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Help - advised no pets after paying for referencing fees - Agent refusing refund

schnapsdrossel
schnapsdrossel Posts: 11 Forumite
Ninth Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
edited 2 May 2013 pm31 6:38PM in House buying, renting & selling
Hi there , this is my first time posting on this forum though am long time reader , but I really need some help.

We have paid holding deposit and referencing fees to an estate agent further to viewing a flat advertised to let . The advertisement did not stipulate "no pets" so I did not anticipate this being an issue , the agent never asked us when we booked or when viewed either.

We completed the forms for the references and on the form the question is asked do you have pets - I answered yes two cats

Turns out the Agent uses a third party company for the referencing and still put the credit check etc through as he says he did not notice I had put down I had pets. Today the agent contacted us to say that pets are not an option and I tried to liaise with landlord re this and landlord advises this is a condition of the actual management company and they are ringing tomorrow to check if this can be allowed , my questions are:

a) can the estate agent keep our fees even though they did not advertise the place as being no pets - they said so far they can and will :(

b) can the management company withhold permission without good cause.

I have never come across this problem before though to be fair I have been in same place over 6 years now, it always used to be just up to the landlord . Any helpful answers most appreciated

PS Landlord states Head Lease says no pets

Comments

  • grifferz
    grifferz Posts: 568 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Turns out the Agent uses a third party company for the referencing and still put the credit check etc through as he says he did not notice I had put down I had pets.

    It is a bit unfortunate that you have only found this out after paying for the referencing, but I would say that as a pet owner it is your responsibility to check that pets will be okay before proceeding with the rental process.
    a) can the estate agent keep our fees even though they did not advertise the place as being no pets - they said so far they can and will :(
    It is poor customer service but I have a feeling the law is on their side since they can say they weren't aware it was no pets and the referencing is something different.

    At best I would think that if you caught them admitting in writing/email that they knew it was "no pets" but put you through anyway, knowing you would be unsuitable, you would have to sue them for it back.

    If you cannot get anywhere demanding your money back, could you possibly get the letting agent to agree to use your referencing for a future letting with them, since otherwise they would only be doing the same thing over again?
    b) can the management company withhold permission without good cause.
    Contracts cannot contain unfair terms. However, a "no pets" clause is very common in a leasehold agreement. Their reason can be as simple as, "there's too much hassle with other leaseholders who don't like pets." They don't have to spell out their reasons, they just have to have them.

    Also do note that it would be up to the landlord, who is the one subject to the lease, to ask for an exception - not you.
    PS Landlord states Head Lease says no pets
    In which case you are asking the landlord to either ask for an exception, or to knowingly rent to you and breach his own agreement, at worst opening him up to legal action, at best risking irritating his/your neighbours.
  • Hi there, thank you very much for your answer, it is most helpful.

    I would not wish for the landlord to breach the terms of the lease, they are going to phone to ask permission tomorrow and if this is not granted then we shall have to keep looking.

    It occurred to me also to check tomorrow with the agent if this all falls through if we can keep looking and use the same reference as you suggest £250 we paid !! plus £100 holding deposit ...feel like such a fool.... I know of someone in the same block who has a small dog too, it never even occurred to me to ask.

    Thank you again
  • grifferz
    grifferz Posts: 568 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Hi there, thank you very much for your answer, it is most helpful.

    I would not wish for the landlord to breach the terms of the lease, they are going to phone to ask permission tomorrow and if this is not granted then we shall have to keep looking.
    It is very accommodating of your prospective landlord to ask for this on your behalf.
    I know of someone in the same block who has a small dog too, it never even occurred to me to ask.
    Hopefully that is also in your favour, then.

    Good luck!

    If you can get past this hurdle then landlord may insist you pay a higher deposit, and/or agree to have the property professionally cleaned on exit, and/or agree to have the property treated for fleas on exit.
  • Yes, I did offer higher deposit if required to safeguard against any costs.
    I am under no illusions... much as my cats are well behaved and never caused me any issues with damage etc in the past I understand that a landlord needs to make sure they're covered against every eventuality - that seems only fair to me.

    However, the more I read through on the subject the least likely it looks that it will be a yes tomorrow...understandably most of the no pets head leases are in place to protect those who wish to ensure they live in pet free blocks so not looking good . I am expecting a no :(

    Thank you for your help and good wishes, just hope the agent will at least help us find somewhere else so we aren't totally out of pocket ...If I was the landlord I would be reconsidering my business with them though, so far they have not done a great job of finding suitable tenant...but then again I am biased hehe
  • Hi there, I just wanted to update on here that it was a good outcome for us in the end :j Landlord approached management company and turned out there are 9 dogs in the block (it is a huge block) and therefore they could not reasonably deny permission so it came down to personal consent from the Landlord and they decided to go ahead with us .

    We agreed Landlord will visit property at four months and assess for any damage caused and unwanted odour etc and if unsatisfied would then serve notice to quit at the six month break - this seems like a more than reasonable demand seeing they never planned to have pets there in first place so we are delighted and looking forward to settling in our new home

    Thank you for your wise and helpful advice .
  • Kynthia
    Kynthia Posts: 5,690 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hi there, I just wanted to update on here that it was a good outcome for us in the end :j Landlord approached management company and turned out there are 9 dogs in the block (it is a huge block) and therefore they could not reasonably deny permission so it came down to personal consent from the Landlord and they decided to go ahead with us .

    We agreed Landlord will visit property at four months and assess for any damage caused and unwanted odour etc and if unsatisfied would then serve notice to quit at the six month break - this seems like a more than reasonable demand seeing they never planned to have pets there in first place so we are delighted and looking forward to settling in our new home

    Thank you for your wise and helpful advice .

    That's really great news. Not only have you not wasted the money, you've got the property you wanted and a nice landlord. :j
    Don't listen to me, I'm no expert!
  • knightstyle
    knightstyle Posts: 7,121 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    It is so nice to hear a good result and to hear of a decent landlord. We hear so many complaints about unreasonable landlords this made a refreshing change.
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