Problems with my letting agents!

Jowo_2

Many landlords who employ letting agents do this precisely because they do not have the time, inclination or will to liaise directly with tenants. They have absolutely no wish to speak to them or be influenced by them, they just want an easy life and that is why they pay through the nose for an intermediary. Clearly, as the landlords are abroad, they couldn't actually manage the letting even if they wanted to.

Therefore you should not assume that you will be able to influence the outcome in case the landlord regards this direct contact as a complete nuisance. I'd have thought that the instruction to end the letting would have come from the landlord who perhaps believes in full the reports from the agent that they have tenants in the property who are damaging it.

So it could go either way. Be brief, polite and diplomatic in your communication with them because you don't know their agenda. Also, they may be locked in contractually with their agent and have difficulty suspending this.

It is not their problem that the OP has problems with affording onward accommodation because they can't come up with a deposit and because most agents/landlords will reject them because of their poor credit record. This is something for the OP to sort out independently of their current accommodation crisis, such as dealing with any debts, repairing their credit record and increasing their income/decreasing their expenses so they can build up savings. Any mention of financial problems is likely to scare the current landlords anyway.

It may be better if you pitch your comms at how badly the agents are serving the landlord, rather than just your end experience - for example, how slow repairs, such as non-repaired tiles, will cause even greater problems if not remedied, how the agents failure to undertake a gas safety inspection in a timely way actually puts the landlord at risk of prosecution, as per the following.

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/gas_safety.htm

I assume that this agent does not belong to a professional body? Again, this is something you can promote to the owners.

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/agents.htm

Perhaps you could offer for one of their friends/relatives to come and inspect the property and allow you to point out the effects of the slow or no repairs on the fabric of the building and offer to present evidence on the efforts you have made to report and escalate the repairs?

mrmichaelf

The boiler is now working, but not perfectly. It will go off without warning sometimes. It has been serviced recently now though.

The deposit is protected I just dont have the details to hand currently.
When we viewed the owners were still living at property and were a lovely couple. We honestly belive that they dont know what is going on.

princeofpounds

We honestly belive that they dont know what is going on.

Then contact them. You have nothing to lose at least. Jowo's suggestion is a very plausible scenario - the order to evict may have come from the landlord, but they might not know what is going on.

mrmichaelf

Had a message back from the owners who stand by the letting agents and believe we have been damaging/not looking after the property.

We'll have to move out. Although how we find somewhere else and a bond without a reference in the next 4-5 weeks is beyond me.