Please Help. New Letting Agency taking Over.

Pretty_In_Pink

Hello,

I would greatly appreciate any help someone could offer please.

My husband received a call on his mobile late this afternoon (totally out of the blue) from a local letting agency who said our landlord has terminated the contract with the previous letting agent and this new agent is taking over our lease. They seemed to have all of our details already. This was all a complete surprise to us.

The new agent said she needs to know by tomorrow if we are going to renew our contract (which expires in about 2 months) and she's informed us that our rent is going up £90 per month and she 'and her team' of 5 staff will need to come to our home in the next few days to inspect the property. Again, this has totally come out of nowhere and it's not really convenient as both my husband and myself work full-time which includes traveling internationally for work--I'm away now and the next 2 days. My husband says he indicated we were planning to stay in the property, but he didn't commit to anything over the phone as it was all a bit of a shock, he was heading into a work meeting and he wanted to talk to me first.

I don't understand why her and the entire letting agency team need to come to my home? I'm guessing there are no 'rules' about how many people the agency can send around? Our previous agency never came to inspect, but we did have 2 workmen come over the past few months (boiler inspection x 2) so I presume they reported back that the house was clean/not damaged?

I'm also really surprised the rent is going up £90 per month. When we moved here (nearly 1 year ago), the house had not been professionally cleaned. Nearly all the light bulbs in the house were missing and the previous tenants had written on the walls and knocked holes in the walls, etc. The damage was all cleverly disguised with furniture and large photos on the walls and rugs on the floor, so we didn't see any of it when we came to view--we discovered it all when we turned up to do the inventory. The lady doing our inventory stated she was 'very surprised at the state of the property' and she marked that on the inventory form along with photos and a video (we also took photos of our own). The old letting agent apparently charged the previous tenant for the damage and not cleaning, etc but I don't know what the agency spent the money on but they didn't spend it on repairing the house. They've left it in this state for us to live in. I'm concerned about mentioning this to the new agents because (from experience) once the landlord starts remodeling the house--whilst I'm living in it--they then feel the house is suddenly worth more rent. If it's worth £90 more in the state it's in, how much more will it cost me if they do the repairs?!

The kitchen is about 40 years old and more than half the handles are missing from the cabinets and drawers, so you need to grab the bottom of the door to open it and then grab the bottom of the drawers to open them, etc. The sink in the bathroom is coming away from the wall and you have to be very careful not to lean on it--there's a lot of movement! The downstairs toilet looks to be an addition/lean to that is not sealed--so my husband says--he said they have just put a single wall of bricks around a pipe they've extended from the kitchen and then installed a toilet. Again we didn't fully see this when we viewed as that wall had a climbing plant covering it last summer and the inside wall is painted, but this winter it all became obvious when the plant died back and the wind literally blew through the loo! So we have closed off the door to that and do not even use it. So there is really only 1 usable bathroom--not 2.

Also, we have been told in writing that we are not allowed to hang up curtains in the house. When we came to view the property there were curtains hanging up, but when we came to do the inventory all the curtains, rails, brackets, etc were all gone. There was nothing to cover the window--no blinds, netting, etc. We were told that the previous tenants had put up curtains against their contract, then we were given a copy of our contract and saw it said the same thing. However, we too have put up curtains in the 2 bedrooms one of which faces the road and several other houses. I know this is against our contract, but where else can we change clothes without the world watching? And I couldn't sleep with no window coverings at all. So I'm sure the new agency will see this when they come to inspect. I'm not sure what 'penalty' there will be, but can they penalize us for hanging up curtains in our bedroom even if it is against the contract? I think that's unreasonable.

We also have a rat and bee infestation--which has become apparently over our tenancy. We noticed the previous tenant had left rat poison and traps all over the loft, so the rat problem at least isn't a new thing. The neighbours told us the bees are not new either. I came home a few weeks ago (after being away for a week on a work trip) and opened the spare bedroom door to find about 100 dead bees all over the floor and a few more in the window. I have no idea where they are coming from. The same thing happened again a few days later. I came home to find about 50-75 dead bees in the floor and a few more in the windows. We were told this is our problem to sort--rats and bees. So I've paid for pest control to come out a few times now.

