Rant over Letting Agents!!! UPDATED

[HideiLu]

UPDATE:

I got a reply letter from Letting Agents - saying they will get back to us and let us know when they will do the maintenance, and good luck with the baby....nothing about the deposit scheme! totally ignored that part!

So I have sent an email this morning asking again for the details of which scheme it is in, and no reply as yet.

Got a reply from one of the three Schemes I emailed, saying it's not with them, so only two others to go.

Be nice if we do get two or three times our money back!!!

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Grrrrr I am only writing this to stop the steam coming out my ears!!!!

I am off work today to try and get some rest.

Just got a letter through from our letting agents saying a. we have a dog (we don't!!) and b. our rent isn't paid (it has and we have receipts).

The letter is dated the 12th (Saturday) and arrived today...stating they are coming over today at 6pm to inspect the flat and we will be charged if we don't give 48 hours notice of cancelling the appointment!!!!! They haven't even given us 48hours notice to say they are coming!!!

PLUS what makes me really mad about it, when they last done an inspection in early December to renew our contract we noted there is no extractor fan in the bathroom (this is a necessity for landlords to provide as there are no windows) this has caused damp on the ceiling, the shower rail is not fixed properly and falls down almost daily (not safe with bump or baby) there is a crack down the living room wall, pplastering needs doing round the balcony door which was due before we moved in, the paint is peeling off in the kitchen, the loo never flushes properly, and the seal round the bath tub needs re-doing......I have brought this up every month I've paid my rent for the last SEVEN MONTHS and still waiting for a response! Yet now they seem to be able to pop over in an instant!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

The last time we renewed the contract it cost us £157 for the priviledge of them photocopying the papers for us to re-sign....we're not doing that again but won't be moving until January.

Oh and OH had to have a guarantor as he had just changed jobs when we moved, which are his parents and were told it would be for 1 year only, which has just passed on 8th June, but when they asked to be removed as guarantors, they were told it's not possible and the guy that agreed it had conveniently left!!

Rant over

 

[Sandi4Paul]

are they allowed to act like that? Sorry ignorant question, i have never rented in the UK and in NZ we have an indepedent body to regulate rental situations.

Sandi

 

[HideiLu]

I'm sure it's not allowed!!

If I'm still in this mood when he arrives at 6pm he's going to get a right old ear ful!!

Thing is that I always find it hard to complain to letting agents without the fear of getting kicked out which we really can not afford to happen at the moment!!

 

[mrs_tommo22]

Can you mae formol complaints to someone? id be going hopping mad being treated like that.

 

[charlie84]

I know they have to give notice for an inspection, which i think only has to be 24 hrs.
Could the letter have been sent in error to you considering the fact that the content is not relevant to you.

Also i think a letter to the letting agent wouldnt go amiss considering the work that needs doing to your property. Also make sure you point out when he comes round tonight all the problems aswell.
You shouldnt fear being kicked out of the property hun. You have your rights.

Have a looky at this link kinda basic rights of tenants and landlords.
http://www.primelocation.com/guides/lan ... rd-rights/

 

[HideiLu]

I know they have to give notice for an inspection, which i think only has to be 24 hrs.
Could the letter have been sent in error to you considering the fact that the content is not relevant to you.

Also i think a letter to the letting agent wouldnt go amiss considering the work that needs doing to your property. Also make sure you point out when he comes round tonight all the problems aswell.
You shouldnt fear being kicked out of the property hun. You have your rights.

Have a looky at this link kinda basic rights of tenants and landlords.
http://www.primelocation.com/guides/lan ... rd-rights/

I have written a couple of times and sent emails, given the information over the phone and gone in there in person!!! The only repsonse we got said that the director of the business was on holiday and they would look in to it when he returned, that was in April!

I have called them and the letter was definately for us and the appointment is definately booked in. I asked them to check their records to show that we have paid rent, but they said the guy who does accounts was not in! I have a receipt though and OH has his bank statement.

I'm going to make a list of all the things I want to bring up and will take the opportunity to bring it all up tonight.

It's partly a good job that i have got the day off, otherwise would only have got the letter at 4.30 this afternoon so even less notice! But still, instead of resting my SPD I'm going to be spending the day cleaning!!

