LA taking everyone for a ride.

debrag

I started looking for my own place beginning of may and found a large 1 bed flat so took it. Paid admin fee, 6 weeks deposit and 1 months rent all with in a week, was asked to move in sooner than I initially stated (22nd June) as the LL needed someone in ASAP so I moved in 23rd May.

23rd June get call from LL to say that they have recieved no money from the LA and they are impossible to contact (unless they are looking for payment). I paid the LL direct and have had a face to face meeting with them this evening to discuss the next step.

The LA has no premises on any high street, just one office in a business park, no cars with their name on, no boards, and no advertisements anywhere. When you go to their offices you have no clue where they are, go to the unit number and no name anywhere, you have to go through the gates of the car park to find them and even then they have no signs on the onside, the door is locked and no signs inside just one desk in front of a partition.

Aparently they rent everything so are impossible to get any money back from them.

Should I just ignore them from now on? LL happy for me to continue to rent the flat

Jowo_2

Do you have a signed contract?

Pay the landlord, as requested. Ignore the letting agent, they are irrelevant to you and have no power in the relationship. Keep proof of payment.

The contract you have is actually with the landlord. Your direct legal relationship is with the landlord. Agents are mere intermediaries and should be a transparent window through to the landlord.

What actually happens is that the letting agent has a separate contract with the landlord to manage the flat on their behalf. Anything you sign with them, you are actually signing with the landlord. If there's a problem with the letting agent breaking the contract, it's between landlord and letting agent - stay out of their issues.

What's happened to your deposit - was it lodged in a tenancy deposit scheme? Who is going to manage repairs going forward - the landlord?

Your current tenancy is unaffected by the dispute between landlord and agent.

Blacksheep1979

only do the above if your tenancy agreement is with the landlord - if it's between you and the LA make sure you pay them. Either way, make sure you have some proof of payment.

Jowo_2

Blacksheep1979 wrote: »

only do the above if your tenancy agreement is with the landlord - if it's between you and the LA make sure you pay them. Either way, make sure you have some proof of payment.

That's not my understanding, at all. There are two contracts in place, one between the agent and the landlord, and one between the landlord and tenant (which the agent is facilitating).

If the agent and landlord are having a dispute, then they can take action against each other for the breach of contract.

clutton_2

if i was the tenant here - i would pay the landlord directly - as he is now the only party available and the only party who can legally evict me.

if the LA turns up - then let them can sue the tenant for not paying the rent - and then explain to the court what happened..........

Jowo_2

clutton wrote: »

if the LA turns up - then let them can sue the tenant for not paying the rent - and then explain to the court what happened..........

But they can't sue the tenant, their contract is with the landlord! It's a relationship where the tenant has a legal link to the landlord and the landlord has a separate legal link to the agent. The agent may liaise with the tenant but that's all. The agent may do the landlord's bidding but they are contracted to the landlord, not the tenant.

If this agent has absconded with the rent and deposit, it is up to the landlord to take civil action against them. If the tenant ran up arrears, it is up to the landlord to evict them. The tenant is irrelevant in an agent/landlord dispute.

Sadly, this also means that if the agency hasn't protected the deposit and goes under, the landlord must refund the deposit to the tenant and try to get the lost deposit back from the agents through the courts.

clutton_2

jowo - i know all that

""if i was the tenant here - i would pay the landlord directly - as he is now the only party available and the only party who can legally evict me""

Jowo_2

clutton wrote: »

jowo - i know all that

""if i was the tenant here - i would pay the landlord directly - as he is now the only party available and the only party who can legally evict me""

Yeah, I missed the tone, which may be because it was harder to pick up via the medium of email or is possibly because I'm on my third glass of wine. Cheers!

clutton_2

no probs ! irony is very difficult on a forum

debrag

Well the LL is contacting the LA today, doesn't say on the agreement that the deposit is held anywhere, like it was for my last place.

LL says I'm to get my deposit back from LA and with my October pay I'm to also pay a deposit to them which they will but in a scheme. Thats when my 6 months is up, though my agreement is till May 2011. I don't want to have to move out.

Do I ignore all letters from the LA?

I have read that someone got the police & collectors involved for them and they couldn't do anything as the LA have nothing to tkae.

tbs624

debrag - your LL seems not to understand that if the LA has disappeared with your original tenancy deposit then the buck stops with him, as the LL. Ultimately, it was his responsibility to ensure that the deposit was scheme-registered: the fact that he delegated that to an LA is none of your concern.If he wants a deposit from you to cover the tenancy he has one - he just has to prise it back out of the LAs sticky little paws. The LA did not take the deposit on his own behalf , he took it on behalf of your LL, acting as his agent ( hence the title letting agent);)

Check for yourself with each of the three schemes - see here - and get confirmation in writing, either way.