Also, we were originally told our lease included a gardening service, which actually only showed up 3 times in 8 months--they were suppose to come twice a month per our written agreement. The grass was so overgrown it nearly came up to our knees, so we complained to the old agent and they said the landlord wouldn't change gardeners, but we could pay for an additional gardening service if we weren't satisfied with the state of the gardens. As the neighbors were making complaints about the garden, we felt embarrassed and didn't want it to reflect on us, so we bought a lawnmower and other gardening tools (chain saw, strimmer, shovel, broom, weeding tools, etc) and started tending to the gardens ourselves. We also obtained 3 quotes for a gardening service. The average rate is £300/month for just mowing the grass twice a month. If they do anything additional--weeding, trimming hedges, cutting down broken branches, etc is an extra fee. Our property sits on .5 acres. So if we pay for this, we are essentially paying for 2 gardening services (1 included in our rent) and we still need to sort the weeds/hedges, etc. We offered to pay to leave the original gardening service and pay any additional extra that a new service would cost, but we were told we had to pay the whole fee of the new service--in addition to our normal rent which was suppose to include gardening. So we've decided to just keep doing the gardens ourselves--which takes up a lot of our weekends. (Which is rather annoying considering we both work/travel a lot and the weekends are our only 'free time' and this house originally appealed because of the lovely gardens that we could enjoy but DIDN'T have to tend to.)

I should perhaps say, the house is a two bedroom, over 100 years old and has not been well maintained. The bathroom and kitchen are at least 40 years old. We had to supply our own appliances--fridge, washing machine, dishwasher. The house is not furnished--we've supplied all furniture, etc. The neighbour says the interior hasn't been painted in 'at least 10 years'. The gutters are all broken which leads to damp along the wall where they're meant to join--and we have black mould on some of the interior walls.There is just myself, my husband and our dog. We have always paid our rent on time, and strived to maintain a good relationship with our agent.

We currently pay £1800 per month (which apparently is being raised to £1890 per month from August). We now currently spend a large majority of our weekend tending to the gardens--something we hadn't planned when we originally took on the lease. We've also been told there will be a £150 'renewal fee' with the new agents--the previous agent did not have a renewal fee. We've also been told that if we want to leave there will be a fee 'depending on the size of the house' but no indication of how much this could be--there was no leaving fee with the old agent. Also, with the new agency there is a 'reference fee' of £50 for them to give a reference for us to a new landlord--there was no reference fee with the old agent. (I believe we can't rent again without a reference?)

So on top of the rent going up and visits from the agency, there are now all of these additional fees to consider. I'm really concerned that they won't tell us the 'leaving fee' until we hand in our notice. Are there any 'rules' as to the max they can charge?

Overall, we don't really want to move. The house isn't ideal by any means, but we do love the area and our neighbours are the best we've ever had. Moving is expensive and time consuming and we only moved here less than a year ago. However, I feel we are paying way too much already and I'm annoyed and concerned about the new (unexpected) costs that seem to be coming.

-Is there a 'max' on how much the new agents can raise the rent?
-Can I insist on seeing the new contract before committing? (they seem to be indicating we need to commit before they will send us the contract)
-Can I get into trouble for putting curtains in my bedroom?
-Can their whole letting team come to my house for an inspection? How frequently do I have to let them come?
-Do I have to pay for an additional gardening service if one is suppose to be supplied within my contract? (pay for 2 services)
-Is the rat/bee infestation my problem to pay for or the agents/landlord? (this was a problem before we moved in)
-Does the new agent have to tell me the 'moving out' fee--ideally before I sign the new contract? (I'd like to know all the facts of what I'm signing before I sign.)
-Do I have to have a reference to move to another property? (Can I say I don't have one because I didn't want to pay?)

I would greatly appreciate any responses/helpful advice!

Thank you.

franklee

-Is there a 'max' on how much the new agents can raise the rent?

Once the fixed term ends the rent is up for negotiation. Suggest you make a list of the asking rent of comparable properties and have them handy to back up your argument for what the rent should be. If you cannot agree the LL can serve a section 13 notice which is one months notice to raise the rent. In theory you can refer it to the rent valuation thingy but given you can be served two months notice asking you to leave there's little point in doing that. So the short answer is apart from negotiating there isn't much you can do about a the size of a rent rise.

-Can I insist on seeing the new contract before committing? (they seem to be indicating we need to commit before they will send us the contract)

Yes. If they refuse I'd suggest politely asking how to use their complaints procedure and then make a written complaint. They should be a member of a redress scheme which should have a code of practice so I'd be reading that.
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/private_renting/problems_with_renting/letting_agent_redress_schemes

-Can I get into trouble for putting curtains in my bedroom?

You will likely have to remove poles and make good when you leave. But having curtains is pretty essential so it's reasonable for you to put them up.

-Can their whole letting team come to my house for an inspection? How frequently do I have to let them come?

I'd suggest quarterly inspections at most. I'd suggest allowing two of them to visit by appointment at a time to suit you both.

-Do I have to pay for an additional gardening service if one is suppose to be supplied within my contract? (pay for 2 services)

No. Suggest raising this with the agent assuming you have in writing what the gardeners should do.

-Is the rat/bee infestation my problem to pay for or the agents/landlord? (this was a problem before we moved in)

See this from Tessa a solicitor specialising in landlord law:
Is the landlord responsible for this rodent infestation?
http://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2013/10/24/is-the-landlord-responsible-for-this-rodent-infestation/

"my understanding of the law is that landlords are responsible for vermin infestation at the start of the tenancy and for any vermin who enter later due to any failure of the landlords repairing covenants (as in s11 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985)."

