting a 2 bed/2 bath apartmet in a very residential block of flats so requested tbe agent to do in depth checks to ensure I would not be at risk of him subletting and/or history of rental arrears. The agent didnt do anything but refer the case to Homelet - I want to establish who should bare responsibility for this and do I have grounds for complaint/redress/sue for professional negligence?

2nd issue which is terrifying me more - this Estate agent did not even conduct Right to Rent fully prior to tenancy!! He sent me a copy of my tenants passport (who is an EU citizen) and didnt send me further ibformation of their Settlement/Pre settlement or ILR Visa.

Now we are hitting close to the deadline of 1st July I have re-requested estate agent find out the tenants right to rent and queried why wasnt his visa check done before tenancy as per law.

He claims at March 27 21 there was no legal requirement to show anything more than a passport; however if he knew about this new law coming into play 1st of July how could he allow either tenant or I to sign a 12 months AST without conducting these checks and requesting proof of Visa??

This not only is a civil offence with a fine of £3000 it is also a criminal offence that can take you to prison for five years!!

Now as a Landlord I know I have obligations here too - so despite pre tenancy checks falling short I have requested for either physical documents as proof (needs to be via video I believe) and/or Share Code with which I can chrck online. The tenant has not responded to either of our requests.

Given his track record of false references, not paying rent (I also found out he is still "renting" a property from his so called former Landlord who has confirmed the tenant is 8 month in arrears of rent, has subletted the property and is being evicted by hime also) I feel there is a goodish chance he hasn't gotten his paperwork in order. Given the harsh consequences please can you advice me if what I can do?? Shall I notify Home Office and explain the situation and then seek legal advice re: Estate Agent??

I want to make sure I am covering my back each step of the way. I also feel its extremely unfair the agent has seemingly gotten away with this.

Thanks

Marina

They don't respect people who work on night shift. They will send you notice day before but despite your explanations and favours they will visit you next day at noon and wake you up deliberately. Multiple times same problem. Only an idiot makes same mistake and expects different result.