Landlord and Agency already breached contract before moving in!

Benabongo

Hey everyone,

My girlfriend and I have just left a 2.5 year tenancy (our previous landlord (LL) inserted a break clause). It was perfect and our Letting agency (LA) were just wonderful. It all ended in good order and with thanks from all sides. Very professional and considerate.

... fast forward a month ... we have gone to a different LA / LL. Moving our belongings in last week, it soon became clear the place was not ready for occupation. The tenancy agreement states: " The LL agrees to have the premises cleaned to a professional standard prior to the commencement of the tenancy". It is pretty disgusting: mould and hairs in the bathroom, dust everywhere (my gf is asthmatic too), mouse droppings everywhere, mousetraps all over the place, stains on the wall.

In addition the windows are filthy on the outside, the chimneys have not been swept, the carpet smells apalling (goaty) and is disintegrating in places, the curtains have not been cleaned. Some of these items were the responsibility of the previous tenant. They have not been made good by the LL or the LA.

In essence, we are disgusted by the property and the agency's repsonse: to send over their 'rugby player bully' round for 5 mins, who then became super aggressive and defensive and essentially was saying "tough s**t". He recommends we leave the property in the state we found it at the end of the tenancy.

We simply don't want to live in such a disgusting place, have to pay for all the cleaning, or to deal with such an aggressive LA. In addition the kitchen lights don't work, the smoke alarms don't work.

This is a breach of contract in my view.

Help!? Any suggestions.



Thanks for any guidance ...

Yorkie1

Take photos, communicate in writing with LL / LA and if necessary call in the environmental health team at the council.

Make sure that any inventory accurately records the condition, otherwise when it comes to moving out your LL will possibly try to make deductions by asserting that he had indeed cleaned the place as stipulated in the tenancy.

I don't think you have any grounds for cancelling the tenancy or refusing to pay rent, in case that's something you're wondering about.

satchmeister

Might be worth getting in an Independent Inventory check company (as it seems there was not one originally) to record the state of the place as it seems be a health hazard. They would charge about £100. Never had this problem but always take 200+ photos, every paint chip ... and post the cd to myself (letter unopened) to verify when the photos were taken.

princeofpounds

You have two choices.

1) document extensively the awful state of the property- get photos printed with timestamps, take an inventory, write to LL informing him. Clean it yourself and then leave it in a poor state when you leave.

2) try to force the LL to pay for a clean now. You can in theory sue for the cost of a clean, but then you might have to pay to leave it in a clean state at the end.

The EA was a bully but he did have a point in that the tenancy does not end thanks to such a breach and your responsibility is to just return it in the same state. It is unlikely to be an EH matter