Hopefully you put to the LL/agent in writing that infestations were there when you moved in.

-Does the new agent have to tell me the 'moving out' fee--ideally before I sign the new contract? (I'd like to know all the facts of what I'm signing before I sign.)

You could move at the end of your current fixed term or go onto a periodic tenancy. If so then no new contract will be signed and so no new fees can be introduced. If you refuse to sign a new contract you may be given a section 21 notice that the LL wants possession.

If you do want to sign a new agreement then yep the agent has to give you the full list of fees first. You could try negotiating the fees down.

-Do I have to have a reference to move to another property? (Can I say I don't have one because I didn't want to pay?)

It helps to have a reference. Ways round are reference from a former landlord or find a new landlord who is happy with your explanation. This will probably make finding somewhere new harder. I'd probably pay this one.

I would greatly appreciate any responses/helpful advice!

It can help to contact the landlord directly can you try that. Suggest asking in writing for your landlord's address. Also make sure all faults you report, agreements made and everything important promised by the agent is confirmed in writing.

Be aware that agents may use their key if there are problems arranging a visit so watch out for that.

Check if the agent is with ARLA, redress scheme etc.

Find out a bit about the agent, they don't sound great so far. Are they a big chain they may have a reputation.

I'd probably ring the old agent just to check up on the switchover.

Don't pay rent to the new agent till you get proper written confirmation they have taken over.

G_M

First - you do not have a contract with the agent, old or new. Your contract is with the landlord. The LL employs an agent (just like he might employ a plumber to fix your bath) to collect rent, arrange repairs, whatever.

Pretty_In_Pink wrote: »

Hello,

I would greatly appreciate any help someone could offer please.

My husband received a call on his mobile late this afternoon (totally out of the blue) from a local letting agency who said our landlord has terminated the contract with the previous letting agent and this new agent is taking over our lease. They seemed to have all of our details already. This was all a complete surprise to us.
Take no action.
So some total stranger rings up and claims to be the agent? I suppose they want the rent paid to them too........! :rotfl:

The new agent said she needs to know by tomorrow if we are going to renew our contract (which expires in about 2 months)
She does not need to know by tomorrow. Ignore.
Indeed, your landlord does not need to know by tomorrow either. Read the link at the end of this post about renewals.

and she's informed us that our rent is going up £90 per month
Read your tenancy agreement. The rent cannot usually be increased during the fixed term.
If/when you 'renew', the rent is whatever you agree. Read the link at the end of this post.

and she 'and her team' of 5 staff will need to come to our home in the next few days to inspect the property.
Do not agree. A total stranger rings and asks to 'inspect' your home? :rotfl:

Again, this has totally come out of nowhere and it's not really convenient as both my husband and myself work full-time which includes traveling internationally for work--I'm away now and the next 2 days.
See above.
My husband says he indicated we were planning to stay in the property, but he didn't commit to anything over the phone as it was all a bit of a shock, he was heading into a work meeting and he wanted to talk to me first.
Good. Say/commit to nothing as yet.

I don't understand why her and the entire letting agency team need to come to my home?
They don't. If a new agent has been appointed, it is reasonable that they do a visit (a chance for you to point out any repairs that are needed!). But
a) you have not been told of their appointment by the landlord, so they could be fraudsters
b) the entire 'team' does not need to visit

If you have any concerns that they might come in without your consent, either using a key in your absence or otherwise, change the locks. Keep the old lock to replace when the tenancy ends. It takes 5 minutes with a screwdriver.

I'm guessing there are no 'rules' about how many people the agency can send around?
True. But
a) it should be reasonable and
b) you have a common law right to 'Quiet Enjoyment'. 6 people? That's an excessive intrusion that breaches your QE.

Our previous agency never came to inspect, but we did have 2 workmen come over the past few months (boiler inspection x 2) so I presume they reported back that the house was clean/not damaged?possibly, but maybe not. Boiler engineers tend to just look at boilers!

I'm also really surprised the rent is going up £90 per month.
How does the rent compare with rents for similar local properties?

When we moved here (nearly 1 year ago), the house had not been professionally cleaned. Nearly all the light bulbs in the house were missing and the previous tenants had written on the walls and knocked holes in the walls, etc. The damage was all cleverly disguised with furniture and large photos on the walls and rugs on the floor, so we didn't see any of it when we came to view--we discovered it all when we turned up to do the inventory. The lady doing our inventory stated she was 'very surprised at the state of the property' and she marked that on the inventory form along with photos and a video (we also took photos of our own). The old letting agent apparently charged the previous tenant for the damage and not cleaning, etc but I don't know what the agency spent the money on but they didn't spend it on repairing the house. They've left it in this state for us to live in. I'm concerned about mentioning this to the new agents because (from experience) once the landlord starts remodeling the house--whilst I'm living in it--they then feel the house is suddenly worth more rent. If it's worth £90 more in the state it's in, how much more will it cost me if they do the repairs?!
The state the property was in originally is irrelevant at the moment. No reason to discuss. It only becomes relevant when you leave. Since the inventory and videos show the original state you should have no problem.

