Property Management Company

Nonshy

Has anyone heard of "Capitax Property Services Limited?"
Based in Solihull. Can't find website on them.

Problem is we have a small leak, or possible damp and they have stated we have to pay more for out of hours service ie after 5pm

or

take a day's holiday.. we have no holiday left so not possible.

I asked where it states times in contract we have to give access, it doesn't so they send snotty email back saying our file has been noted and we "have chosen not to make ourselves available for maintenance of the property."

No we are available just not between 9am-5pm.

Also, three pairs of shoes have become damaged by this - if i damage landlord's property i pay for it, but if my property is damaged by his then i am guessing it is tough look?

I now feel when our tenancy comes up they'll "advise" owner to not let us stay on or request ridiculous rent increase... we would like to stay long term.

Many thanks

G_M

First, it is not you who should be paying it is the landlord.

Second, unless it is an emergency it is perfectly reasonable to request access during working hours.

Third, it is access that is required, not your presence. Leave a key with the neighbours? Or the agent or landlord?

Yes you can claim for damage (who has told you you can't?) but to be honest is it worth the agro over 3 shoes?

Of course, much depends on the source/cause of the leak/damp. If YOU damaged a pipe, or caused excess condensation, then you are liable. If it is routine maintenance or fault caused by age etc, then the LL is liable.

Nonshy

Landlords are not required to pay for an out of hours service, the charges for evening and weekends call are significantly higher as they are considered emergency time slots, this is why I inform tenants of the 9-4pm time slot. If you wish for a time after 6pm or at the weekend then you would need to pay for the excess on the hourly rate

Alternatively I can arrange for the keys to be sent out but this will also be at a cost to yourself. The charge for this is £25.00 to cover the cost of outward and return postage plus admin charges for staff and vehicle use

That is Management company's response regarding times and costs ^^^

G_M: are they within their rights to request access between working hours? It is not an emergency and both work long hours in london so not like we can pop home and let them in. I suggested leaving key with neighbour but was told they need key and access to car park.

Shoes combined were worth over £400 - I wouldn't try and claim damages but their last snotty and inappropriate email has annoyed me and made me feel threatened come end of our tenancy as settled there now and not wanting to be forced out... unfortunately sort after area of london so would take 5 mins to find a new tenant.

We are not sure how damage has occurred, i think small water pipe leak as slowly got worse over weekend.

Many thanks for your help

G_M

So
1) they are acknowledging that the landlord is liable and will pay for the repair.
2) they are willing to undertake the repair
3) to undertake the repair, they will require access
4) Since the repair is non urgent, there is no requirement for an expensive out-of-hours service
5) however they are offering you this option if you prefer, though the additional cost will have to be bourne by you, since it is at your request.

The above all seems perfectly reasonable.

I don't know the set-up at the property (car park access etc), but surely this is not insurmountable? If you were at home, how would they get into the car park? Phone you on arrival or ring the doorbell and request access? Why can your neighbour not do this for you? Give them the neighbour's phone number....

Nonshy

They basically said if he can't get in then would be charged to me for not giving access. The set up is stupid, you need a buzzer to get in and to call mobile or landline... when arrive as flat ringing system does not work. You also need a buzzer to get out... taxis drivers always get stuck in car park after dropping people off!

I would also need to find a neighbour who was willing to wait around for 3 hours, mostly people 25-45.

Management company think repair may be urgent and leaving it may be damaging the property... I said i am available anytime outside 9-5pm, i live in london so plenty of plumbers working all hours! They basically do not want to pay higher hourly rate for a plumber outside 9-5 hours, not much i can do about that though!

G_M

What has your landlord said?

Fire_Fox

Write to your landlord formally reporting the leak, the problems with the broken entry system and any other issues. State how and when you would be willing to permit access to resolve these issues, for example evenings and weekends with 48 hours written notice, any time in the day without your presence providing the workman is supervised by the landlord or his agent.

Assuming you have not changed any of the locks it is not your problem if they cannot gain access during office hours. The landlord can get additional 'buzzers' from the freeholder though no doubt he will be charged. The management company cannot charge you for callouts unless it's because of your action (you lock yourself out) OR you have signed something in the AST permitting this. You have no contract with the agent, your contract is with the landlord and the landlord's contract is with the agent.

Damage to your property should probably be covered by your contents insurance policy. If you want to try to claim off the landlord (NOT the agent) you need to keep hold of the shoes so they can inspect them, and find your receipts or printout costs and pictures of similar shoes from the internet.

Nonshy

I don't have any contact with my Landlord, the management company deal with everything... we pay the rent to them, they arrange letting the property and make sure well maintained, although, they are in birmingham and i am in london.

I believe the LL (owner of the property) just pays this management company to look after his portfolio.

I am just worried that annoying the management company will mean come renewing our tenancy will be made difficult, especially after the last email saying "file had been noted we denied access to the property" which was not true... we couldn't accomodate inbetween the hours of 9-5.

If i owned the property i would have arranged out of hours service and they didn't want to do that because costs more and believed i should pay the additional.

propertyman

Take a sickie !

Sorry but you have to accept that tradesmen work during the day, an out of hours is for obvious reasons emergencies, and emergency remedies.

It's a fact of life whether you own or buy.

The approach suggested of a notice about the repair, will only result in a notice under the LTA 1985 and if applicable under the terms of the tenancy where they will simply enter and repair, and recharge those costs to you.

Worse still if you holding over, a Section 21 and told to get out.

Fire_Fox

Nonshy wrote: »

I don't have any contact with my Landlord, the management company deal with everything... we pay the rent to them, they arrange letting the property and make sure well maintained, although, they are in birmingham and i am in london.

I believe the LL (owner of the property) just pays this management company to look after his portfolio.

I am just worried that annoying the management company will mean come renewing our tenancy will be made difficult, especially after the last email saying "file had been noted we denied access to the property" which was not true... we couldn't accomodate inbetween the hours of 9-5.

If i owned the property i would have arranged out of hours service and they didn't want to do that because costs more and believed i should pay the additional.

Please do exactly as we ask or we cannot help. You need to write to the landlord because you have no contract with the agent, the agent does not have the authority to agree to out of hours payments, the landlord is the one with repairing obligations. You should have an address at which to serve notices on your landlord if you check your AST, if you do not write to the letting agent asking for the landlord's address - you have a legal right to this.

We can't predict what happens in the future nor can we help you pre-empt it, only tell you how to correctly handle the situation at hand. You have already established that dealing with the letting agent leads to disputes and is getting you nowhere fast.

Fire_Fox

propertyman wrote: »

Take a sickie !

Sorry but you have to accept that tradesmen work during the day, an out of hours is for obvious reasons emergencies, and emergency remedies.

It's a fact of life whether you own or buy.

The approach suggested of a notice about the repair, will only result in a notice under the LTA 1985 and if applicable under the terms of the tenancy where they will simply enter and repair, and recharge those costs to you.

Worse still if you holding over, a Section 21 and told to get out.

Great idea, commit a sackable offence so that the full management agents can avoid doing their job! :rotfl: The OP is not preventing access by changing the locks or refusing consent, the letting agent or landlord can enter and repair. Under what section of what law can they charge costs to the tenant when they are genuinely unable to be present? What if they were out of the country or working in John O'Groats?

It's not the tenants fault that the landlord has failed to get a gate swipe from the freeholder nor the tenants fault the landlord has failed to have the freeholder repair the buzzer system!! The landlord appointed agents to act on his behalf, so they should be letting the tradesmen in. What is stopping the landlord having the freeholder, caretaker or managing agent letting them into the car park or building?