I am also looking in to the fact that all agents must now give written confirmation within 14 days which scheme they have paid the deposit in to, which they never did. Anyone know anything more about this?

I'm going to check out your link now Charlie

 

[~*Leanne*~]

its ridiculous hun!!!

We are currently renting and have a 6 month tennancy agreement - which runs out on 16th August 2008! we were told, and its in our contract, that the owner of the property should let us know what her plans are (whether she will let us keep it for another 6 months or she wants us out!) 2 months before it runs out - which to my calculation is 16th June (am i not right?) we havent heard a thing from either the letting agency or the owner, but recieved a letter last week stating we need to give them an answer as to our plans, i have sent them a letter back stating i will not let them know anything until they tell us they get right on my wick!!!

 

[HideiLu]

its ridiculous hun!!!

We are currently renting and have a 6 month tennancy agreement - which runs out on 16th August 2008! we were told, and its in our contract, that the owner of the property should let us know what her plans are (whether she will let us keep it for another 6 months or she wants us out!) 2 months before it runs out - which to my calculation is 16th June (am i not right?) we havent heard a thing from either the letting agency or the owner, but recieved a letter last week stating we need to give them an answer as to our plans, i have sent them a letter back stating i will not let them know anything until they tell us they get right on my wick!!!

You are right!!

We LOVE our home but these things are just a pain!!

RE: The dog bit...I said to them on the phone, my friend has been in the flat with her dog, which there is nothing in the contract to say is not allowed! But their letter says 'I have written confirmation and details that a dog is permananently residing at Flat 5'

The contract basically says that we can not have a dog living here, but surely there is nothing they can say about having a friend with a dog visit?!

 

[bunnymom1980]

We had similar problems with a landlord/letting agent who wouldn't do necessary work and left us a whole weekend without heating in the middle of winter because he wouldn't pay out of hours costs for a plumber!

Unfortunately when we complained, he tried to say that we hadn't paid rent and then served us 'notice to quit'.

Tenants have very little rights that are enforceable.

I hope you get things sorted though

 

[KJ]

Have a look at the 'ARLA' website. If your agents are a member then they will be regulated and have strict rules to follow and you can threaten to report them.

K.xx

 

[samandbump]

go too citizens advice and explain what you have said on here
we had loads of problems with our last letting agents once we had the facts from the law
they co-operated much better, they cannot treat you like this
and cant kick you out for complaining especially now you are pregant

 

[dannii87]

OMG he would get a HUGE mouthful off me when he arrives tonight if this was me! I would be furious!!

I'd have to say something along the lines of "Oh thank God you're on time & not early, we had a right ol' nightmare this afternoon trying to find someone to get over here & take the dog ready for you arriving!"

I've never rented but I don't know how you put up with that xx

 

[jennywren]

I am also looking in to the fact that all agents must now give written confirmation within 14 days which scheme they have paid the deposit in to, which they never did. Anyone know anything more about this?

Hey its the DPS (deposit protection scheme) you should have got a letter from. We did and it tells you the account number and how much was deposited etc CLICKY . If they don't write to you within the 14 days you get either 2 or 3 times your deposit back (cant rem which) as ours came at 11 days and were were hoping for them to miss the deadline lol. Not sure when the legislation started from but if you click on the clicky link you can read up / contact them and ask them.

Also hun if you go to THIS WEBSITE and just sign up and put a post for help you should get all your legal answers as most peeps are LLs, tenantans who have had problems so know the answers or Letting agents so you should get all the legal stuff you need to yell at the LA to get their arses in gear!

Ill point Emmylou to the thread as she had her own letting company

x

 

[HideiLu]

That's exactly it Jenny!! You're an angel Even if I bring it up tonight, it's too late for them to do anything (Legislation came in to place in April 2007 and we moved in on 8th June 2007) so waaaay over 14days!! Oooh 3 times our money back would be a dream! 8) Is it the scheme that write to you or the agents?!

Best get on with a bit more polishing, they'll be here in an hour!!