However - I suspect that in due course you will be formally told of the new agents, and they will inspect. When that happens, they may attempt to create a new inventory/video based on the condition at the date they take over. Do not cooperate with this. Do not sign it. What matters is the state of the property when your contract starts and ends, not their contract.

The kitchen is about 40 years old and more than half the handles are missing from the cabinets and drawers, so you need to grab the bottom of the door to open it and then grab the bottom of the drawers to open them, etc. The sink in the bathroom is coming away from the wall and you have to be very careful not to lean on it--there's a lot of movement! The downstairs toilet looks to be an addition/lean to that is not sealed--so my husband says--he said they have just put a single wall of bricks around a pipe they've extended from the kitchen and then installed a toilet. Again we didn't fully see this when we viewed as that wall had a climbing plant covering it last summer and the inside wall is painted, but this winter it all became obvious when the plant died back and the wind literally blew through the loo! So we have closed off the door to that and do not even use it. So there is really only 1 usable bathroom--not 2.
If you want repairs done:
a) report them in writing, to the landlord, at the address provided (possibly the 'old' agents?) and copy the new agent after they are officially appointed.

Also, we have been told in writing that we are not allowed to hang up curtains in the house. When we came to view the property there were curtains hanging up, but when we came to do the inventory all the curtains, rails, brackets, etc were all gone. There was nothing to cover the window--no blinds, netting, etc. We were told that the previous tenants had put up curtains against their contract, then we were given a copy of our contract and saw it said the same thing. However, we too have put up curtains in the 2 bedrooms one of which faces the road and several other houses. I know this is against our contract, but where else can we change clothes without the world watching? And I couldn't sleep with no window coverings at all. So I'm sure the new agency will see this when they come to inspect. I'm not sure what 'penalty' there will be, but can they penalize us for hanging up curtains in our bedroom even if it is against the contract? I think that's unreasonable.
What a stupid clause!
But don't worry. There's not much they can do except charge you when you leave for any damage you do eg drilling holes in the walls for curtain rails. When you leave, fill the holes with polyfiller and dab paint on (colour match!)

We also have a rat and bee infestation--which has become apparently over our tenancy. We noticed the previous tenant had left rat poison and traps all over the loft, so the rat problem at least isn't a new thing. The neighbours told us the bees are not new either. I came home a few weeks ago (after being away for a week on a work trip) and opened the spare bedroom door to find about 100 dead bees all over the floor and a few more in the window. I have no idea where they are coming from. The same thing happened again a few days later. I came home to find about 50-75 dead bees in the floor and a few more in the windows. We were told this is our problem to sort--rats and bees. So I've paid for pest control to come out a few times now.
Not sure why you are mentioning this. If you want it dealt with, report in the normal way. If you're happy to deal with it yourself, then do so.

Also, we were originally told our lease included a gardening service, which actually only showed up 3 times in 8 months
Please clarify: you "were told the lease included" or the lease actually does include....??? Read the lease and check!?

--they were suppose to come twice a month per our written agreement. The grass was so overgrown it nearly came up to our knees, so we complained to the old agent and they said the landlord wouldn't change gardeners, but we could pay for an additional gardening service if we weren't satisfied with the state of the gardens. As the neighbors were making complaints about the garden, we felt embarrassed and didn't want it to reflect on us, so we bought a lawnmower and other gardening tools (chain saw, strimmer, shovel, broom, weeding tools, etc) and started tending to the gardens ourselves. We also obtained 3 quotes for a gardening service. The average rate is £300/month for just mowing the grass twice a month. If they do anything additional--weeding, trimming hedges, cutting down broken branches, etc is an extra fee. Our property sits on .5 acres. So if we pay for this, we are essentially paying for 2 gardening services (1 included in our rent) and we still need to sort the weeds/hedges, etc. We offered to pay to leave the original gardening service and pay any additional extra that a new service would cost, but we were told we had to pay the whole fee of the new service--in addition to our normal rent which was suppose to include gardening. So we've decided to just keep doing the gardens ourselves--which takes up a lot of our weekends. (Which is rather annoying considering we both work/travel a lot and the weekends are our only 'free time' and this house originally appealed because of the lovely gardens that we could enjoy but DIDN'T have to tend to.)
Again - not sure why you are mentioning this now. If you were unhappy with the gardening arrangement, why have you waited till now to deal with it.
Since the tenancy agreement appears to include 2ce monthly gardening, you should have insisted on 2ce monthly gardening! Again, always report issues in writing (letter) to the correct address for the landlord.
Ultimately, if your letters were ignored, you could follow the Shelter process here and pay your own gardener and deduct the cost from the rent. But you MUST follow the process.

