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Help with letting agent...

kwaker501
Posts: 9 Forumite

Evening Chaps and Chapesses!!
As you lot are an awsome source of knowledge, I was hoping to pick your collective brains for some expert advice, and I'll try to keep it brief!!
So started out last year as a 'reluctant' landlord, and as this was our first forray into uncharted waters, we decided to engage the services of a letting agent. They assured us that it would be a breeze and that they were there to support us...however!! So to cut a long story short this is where we now are: tenant gave her notice and vacated the property on the 02/04. Two days later the agent completed their "check-out" report, and highlighted a couple of issues (some transference onto a radiator; biro on a stained wood door) wasn't too fussed by this but wanted to check the property out ourselves because we were planning on having some of the rooms redecorated before a new tenancy. On viewing the property, however, we discovered some rather glaring issues which the agent appears to have completely missed. The first was the unauthorised installation of Sky in the upstairs bedroom - holes all over the front of the house with trailing wires and poor bodge work to get a 'phone line in up there. The second was the lavender paint over the grey carpet!!
We raised these issues with the agent, and explained that the poor and in other cases shoddy repair work to the walls, plus some other issues we had found (like burn marks on the work-tops, broken slabs in the garden) we would overlook on an agreeable solution to the bedroom carpet. Agent informed us that we have to allow the tenant to put right the issues we had raised, which we duly did. They instructed a 'cleaning' firm, who assured the agent that the carpet could be cleaned. On my return to the property, I found that the 'cleaning' company had managed to clean the colour right out of the carpet!! They said initially that they thought the tenant had spilt something peroxide based on the carpet and after finding the disaster, they now claim that the carpet must have been treated with something that reacted to the cleaning agents!!
So up-shot is the carpet is ruined and we've not had a sufficient response to the damage that has been caused. Because of this, plus the fact that we've had to have the entire house redecorated, and fixes to the other issues, we asked that we tried to agree with the tenant to keep £200 of their £650 deposit.
So this is the crux of the matter!!! The agent has told us that they have already agreed and kept £100 and returned the rest of the deposit :eek: and it traspires they did this on or around the 11/04. We only found the carpet to be beyond cleaning on the 23/04. So were do we stand with the agent now? Are they allowed to just give the deposit back to the tenant without our agreement?
Any and all advice greatfully received!!
:wave:
PS sorry for the length, I thought I'd cracked the long-story-short bit!!!!
As you lot are an awsome source of knowledge, I was hoping to pick your collective brains for some expert advice, and I'll try to keep it brief!!
So started out last year as a 'reluctant' landlord, and as this was our first forray into uncharted waters, we decided to engage the services of a letting agent. They assured us that it would be a breeze and that they were there to support us...however!! So to cut a long story short this is where we now are: tenant gave her notice and vacated the property on the 02/04. Two days later the agent completed their "check-out" report, and highlighted a couple of issues (some transference onto a radiator; biro on a stained wood door) wasn't too fussed by this but wanted to check the property out ourselves because we were planning on having some of the rooms redecorated before a new tenancy. On viewing the property, however, we discovered some rather glaring issues which the agent appears to have completely missed. The first was the unauthorised installation of Sky in the upstairs bedroom - holes all over the front of the house with trailing wires and poor bodge work to get a 'phone line in up there. The second was the lavender paint over the grey carpet!!
We raised these issues with the agent, and explained that the poor and in other cases shoddy repair work to the walls, plus some other issues we had found (like burn marks on the work-tops, broken slabs in the garden) we would overlook on an agreeable solution to the bedroom carpet. Agent informed us that we have to allow the tenant to put right the issues we had raised, which we duly did. They instructed a 'cleaning' firm, who assured the agent that the carpet could be cleaned. On my return to the property, I found that the 'cleaning' company had managed to clean the colour right out of the carpet!! They said initially that they thought the tenant had spilt something peroxide based on the carpet and after finding the disaster, they now claim that the carpet must have been treated with something that reacted to the cleaning agents!!
So up-shot is the carpet is ruined and we've not had a sufficient response to the damage that has been caused. Because of this, plus the fact that we've had to have the entire house redecorated, and fixes to the other issues, we asked that we tried to agree with the tenant to keep £200 of their £650 deposit.
So this is the crux of the matter!!! The agent has told us that they have already agreed and kept £100 and returned the rest of the deposit :eek: and it traspires they did this on or around the 11/04. We only found the carpet to be beyond cleaning on the 23/04. So were do we stand with the agent now? Are they allowed to just give the deposit back to the tenant without our agreement?
Any and all advice greatfully received!!
:wave:
PS sorry for the length, I thought I'd cracked the long-story-short bit!!!!