 

[jennywren]

That's exactly it Jenny!! You're an angel Even if I bring it up tonight, it's too late for them to do anything (Legislation came in to place in April 2007 and we moved in on 8th June 2007) so waaaay over 14days!! Oooh 3 times our money back would be a dream! 8) Is it the scheme that write to you or the agents?!

Best get on with a bit more polishing, they'll be here in an hour!!

Oh yes you can bring it up with them, just say ''while im at it, I didnt receive my legal notification as to where you are holding my deposit, seen as the legislation came in in April 2007 and we moved in in June 2007 you had 14 days to notify me which Deposit Protection Scheme it was in, and I didnt have confirmation so can you give me the details so I can speak to them and make sure it was submitted within the 14 days of signing the contract'' Because they ''may'' have submitted but your confirmation got lost in the post - a long shot but you know what RM are like so it can't be ruled out, BUT if they pay it in now and try and back date it they wont beable to. Give them 24 hours to provide you the details (over the phone, company its with account mumber etc) and tell them to forward it in writing. Ours is with the Actual DPS and we got a letter direct from them but iirc Em told me you can have the deposit protected with different companies and some LA's even have inhouse schemes but they still have to provide proof when it has been paid in.

Did the letter come 1st class or 2nd class?

Just go out when there due to come, I would, I think your allowed a few times to refuse a visit, infact im 99% certain of it, you ocan't be free at the drop of a hat and they have to be reasonable with any visits by law!

 

[Lorna]

Aah what a nightmare we are moving in a few weeks and are having to go with a letting agent, we have always had private Landlords before. We are going through loads of blinking credit checks which is a pain in the backside, and they have charged us £280 for something which probably costs them about a tenner to do. Grrr.

Definitely worth pursuing the 3x deposit back if they haven't protected your deposit, I think I have read somewhere you can go via small claims, not too sure entirely how it is done but well worth checking out.

 

[MrsH]

Hiya

I used to work in Property Management/Estate Agency for about 4 years!! (i dont anymore!!!)

So if you need to ask me anything please do and I will try my best to inform you!

With regard to your deposit all Letting Agents from April 2007 have now got to put it in the DPS (Deposit Protection Scheme)

http://www.depositprotection.com/defaul ... js=1&fla=1

This protects both the Agents and the Tenants deposit money as it is a government run!

When we did inspections etc we had to give the tenants 24 hours notice in writing but also we would call them prior to this to inform them!

Please let me know if they turn up and what they say!


Kate x

 

[Emmylou]

Hi,
They sound a bit unprofessional to me.
A few things I would point out:

Your deposit HAS to be protected, it does not have to be held/ tranferred to The Deposit Protection Service (DPS) as a rule, there is also Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) which is where the deposit is held in a deposit account run by the Letting Agent, but they notify the TDS that they are holding it and have rules/ giudleines they must follow in the protection and return of the deposit. Either way you must be notified within 14 days of the start date of your tenancy/ date of deposit payment which scheme your deposit is being protected by.
Definitely visit these websites though for info on that:

DPS FAQ's
TDS

Re: Notice for an inspection of the property, this must be 24 hours written notice, so you must receive the notice AT LEAST 24 hours before the appointment that has been made, so you are within your rights to refuse them entry if they have not provided you with that time - I mean, say for instance you worked until 6pm, then you would have missed an appointment that you weren't aware about (as RM would have delivered the notice after you went to work on the day of the appointment) - they can't then charge you for that as you have not been correctly informed.

If you have a receipt for the rent & a copy of the bank statement then I am confused - do they send a receipt every month when you pay by bank transfer/ standing order? I would ask them to see a statement of your account (which I would hope they would have bought to the appointment if the inspection was booked in on the basis that you were behind with the rent) to see if maybe it is a previous months money that they haven't logged.

If they have failed to rectify the problems at the house, then if I were you I would write a letter saying that if the jobs (previously reported - provide them with dates you reported it or even better copies of the emails/ letters that you sent) if they aren't sorted within 14 days of the date of your letter, then you will arrange to rectify the problems at the house and deduct the cost of the jobs from your future rent payments. This letter MUST be sent by recorded delivery (then check on RM website that your letter has been signed for) and also state at the bottom of the letter that if they are not happy for you to arrange yourself and deduct from rent, they must notify you by letter (sent recorded del) AND email (incl your email addy) in order for you to be made aware that what you are suggesting is unacceptable to them - 14 days is plenty of time for them to respond to you.