I should perhaps say, the house is a two bedroom, over 100 years old and has not been well maintained. The bathroom and kitchen are at least 40 years old.
That is the property you agreed to rent. That is what you got.
We had to supply our own appliances--fridge, washing machine, dishwasher. The house is not furnished--we've supplied all furniture, etc.
You agreed to rent an unfurnished property. That is what you got.

The neighbour says the interior hasn't been painted in 'at least 10 years'.
You saw the property (presumably!) before you agreed to rent it. That is what you agreed to.
The gutters are all broken which leads to damp along the wall where they're meant to join--and we have black mould on some of the interior walls.
You have a duty to act in a 'tenant-like' manner. that includes properly reporting repairing issues. If the gutters are causing ongoing damage and you have failed to report the gutters properly to the lanldord, in writing, at the proper address, YOU are respinsible for the damp, mould and damage.
There is just myself, my husband and our dog. We have always paid our rent on time, and strived to maintain a good relationship with our agent.
what about your landlord?

We currently pay £1800 per month (which apparently is being raised to £1890 per month from August).
You agreed the original rent. The increase is still to be negotiated and agreed.
We now currently spend a large majority of our weekend tending to the gardens--something we hadn't planned when we originally took on the lease.
From what you say, this is your choice. You have failed to enforce the gardening clause in the contract.

We've also been told there will be a £150 'renewal fee' with the new agents--the previous agent did not have a renewal fee.
Read the link at the end of this post.

We've also been told that if we want to leave there will be a fee 'depending on the size of the house' but no indication of how much this could be--there was no leaving fee with the old agent.
What is this fee for? Is it in your tenancy agreement? If yes, you probobly have to pay it. If not, you don't. A new fee cannot be introduced in the middle of a contract.
Be aware - if/when you sign a renewal conract via the new agent (if they ARE the new agent!), they may introduce new contract terms at that time as well as negotiating a new rent. So the leaving fee would be enforceable IF you agree to it by signing a new contract.

Also, with the new agency there is a 'reference fee' of £50 for them to give a reference for us to a new landlord--there was no reference fee with the old agent. (I believe we can't rent again without a reference?)
If you ask them for a reference, yes they can charge you.
You could always ask your landlord instead?
A reference certainly helps in getting a new tenancy, but is not a legal requirement.

So on top of the rent going up and visits from the agency, there are now all of these additional fees to consider. I'm really concerned that they won't tell us the 'leaving fee' until we hand in our notice. Are there any 'rules' as to the max they can charge?
The max is whatever you agree. Don't sign/agree a fee and you won't have to pay it.

Overall, we don't really want to move. The house isn't ideal by any means, but we do love the area and our neighbours are the best we've ever had. Moving is expensive and time consuming and we only moved here less than a year ago. However, I feel we are paying way too much already and I'm annoyed and concerned about the new (unexpected) costs that seem to be coming.

-Is there a 'max' on how much the new agents can raise the rent?
The agents don't control the rent:
a) the rent is a contractual agreement between you and the landlord
b) the agent merely acts on the LL's behalf
c) talk to the landlord
d) see the link on rents below
-Can I insist on seeing the new contract before committing?
Of course. Never sign anything without
a) reading it
b) understanding it
c) thinking about it
d) being happy with it
(they seem to be indicating we need to commit before they will send us the contract)
Ignore them
-Can I get into trouble for putting curtains in my bedroom? In the scale of things this is very minor
-Can their whole letting team come to my house for an inspection?
No. It's your home. Do not let them in.
In your position I would
a) wait till their appointment as agents has been formalised officially
b) then agree to a viewing (OK - they'll call it an inspection) with ONE person
c) before they come, prepare a list of repairs, problems (garden!?) etc
d) when (s)he comes, offer tea and cake, then show/discuss each problem.
e) after the inspection, write a letter listing all the issues discussed and asking for a reply in writing telling you when/how each issue will be resolved
How frequently do I have to let them come?
What does the tenancy agreement say? Read it!
6 monthly is reasonable.
-Do I have to pay for an additional gardening service if one is suppose to be supplied within my contract?
Of course not. What a qustion!
(pay for 2 services)
-Is the rat/bee infestation my problem to pay for or the agents/landlord? (this was a problem before we moved in)
This is debateable. If the problem is structural (holes in the walls) it is for the landlord to fix.
If you leave food around attracting them,it is your responsibility

-Does the new agent have to tell me the 'moving out' fee--ideally before I sign the new contract? (I'd like to know all the facts of what I'm signing before I sign.)
See above
-Do I have to have a reference to move to another property? (Can I say I don't have one because I didn't want to pay?)
You don't have to have one, but some landlords/agents will be less likely to rent to you without references.