0
Comments
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Aside from all the issues with the state of the property, how was the agent able to return the deposit? It's the landlords responsibility to lodge the deposit in one of the schemes, why is the LA involved?"Put the kettle on Turkish, lets have a nice cup of tea.....no sugars for me.....I'm sweet enough"0
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casperlarue wrote: »Aside from all the issues with the state of the property, how was the agent able to return the deposit? It's the landlords responsibility to lodge the deposit in one of the schemes, why is the LA involved?
If that's what he's paying his agent to do, then the agent is acting for the LL - both in registering the deposit AND in returning it.
Hence my questions above!0 -
They have lodged the deposit with DPS and we gave them no permission to hand the deposit back.
We were under the impression that they were acting as the "middle man" between us and the tenant and that we were negotiating (sp?) with the tenant to come to an arrangement that suited both parties before going to the dispute service with our scheme...
We were told and signed a contract that says they lodge the deposit on our behalf, so we were expecting to give the LA authorisation before they just handed money back.....0 -
They have lodged the deposit with DPS and we gave them no permission to hand the deposit back.
We were under the impression that they were acting as the "middle man" between us and the tenant and that we were negotiating (sp?) with the tenant to come to an arrangement that suited both parties before going to the dispute service with our scheme...
We were told and signed a contract that says they lodge the deposit on our behalf, so we were expecting to give the LA authorisation before they just handed money back.....
It is likely (but not certain) that if you instructed them to register the deposit, you also instructed them to manage its return.
Is this a fully managed letting agreement?
I ask again: what does the contract instruct/authorise them to do on your behalf?we were expecting to give the LA authorisation before they just handed money back
I'm afraid you need to have a better handle on your relationship with your agent concerning the management of your property.0 -
I have read the contract and the further information pack and it does not state anywhere what the contract instructs/authorises them to do on our behalf....
It states "I/We understand that there are new regulations that means you are unable to hold any form of deposit yourselves and that it has to be held in a Government Funded Scheme"
The only other mention of deposits states " As you may be aware from the 6 April 2007, all landlords and letting agents taking deposits for assured shorthold tenacies in England and Wales must safeguard them with a Governement-authorised tenant deposit protection scheme.
The legislation aims to ensure that tenants who have paid a deposit to a landlord or letting agent and are entitled to receive all or part of it back at the end of the tenancy do so as smoothly as possible.
Further details are available at their website,"
???0 -
So nowhere does the contract state that, for example, the agent will manage the letting on the LL's behalf? How is 'manage' defined? Is there no list of tasks? Collect rent? Arrange repairs? Comply with leglislation on LL's behalf?
Or will seek authorisation prior to spending any of the LL'smoney?
Or will only manage the recruitment (defined somewhere) of tenants, but not manage the letting?
What have you been paying these agents?
and what for?0 -
Well, that's what we are now wondering ourselves!!
And the contract doesn't state any of the three points that you raise. Naieve that it may seem, but this was our first experience of renting and thought, after speaking to estate agent, that this would be 'better' for us as they would handle things on our behalf!
We have been paying for a "managed" service...apparently!!! Although I am now wondering whether we would be better off doing it ourselves as this is only one of a list of things that they have been founding wanting on!!!
Although my original question still stands....What can we do about the funds now? Are the agents liable to pay as they released the money too early?0 -
From what you have said, you did not specify what you wanted the agents to do for you, nor what the limits were of what you wanted them to do.
It seems (though you have not clarified) that you were paying a monthly fee (8%? 10? 15?) for 'management'.
Since this is not defined, you can hardly complain if they .... manage.... the letting.
Part of managing a letting, is registering the deposit.
Another part is returning the deposit to the tenants when the letting ends.
So they were simply doing the job you were paying them to do.
Whether they have done the job well is another question.0 -
Had it not been for the mixed messages we have had from them, eg them asking for authorisation to carry out repairs etc, I would accept them 'managing' the property. Just seems peculiar that they have requested decisions over other things, but not this thing too.....
Learn by our mistakes, I suppose!0
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