What else? No, it is not against your tenancy to allow a friend with a pet to visit, as that is hardly likely to infest the property with any pet smells etc - regarding the fees to re-sign, thats standard, as otherwse it is in the agents interest not to let you resign as if they made you move out and then re-let it they would make more money - just one of the things that happens when you rent.

As you are worried about them kicking you out, trust me, that is not a fast/ easy option - it is a) very costly when legal fees/ court costs etc are added into the equation, and unless you are seriously breaking the terms of your contract it is unlikely that a judge would rule in there favour. You would have to be more than 2 months rent arrears for them to serve an eviction notice, and even that could take 6-8weeks to go through the court - and thats in best case scenario. If they try to kick you out because you pay a bit late/ have a friend who pops round with a dog, then the judge would probably just laugh at them.

Also, if you are in a fixed term contract then your contract CANNOT end (other than if you breach your contract terms - see above, difficult for them anyway) until the last day of the agreed tenancy at the earliest. Sorry I've whittered on a bit there. I'll check back to this thread - let me know how you got on with the inspection - pm me if you want any more help/ advice.

Did anyone make it to the end of this post?

 

[HideiLu]

I made it to the end!!

Thank you that is sooo helpful!!

Well, at 6.30 there was still no sign of them, so OH rang and they said they would be 10 minutes...turned up at 7.10

The guy was trying to be really nice, and says he knows we are good tenants, the place is always immaculate and he likes us blah blah, but as the dog was reported, he had to come check.

With regards to the rent, I showed him the receipt (I usually pay my half by cash and OH pays his by standing order - long story!) and he called his accounts guy who said it must have been a mix up

We mentioned that OHs parents were only meant to be guarantor for 6 months - he basically said that by renewing our contract for a further year, it means they continue as guarantor for a further year too. Going to check through our paper work to see whether it has this in there anywhere as they received no notice of that. Plus it was only due to the fact he had only just started the job when we moved, so it's only for him not me and he's never missed a payment.

Finally regarding the works, he tried to just bush them off by saying they are not causing any harm, jsut minor jobs and he will get someone over in 2 weeks if that's ok and start doing some of the bits - I did point out that our concern was the fact he knew about the problems 7 months ago and it's dragged out this long.

Anyways, I have listed all the jobs in a letter to ensure they don't forget and given a written request asking which scheme our deposit has been paid in to. Also emailed the 3 schemes and requested any information they have of it being paid.

Ooooh I need sleep now!!

 

[Emmylou]

Glad you made it to the end

Well, I would say you are doing the right thing regarding the repairs, by putting it in writing etc......they may seem minor to them, but having a shower curtain come down constantly is actually a Health & Safety issue, and if you slip & injure yourself you are able to sue them for not repairing it - not sure they would call it a 'minor issue' then - also on the flip side, the other argument is - if they are only minor issues then why haven;t they been rectified?

Definitely acknowledge in your letter - further to the statement made by 'name of agent rep' during the inspection carried out on 15th July we are pleased that the repairs needed are finally being carried out will take place within 2 weeks from the inspection date, and would like to confirm that our availability for you to send workmen to the property is: 'enter your availability'. If you need access as times not stated, please contact wither of us - blah blah blah. (Don't fogret your recorded del!!)

Re: Guarantors, the original gu covenant will possibly have (was certainly standard in ours) a term that states:
The above named agrees to guarantee the rent due at [property] on behalf of [tenant name] for this and any future tenancy terms. It shouldn't cause too much havoc them being guarantors if your OH is paying the rent, as they won't enforce the financial guarantee unless there is a problem with the rent.
If the guarantor definitely wants to be removed, then the best thing to do is write a letter to the Landlord (not the agent) and send it c/o the agent, requesting that they are removed from the responsibility of gu, and as the rent has been paid on time etc etc etc.......it is then up to the LL - realistically I think you have a 20% chance of the LL going for that, as most LLs want as much security when it comes rent payments, before they want to be a nice LL.

Hope the above helped too Let me know how you get on with the deposit chasing 8)