I would greatly appreciate any responses/helpful advice!

Thank you.

If you landlord appoints a new agent, he should write to you informing you of this.

If the landlord wants you to pay rent to a new person, or a new bank account, he should write to you informing you of this.

Do not change payments without proper notice. What is to stop me ringing up 20 tenants and saying "I'm your new agent. Please let me inspect your house (hmmmm, nice TV, nice computer, easy door lock!), and please pay your rent to this bank account."

Have you at least heard anything from the OLD agents, telling you they no longer act for the landlord? Telling you who the new agent is?

In view of the uncertainty, I would

a) stop paying rent to the old agent (assuming that's where you currently pay. Or do you pay the landlord direct?)
b) put the rent aside (don't spend it!).
c) WRITE to the landlord, at the address provided, explaining you have witheld rent this month because blah blah, and that you will pay the rent as soon as he confirms who/how/where he wants it paid.


Now read:

* Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?


* Rent increases: when & how can rent be increased?



Since 1st October 2014, the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 S83 requires letting agents in England to sign up to one of 3 schemes:

* The Property Ombudsman
* Ombudsman Services Property
* Property Redress Scheme

nite-nite.

Generali

I'd move assuming all this is true. Dead bees and rats + holes in the wall.

[Deleted User]

However inconvenient to move.., it sounds like a lot of money for a house in such bad shape.

GM's advice is very sound.

Personally, I would write to the LL urgently to ask who is the lettings agency and that after the phone call from this new agency, you are unsure who to pay rent to (if you pay a lettings agency). You could also phone the old lettings agency to confirm they are no longer responsible for the property.

Its not impossible that a letter informing you of this change somehow got lost in the post, but its unlikely. That they said you had to let them know if you were going to move or not in less than 24 hours (and incur fees either way) would make me suspicious its a scam. Get confirmation of this change. Tell the LA that you are seeking confirmation from the LL that there has in fact been an agency change and you do not wish to comment further until you hear from him/her.

Pretty_In_Pink

Firstly, thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I greatly appreciate your help on this matter. It's been very concerning and compounded with the fact I'm out of the country at the moment and can't deal with it personally for a few days. I'm researching the situation on my phone in between meetings so I'm feeling a bit helpless and vulnerable, and probably stressing more than I would if I was home--so thank you for your patience!!

franklee--Thank you! Your answers have been very informative! I know the surnames of the landlords, I know they are not British citizens and I know they live abroad somewhere. (Information picked up from the 'old' agents.) That's all I know. My husband emailed the 'old' agent today to see if they can shed any light on the situation and perhaps provide the landlord's address. No response as of 1:30am this morning (as I type). The new agent seems to be a single shop (not a chain) and they are ARLA licensed (I checked both their website and the ARLA site to confirm). The lady who phoned appears to be the lettings manager ( there is a picture of her on the site) and she is 'MARLA' and 'MAPIP'. The others say 'MARLA' and 'MNAEA'. (I'm going off the name the lady gave on the phone and the name on the email we received after the phone call.)

I do not have a copy of my current lease with me, but I will certainly look at it when I get home. My husband photographed the documents and emailed/texted them to me, but I'll have a proper look when I get home.

Thank you again, you have been very helpful!

