Flat is not repaired albeit promises.

rocknrolla_3

Hi everyone,

We recently rented a flat in London. We met both the letting agent and the owner.

Before signing the contract, I pointed out several defects (broken door handle, wardrobe hinges, etc.) and the agent promised to get it resolved ASAP.

Then the agent charged us £300 (by the way, on top of £1500+ rent) and quietly disappeared.

During the next month, I have tried to contact him THOUSAND times through e-mail, work phone, mobile phone. Most of the time he hanged up the phone, asked to call later (never called), etc.

In the end, he said that he is not even an agent for this flat.

I have exhausted the ways of getting the situation resolved and now want to make a claim on him.

That will consist of the following:
1) £300 he defrauded us at first place
2) difference between the rent value of non-repaired and satisfactory flat for the period
3) emotional distress and time I had to spend trying to contact him


What do you think about this case?

Regards

BitterAndTwisted

You don't have a case. it's entirely possible that the agent provided a tenancy-finding service to the landlord only, and therefore has no further involvement.

WRITE to the landlord and request the repairs be made. Do not use any other method of contact as you will probably need documentary evidence to confirm that these repairs were outstanding before you took on the tenancy and therefore did not cause them yourself and cannot be charged for them upon exit.

rocknrolla_3

He did not provide any service - we found a flat ourselves directly.

rocknrolla_3

And we wrote to the landlord as well - he never replied.

BitterAndTwisted

What did you think you were paying him for when you handed over the money?

Still, that has nothing to do with the repairs which you should deal with as I have explained.

rocknrolla_3

We have written to the owner directly and he did not take action as well. What would be the next step?

Annisele

The "letting agent" (LA) is the agent of the landlord (LL) - not of the tenant (T). So, if you do have a claim as a result of anything the LA has done, then your claim is against the LL.

What I suspect has happened is that the LL paid the LA to find a T - you. You were looking for a property, found this one, and paid the LA £300 for referencing and other fees. The LL's agreement with the LA was for tenant finding only; the T is found; so the LA has no further interest in the arrangements.

If that's right, then you have no claim whatsoever against the LA. If you want the repairs done, you'll have to write (on paper; you can send a copy by email but you must send a paper letter) to the LL. You might find Shelter's information on repairs helpful.

Edit: However, if the problems are limited to door handles and hinges, I'd recommend a trip to B&Q and some time with a screwdriver. I'm a tenant myself, and sometimes it's far easier to just fix stuff than try to hassle a LL into doing it!

rocknrolla_3

Thanks Annisele,

That is not correct - we have found the flat through a previous tenant, who was our buddy.

So, the LA didn't provide any service and now he is claiming that he is not even "LA".

Oh yes, another detail - when I objected before signing the contract, he took the pictures of the defects on his iPhone with a verbal promise to repair it ASAP.

BitterAndTwisted

"A verbal promise" i.e. he will pass the information onto the landlord and ask him to arrange the repair. It's the landlord who is responsible for undertaking repairs regardless of any placatory language the agent used.

The two issues you have mentioned are quite trivial tbh. Get writing your letter and protect yourself from being charged for them once this tenancy ends. You cannot force the landlord to undertake them as that is his choice.

Kynthia

The LL paid the LA to find a suitable tenant, which includes the credit checks and referencing, signing contracts, showing potential tenants around the property and completing the check in and inventory. LA has no contract with you and his role in the letting is now finished.

You can only deal with the LL now and if he doesn't reply then there's not a lot you can do. Shelter has good information on repairs in private lets that you should look at.