Landlord withheld reference fees

Manchester_Jack

Hi,
I couple of weeks back I moved in a rented house. Naturally there was a tenancy agreement signed by both me and the landlord and I had paid the first month's rent and the tenancy deposit (there was no agent involved, I rented it directly via the landlord).

It was advertised as a 4 bedroom house. One of the bedrooms was a converted garage. On the morning that I moved in the builder (who lives down the road) let me in and showed me around. I noticed what appeared to be a patch of damp on the wall in the converted bedroom (it must have appeared quickly, because it had only been painted a few days earlier).

The builder confirmed that it was damp and then further claimed that:

1) The conversion was not a "proper" conversion
2) That it was only one brick thick and so couldn't be damp proofed
3) That they had tried damp retardant material but it hadn't worked
4) That the room was not for habitation and was not a "legal dwelling"
5) That even the height of the ceiling (which was very low) was not legal

I phoned the landlord who initially argued that I had to take it "as seen" but who eventually relented and agreed to cancel the tenancy and refund all the money.

He did process the refund quickly, but then decided that he was deduct £170 for referencing fees.

He had never previously mentioned referencing fees, and I wouldn't normally mind paying them, but I consider that he completely mis-represented the house and so I feel that I should not have to pay any fees.

Does he have any right to withhold the money and is there much that I could practically do to get it back.

Any help appreciated.

tbs624

Talk to your local Trading Standards Officer - it sounds as though the LL definitely made a misrepresentation to you so you should not be left out of pocket. This is even more the case when there has been no prior mention of these fees.

You may be interested to know that third party referencing fees vary from about 15 to 50 quid per person.

theartfullodger

Phone Landlord up, ask him very politely, calmly & slowly would he prefer to repay you right now in cash or that you involve council planning department, environmental health & trading standards.

Receive money. Write detailed letter to those council departments.

Bleedin' stupid crooked twit of a Landlord!

Manchester_Jack

theartfullodger wrote: »

Phone Landlord up, ask him very politely, calmly & slowly would he prefer to repay you right now in cash or that you involve council planning department, environmental health & trading standards.

Receive money. Write detailed letter to those council departments.

Bleedin' stupid crooked twit of a Landlord!

Thanks.

It is interesting that he has know put the property up for sale instead. It is on with two estate agents. With one it is on as a 4 bed property and with the other a 3 bed.

clutton_2

Were there any Terms and conditions as to his business which he gave you explaining the fees ?

If not then

Write him a letter asking for the full refund - ask him for the money in 10 days.

If he does not do this.. send a Letter Before Action and give him 7 days.

7 days later - you could take him to the small claims court if you wish

Manchester_Jack

clutton wrote: »

Were there any Terms and conditions as to his business which he gave you explaining the fees ?

If not then

Write him a letter asking for the full refund - ask him for the money in 10 days.

If he does not do this.. send a Letter Before Action and give him 7 days.

7 days later - you could take him to the small claims court if you wish

As far as I am aware there was no company involved, the tenancy was directly between me and him.

I have sent him an email requesting the money on the basis that the house was misrepresented. I have asked him if he disputes that and, if he doesn't, to return the money.

clutton_2

you really need to write letters... emails are no good in court.. and if it gets to that you will need evidence

Manchester_Jack

Hi again.

I have emailed the landlord and he says that he disputes that the house was ever represented as a 4 bed and he also disputes that the 4th bedroom is not suitable for habitation.

He also claims that I left the tenancy for "reasons unknown" (the guy is such a bare faced liar)

Anyway, I will start writing letters as clutton suggests.

I am going to get in touch with the builder and request a statement from him, not only in terms of the state of the room and its fitness for habitation, but also in terms of why the tenancy ended (he was involved in discussions with both me and the landlord).

I don't know if he will want to get involved, but I also sense that he won't want to lie on the landlord's behalf.

Am I correct in thinking that, because there was no company involved, but just a direct contract between me and the landlord that Trading Standards would not be involved?

Is there any benefit in me calling the council planning department? As I mentioned it seems that the house is now up for sale, but I am not sure if he might be trying to rent it too.

Any advice on what pressure I can bring to bear on this guy would be appreciated. I just can't believe what a bare faced liar he is.

Manchester_Jack

I have just got off the phone with the council's planning enforcement team. They checked their system of planning approvals and confirmed that he doesn't have approval for the garage conversion. They are therefore going to visit the property within the next 20 days.

As there is nobody at the property I have given them the details of the estate agent who is marketing it, so they can hopefully get access.

I am in two minds as to whether the tell the landlord of the impending visit or not. If I tell him, I fear it might give him a chance to try to convert it back into a garage.

It might just be easier for him to give me the £170 he owes me.

Manchester_Jack

I have also just spoken with HomeLet, who did the referencing.

I asked them what maximum amount that a landlord could be charged for a reference was. The guy was very evasive, saying that there was no maximum because everyone was priced differently, but he did eventually say that a standard reference shouldn't be more than £40.

When I said that I was being charged £170 he refused to comment.

EDIT: If it turns out that he was charged £40 and he told me that he was charged £170, and is therefore claiming that from me, is that fraud?