Misled by lettings agent

froupie

Hi all.

I signed a 6 month tenancy agreement on a flat 6 weeks ago and moved in, I told lettings agents had a cat and filled this in on my Homelet reference form and was told verbally that landlord was ok with this. 3 weeks after I moved in I was told by lettings agent that a neighbour complained to the management company after seeing my cat looking out of the window and that under the head lease no pets allowed.

Upshot is lettings agents say they will honour my 6 month tenancy but i must move out after that. I feel I have been misled by the agents and found another flat that is cat friendly, agents have agreed to release me from tenancy agreement with one months notice but have not offered to reimburse me my original reference fee or any removal costs etc etc.. am I entitled to claim for anything? This has been a costly upheaval on my part, through no fault of my own. I would never have moved in to a flat with no pets allowed for just 6 months.

Lettings agent has also said my one months notice is also to include them finding another tenant in that time, which i feel is very unfair, this was their fault not mine. Landlord is also very unhappy as she claims they never asked her about my cat.

Do i have any grounds to claim anything back from them, they are not even apologising for their mistake..

19lottie82

froupie wrote: »

Upshot is lettings agents say they will honour my 6 month tenancy but i must move out after that. I feel I have been misled by the agents and found another flat that is cat friendly, agents have agreed to release me from tenancy agreement with one months notice but have not offered to reimburse me my original reference fee or any removal costs etc etc.. am I entitled to claim for anything? This has been a costly upheaval on my part, through no fault of my own. I would never have moved in to a flat with no pets allowed for just 6 months.

Lettings agent has also said my one months notice is also to include them finding another tenant in that time, which i feel is very unfair, this was their fault not mine. Do i have any grounds to claim anything back from them, they are not even apologising for their mistake..

At the end of the day, the LANDLORD has made the descision not to renew your lease at the end of the 6 months, NOT the agent. They don't need a reason not to re new it.

You didn't get anything in writing about the cat being allowed, but even if you did that wouldn't affect them deciding not to extend your agreement.

They are letting you leave early, which is good of them, and the re letting agreement to a new tenant is standard I'm afraid.

Prob not what you want to hear but you're not entitled to anything I'm afraid.

Is the Landlord annoyed because she doesn't want a cat in the flat, or that you are leaving because the management company has said no cats, hence why you are leaving? If the latter, speak to him / her and get a copy of th lease as there is a chance that this rule may not exisit, or have cetrtain clauses.

froupie

Yes, the lease says no pets without permission of the landlord, which I was told I had.

They issued me a Section 21 to move out of property when 6 months tenancy expires and last week they agreed to release me from tenancy agreement by way of Deed of Surrender:

No.1 Me submitting one month’s notice
No. 2 Them entering into a new agreement with a new tenant.

It is point 2 which I am wondering if is fair..

DRP

froupie wrote: »

Yes, the lease says no pets without permission of the landlord, which I was told I had.

They issued me a Section 21 to move out of property when 6 months tenancy expires and last week they agreed to release me from tenancy agreement by way of Deed of Surrender:

No.1 Me submitting one month’s notice
No. 2 Them entering into a new agreement with a new tenant.

It is point 2 which I am wondering if is fair..

I think it is fair, but you are right to be concerned - there is absolutely no incentive for them to find a new tenant (quite the opposite actually), so the 'release' is effectively meaningless (if they want it to be).

Could you put an ad in gumtree/shop window etc to help get a new tenant?

thesaint

You can stay until they evict you after the end of the fixed term.
They do not have to offer anything else on top of this.

If you want to leave early, then you should stand the costs.

You can always see if they will agree to pay the rent until "x" date which is more than the 4 weeks notice, but less than the end of the fixed term.

froupie

>Is the Landlord annoyed because she doesn't want a cat in the flat, >or that you are leaving because the management company has said >no cats, hence why you are leaving? If the latter, speak to him / her >and get a copy of th lease as there is a chance that this rule may >not exisit, or have cetrtain clauses.

The landlord told me she was annoyed with the lettings agent for not asking her about my cat, and she is now receiving letters from mgt company/freeholders telling her the cat must be removed immediately - no pets allowed under head lease.

I was very honest and upfront to lettings agent when i moved in, told them i had a cat, even filled this in on Homelet form, they told me i had landlords permission.

I am moving out because i am in limbo, i havent unpacked most of my boxes because i know i have to move again and i want somewhere more permanent, and found a cat friendly flat.

froupie

Thanks for the advice, I guess it looks like I have to bear all of these extra costs even though it was not my error, I wish lettings agents would do their job properly in the first place.

hazyjo

Not sure who you'd take it up with - is there a body they're part of? You probably don't have rights as such, but if I were in your shoes I'd be writing to everyone possible. It's horrible, and I believe extremely unfair.

Understand perfectly that most flats don't allow certain animals. But the agents have clearly lied to you. Go over their heads. You might well get a favourable response.

It's the sort of thing you could run a local paper story on (picture of you looking sad holding your cat, saying 'evicted', etc). Wouldn't give the agents good publicity. Not sure I'd threaten it, or do it, but you could plant the seed - say something about how it really doesn't reflect very well on them, and 'this is the sort of thing you read about in the local paper - woman standing there with her cat saying how she was misled by the agents and evicted from her home....'. Might make them think. Speak with the top dog, not whoever you've dealt with so far.

Jx

19lottie82

But if the lease says “no pets without the landlords permission” can you not just ask her to give her permission to the management company?

Then you can stay and she doesn’t need to find a new tenant, and won’t get any grief from the MC. If you contact her directly and tell her you plan to stay long term, she might agree.

Madmel

19lottie82 wrote: »

But if the lease says “no pets without the landlords permission” can you not just ask her to give her permission to the management company?

I don't think you are correct here. As I understand it, the OP's letting agents' form is meaningless when the management of the entire block of flats states "No Pets". She could have the LA's permission for absolutely anything, but the fact that the management company of the building does not allow pets at all renders the LA's or LL's *approval* meaningless.

It's a total f**k up on the part of the LA and I would make their lives miserable. I like Hazyjo's suggestions!

froupie

>It's the sort of thing you could run a local paper story on (picture of you
>looking sad holding your cat, saying 'evicted', etc).

Ha that made me giggle!

To be fair, it hasn't got unpleasant between the parties, and I think we may have all just come to an amicable agreement, fingers crossed..