New Landlord pulled out 3 days before move.

emsiechick

The last 24 hours have been a nightmare for me.

I currently live in a 2 bedroomed rented property and have been looking for a 3 bedroom property for some time. A suitable one came up about 5 weeks ago and I went for a look round. Its suited my family well so started the ball rolling to move in. I had to pay the letting agent £300 to secure the property etc. and I gave my present landlord the one months notice they required. I then got sent a copy of the tenancy agreement to look at in my own time.

Everything was going ok until I tried to get the phoneline transfered from my currrent address to the new one. My provider said there was no active phone line at the address and it would cost me £110 to get it activated. I contacted the new letting agent and she said she would find out about the phone line and get back to me. 20 minutes later she rang back and said that it was normal procedure for the phone line to be cut off when a tenant leaves the property and it was my responsibility to get it put back on.
After reading through the terms in the tenancy agreement, I found several clauses saying the tenant had to keep all services (inc. phone and gas/electric) running at the property during the tenancy but as I was not legally the tenant yet, I didn't think this applied to me.
Anyway, after lots of negotiation, the landlord agreed to pay £60 towards the cost of re-instating the phone line. I agreed to it and thought that would be the end of the matter. Within an hour of me agreeing, I had a call from the letting agent saying the landlord had pulled out and I was no longer getting the house and this was 3 days before I was to sign contract and collect keys.

Is this normal practice? I paid out alot of money to ensure I got the house, started re-directing post, switched addresses for my utility suppliers etc only for the rug to be pulled out from under me. Am i entitled to any compensation?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated as, at the moment, I am at risk of being homeless with 2 kids this Xmas...am still trying to negotiate with my current landlord to see if I can stay here for the near future.

clutton_2

if you have not signed an agreement then - you have no legal redress. You can claim back your costr from the agents.

i would continue talking to your current landlord and ask his indulgence... does he have another tenant ready to move in ?

emsiechick

Thank you for your advice. I will try and claim back my expenses from the letting agent but, after the phone call with her yesterday, I am not hopeful I will get anything back.

I don't think my current letting agent has found a new tenant but I was in their office today and I did sense some considerable hostility from the staff which I found extremely unhelpful at this stressful time.

clutton_2

how long have you been in your current accommodation ? and what length of tenancy agreement did you sign ?

re holding fees... an agent cannot reasonably keep hold of any fees you have paid if the landlord withdraws the property from the market as this is not your fault.

tbs624

emsiechick wrote: »

Thank you for your advice. I will try and claim back my expenses from the letting agent but, after the phone call with her yesterday, I am not hopeful I will get anything back.

Don't be fobbed off - you are entitled to the return of your fee. Write (keeping a copy) requesting the retunr of the fee and say that if you don't receive reimbursement within 7 working days you will proceed to the small claims court. You can seek support from the local Council's Trading Standards Officer

emsiechick wrote: »

I don't think my current letting agent has found a new tenant but I was in their office today and I did sense some considerable hostility from the staff which I found extremely unhelpful at this stressful time.

Many LAs are unprofessional. This sort of scenario happens and they should be used to dealing with it. Try talking direct to the LL, who will probably be pleased to have you remain in situ paying rent across the rental desert month around Xmas. In any event, if you simply stay put they will have to proceed to court for an order for eviction - and there would be no point if a new T has not even been signed up.

kissingthepink

Contact your current landlord and ask if you can stay longer until the letting agent can find another property for you. During my brief stint as a letting agent I found that this scenario was not uncommon. Often landlords find their own tenant at the last minute and prefer to move that one in to avoid paying the commission. It is a nightmare for both the agent and the tenant. Something I could do without and decided that there were easier/better ways to make a living.