G_M--Thank you! You're response has been very informative! I am concerned they might come to the property with their key (presuming they have one?). I'm still away with work and my husband is away tonight, but he'll be back late tomorrow night. We do have CCTV on the property which we can access whilst we are away, so we have both been keeping an eye on the house to see if anyone comes to the property/in the house. (The CCTV is covered in the lease.) (On a side note, my dog stays with my neighbour when we're away with work--I don't want to give the impression we leave the dog alone for days!) I've asked the neighbour to please keep an eye on the house these next few days, and I'll have to look into changing the locks when I get home. I know this is mentioned in our current contract--as in we can't do it, but I'm not sure what the penalty is if we do ( I can look this up in the contract when I get home.) I'm just trying to think worst case scenerio at this point and if they do show up and their key doesn't work what do they do.
You've highlighted what I was suspecting--they were potentially coming to do a new inventory. I wasn't sure if they could do this (even if I were to sign a new lease) or if I was still 'held' to the original inventory which highlighted issues when we moved in.
The black mould was on the walls when we moved in (I did not see it when I viewed the property as it was covered with furniture against the walls and large paintings/mirrors hung on the walls). The woman doing the inventory highlighted and photographed the mould and broken gutters and said 'the agents will need to address this', but nothing has ever been done. We've mentioned it to the agents (in writing to include our own photos) at least twice and still nothing has been done.
I do not have the contract with me, but it said a 'professional gardening service' would be provided twice a month, 12 months per year. I do not remember if it detailed exactly what their services would entail (I can check this when I get home), but it was clearly worded that we were not responsible for the gardens (I know this for sure because my husband clarified it in writing before we signed the original contract as this was a plus for him because he hates gardening). When the gardens started to get overgrown, gardeners were not turning up, neighbours were complaining, we were passing all this information (in writing) to the old agents on numerous occasions starting (I believe from the week we moved in as they were suppose to show up on a certain day, but did not and we wrote to the agents), but the agents either ignored our messages or said simply 'we'll look into it' and we wouldn't hear anything for weeks--when we would message them again (in writing).
One day two of our neighbours came to my door to complain about the state of the gardens. I was embarrassed, apologized for being 'the worst garden on the road' and 'bringing the tone of the neighbourhood down'--their words, not mine. I told them our gardeners hadn't shown up and we'd complained/tried to sort it with the agents and they said they would phone the agents themselves to emphasis the point. My husband was angry and fed up about it all and messaged the agent to say 'Look, this is embarrassing, the neighbours are complaining, we can't even let our dog out for fear of loosing him in the overgrowth! we need to get these gardens sorted, we've obtained three quotes, if you can tell us what the current gardeners are charging (with receipts) we might be able to pay the difference if a new service would be more expensive. (We felt we were trying to be reasonable and encourage resolution.) The agents confirmed the neighbours had phoned to complain, brushed it off as 'old people with nothing better to do' and said they would speak to the landlords. We chased them up 2 weeks later and they said the landlords said they were 'happy with the current service' and didn't see a need to change. They apparently said if we were not satisfied we could pay for our own service--in full, but they would not lower the rent (to take out the fee were were currently paying for a gardening service). (Whether or not this is what the landlords actually said, who knows.) After another complaint from another neighbour, my husband and I decided to just do the gardens ourselves as we thought that was too expensive and were annoyed to essentially be paying for 2 services. At that point we just wanted to get the gardens cleared up as the longer it was left, the worse it would be. The agent left a message on my husband's mobile phone that said 'we won't be raising the rent at the end of the contract if you choose to stay in order to compensate for the inconvenience. (I am aware this was a verbal statement, no I do not have this in writing.) This is why I was mentioning the gardening service in my original message. What was meant to be a benefit has turned into a major inconvenience, but I'm happy to address this with the agent (once we confirm that we do actually have a new agent that is).

I know it's not an excuse, but my husband and I both have 'professional' full-time careers (both working well over our 'contracted hours'), we both travel a lot with work and we are trying to do the best we can. As a home owner myself, I'm trying to treat this house as I would expect my tenants to treat mine. If there is a problem, I report it to the agent (in writing) and try to work out an acceptable solution. But I feel like we've been ignored, taken advantage of and I've spent countless hours trying to chase up the agents for one thing or another....and now there's this hassle to deal with.

Thank you again for your helpful suggesions. I really appreiate the time you've taken to respond.

Generali--Thank you. We were between a rock and a hard place when we moved in. We had to leave our last house as it was severely affected by the floods the previous winter. The worst was the sewage pipes had burst and the landlord didn't want to spend the money to fix the pipes or the other damage (like a garage full of raw sewage and no running water in the house!). He told us he would 'have to raise the rent in order to cover the costs'. I was very busy with work at the time and didn't have the time or energy to deal with 'legal' routes here, so I quickly found us a new property, made an offer which was accepted the same day and gave 2 months notice to terminate our lease. About 6 weeks later, the 'new' landlord (who was relocating to Australia for work) phoned to say her job had fallen through and she wouldn't be moving--the house was no longer available. We got our money back (after a long fight with that agent) but we were in a panic as now we only had a couple of weeks to find a new house. Long story short (...yes, I know, too late!) we found this place, which ticked all the boxes at the time (although we thought it was overpriced but were desperate and at that point literally didn't see the writing on the walls/holes, etc. Although I did see the worn kitchen and bathroom--but didn't know the extend of the downstairs bathroom until after we moved in.) I suspect some of the damage was done when the previous tenant was moving out. Apparently, they moved abroad and paid movers to come in/pack up their things and do the whole move. I'm guessing (unsupervised) movers were not as careful as a paying tenant would have been. I do know the tenant did not do a leaving inventory with the agent as they had already moved abroad--we were told our check in/inventory was also considered the previous tenants 'check out inventory'.
We were surprised at the state of the property when we showed up for the inventory but what could we do at that point? We were checking out of our house the following day. This house was dirty and there were bags of rubbish left throughout the rooms and the bins outside were so overfilled that the bin men wouldn't empty them--so we had to take their rubbish out of the bins so we could close the lid so the bins would be empty (they don't take bins if the lid won't close). I extended the delivery van for 1 more day. Left our things in the van over night in the new drive. I had left my previous house in a cleaned condition, but had hired professional cleaners out of courtesy but as they didn't have much to do, they agreed to come to my new house a couple miles away ( for a fee of course) to help me clean the new house whilst my husband sorted the handover at the old house. Once the new house was cleaned we moved our stuff in and were just planning to get on with life in the new house. (Where was the 'old agent' during all of this? The whole office was on holiday! They actually closed the office for 3.5 weeks so they could all get holidays over and work the rest of the year. No one told us this beforehand. We were told they would contact us in 3 weeks!!--3 weeks AFTER we moved in. So, yes, I can see why the landlords would want to switch agents because we've not had a good experience with them ourselves.)
I didn't notice the rat problem until later (an inspection revealed rat traps behind cabinet base boards and in the attic, I hadn't seen them up to that point--and I should say, there was nothing in the traps, they were all empty). The bees have only appeared over the past few weeks and I still don't know where they are coming from. They seem to be coming out of the radiator, but I'm not sure how that is possible.
I will say, my husband is oppossed to moving again so soon. I am not! I'm rather fed up with it all at this point.

