Terrible service from estate agent. Help needed

jaybros

Hi there.

About 2 weeks ago me and a friend moved into a rented house. We originally went to view the flat and it was in a bad condition. The estate agent then explained to us that in a week he would sort out all the issues and the flat would be ready for us to move in.

We decided to agree with renting as this sounded promising.

2 weeks after this, we finally moved in, having been delayed by a week and us both sleeping on sofas. When we moved in, nothing had been cleaned and the flat was in a terrible condition.

After inspection we found the fridge had rat droppings behind it aswell as mouldy food items. Window handles were broken and windows taped up, all rooms were dirty, the lights were all smashed, electronics are faulty but most importantly the hot water was not working. After speaking with the plumber regarding this, he explained the previous tenants flooded the flat and ruined the electronics on the boiler, make it non functional. Its also worth noting the old tenants then left the property sacrificing their £1200 deposits

We have reported the problems numerous times and received nothing constructive back from the estate agents. We don't even have the landlords contact details on the agreement so we cant get in touch with him...

After almost 2 weeks of having living in these dirty conditions and without hot water we are still getting nowhere. Now i wondering what I can about this, am I able to get any compensation at all? Because its been an absolute battle to get any of this sorted out.

We have made our dissatisfaction known but no replies, the estate agent is registered with the ombudsman.

Any help would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks

Hoploz

I don't suppose you have anything in writing about the condition being sorted before you'd move in? Shame you didn't give it a once over before committing.

jaybros

Hi Hoploz

Unfortunately not, and I have to admit I fear thats what the biggest problem will be if we did try to take it further.

We was both in desperate situations and as its a central London flat, we jumped into it quickly.

jaybros

Anybody have any info on this?

Its been 3 weeks now and although the hot water has been fixed theres still a whole bunch of problems, they know about all the problems,

The flat is still dirty and getting hardly any response.

Can i take this further or should I push for discounted rent? Or should I even pay my rent?

Any help again appreciated.

RAS

Contact Environmental Health and possibly your local Private tenacy Officer at the Council.

Otherwise all you can do is clean the place up.

And what do you mean you do not have an address? ALL tenancy agreements muct include an address for the serving of notices. Do you have one, even if it is CC the agency?

fairy_lights

You've been there three weeks and you haven't cleaned it up yourself?

Pixie5740

fairy_lights wrote: »

You've been there three weeks and you haven't cleaned it up yourself?

^^This. If the place is that dirty then clean it yourselves.

There's no law or regulation saying that a property must be clean at the start of the tenancy. As a tenant you just need to leave the property in the same condition, minus any fair wear and tear, when you eventually leave. So if it's dirty now then it can be dirty when you move out.

Your contract is with the landlord. Your tenancy agreement should have an address (in England or Wales) for the serving of notices. It may well be that the address provided is the letting agent's address as the landlord is employing the letting agent to be just that, their agent. Have you reported the issues with regards to the windows and electrics in WRITING to the address given in your tenancy agreement?

You can ask (in WRITING) for the landlord's contact details and the letting agency has to provide you with them within 21 days.

bebewoo

1. Estate Agents have been known to make all kinds of Nick Clegg style promises to potential tenants to get them to sign on the dotted line. Like promises that the grotty flat will be cleaned before you move in.
2. Take lots and lots of photos because bet your life that they will try to get your deposit off you at the end of the tenancy for "cleaning costs". Yes really they will.

Renting is fun.

tripled

Letting agents are sales people, they are there to get you to sign on the dotted line and earn their comission. Many have been known to tell porkies. In future, however nice they seem, always assume that if their lips are moving they are probably lying.

Basic stuff you'll need to sort yourself (cleaning and replacing light bulbs). Stuff like window handles taped up you'll probably have to live with. Anything that makes the property uninhabitable or potentially unsafe (no heating/hot or cold water/electrics/gas safety cert) you should make a written complaint (with proof of posting) to the agency, also requesting the landlord's details to follow it up.