deannatrois--Thank you. Yes, the rent is currently deducted from our account automatically and paid to the 'old agent'. We do need to clarify (and quickly as the rent will be paid in a matter of days!) whether we are still paying the 'old' agent or the 'new' one.
I'm a bit concerned that our 'file' appears to have been given to the 'new' agent...according to the woman who phoned. According to my husband, she did have our full names, phone numbers, email addresses and work details (though I guess perhaps that could be easy enough to find?). I don't know if our bank details were passed to her as well (if this is all legitimate). If she is our new agent, I'm a bit concerned that our private details have been given to someone without our knowledge or permission. I've notified the bank of the situation (just in case) and I've signed up for Experian today to (hopefully) keep an eye on any 'activity' in our names we're not aware of. I've been trying to think what else to do.
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Have I mentioned that I absolutely hate renting? We actually own a house in London, but are letting that out at the moment (privately) as we moved to be nearer my husband's new office. Renting is so expensive and such a hassle. (ok, rant over.) Thanks for listening.

G_M

Suggestion. Use seperate paragraphs for each point. It's a nightmare to read your posts which appear as verbal diarrhea - sorry to be blunt but you'll get better responses!

I had insomnia the first time so was happy to plough through. I'm afraid I've not made the effort with your latest post.......

Don't wish to sound patronising, but that tip would apply in other arenas too eg if you write to your landlord or agent: keep it short, to the point, and break it up.

franklee

I think your best bet is a periodic tenancy. This will happen automatically if no new tenancy agreement is signed. That will give you flexibility to see how things go with the new agent and then decide if you want to give notice and move. What I'd suggest you do is look round to see if there are any other properties to move to, surely there must be something better for the rent you are paying. If you fall out with the new agent and they serve you notice you'd be moving anyway but to their timescale not yours and you don't want to move in a rush again.

Certainly refuse to sign any new agreement before these issues are sorted out. Some people stay on a periodic tenancy for years but typically agents don't like them as they cannot charge renewal fees.

The problem is you do not know if the lack of action is your landlord's fault or if it was the old agent failing to chase things up. I think a meeting with the new agent will be a good thing as it will help you to decide if you want to stay or not. Make a list of all the issues. Plus list of when and how they were reported, maybe with copies of the correspondence. Copy to the agent.

Agree with G_M you need to be more succinct although I'm guessing that the posts here are written in a hurry under stress.

Pretty_In_Pink

Thank you for your suggestion G_M.

Pretty_In_Pink

Thank you franklee. Yes, it was late, it had been a long day, and I wanted to make sure I replied to everyone who had been kind enough to respond. Apologies for the long reply though. I'll keep this one short.

We haven't had a reply from the old agent, my husband sent an email to the 'new' agent to say we were surprised by the sudden change and were seeking clarification-hence the delay in responding to them. They quickly fired off an email which made numerous derogatory remarks about the old agent, several sentences about how 'unprofessional' they are, and that they've included them in the email in order to 'prompt them to do their job'. Yikes! We've not replied. Waiting for the fireworks to start--these are both small businesses who are both positioned on the High Street.

I appreciate the advice on the periodic tenancy. I think you're right and that would be the best option at this time. I'm going to put this to my husband when I speak with him tonight.

Thank you again!

Guest101

OP I can't add much to the excellent advice you've received so far.

I will just add - the only organisation that can charge a penalty is a court. So you will never have a penalty to pay to the agents.

What agents, on behalf of landlords, can do is charge for loss.

So if you change the lock back when you ultimately leave, there is no loss.

Similarly with the curtains.

A good rule of thumb is - if it says penalty and it's not from the court ( or police / council ) it's someone pulling the wool over your eyes.
I had a debt collector try to charge £12 for a 3.49 ebay debt that I forgot about. He said 'well we have to charge a penalty'. Funnily enough, when I mentioned this to his suet visor the charge wasn't applicable in my case.