Estate agent encouraging me into breaking lease from day one

AlexMac

Calm down.... Don't panic...
Almost every lease has a clause forbidding pets or saying something like "only with freeholder permission". Solicitors who write leases stick this in as a reflex action, whether or not freeholders want it... just like the bits about no late noise, brothels, illegality or business trading, nor holiday lets (sub-letting under 6 months) and insisting on carpets to deaden noise transmission to the occupants downstairs...

But in practice, lots of people have pets (not sure so many run brothels) with or without freeholder permission, and with or without the explicit agreement of their neighbours. This is England... it's a well-legislated, but still relatively free Country... people park on yellow lines, occasionally pay builders cash-in-hand to collude at tax fraud and have even been known to exceed the speed limit or take illicit drugs...

Which are silly parallels as some of those are criminal offences, whereas if your freeholder really was 4rsed about your Bichon Frise, they would have to take civil action against you in the courts; which, realistically, ain't going to happen.

If you get on with your neighbours and don't actually own a werewolf, it will probably be OK. You won't get a bit of paper saying you can breach your lease terms, because neither the agent nor the vendor have the authority to say that. In fact no-one does.

But really, it will be OK unless, as I say, you really have a noisy, big, dangerous or very objectionally smelly creature..?

G_M's solution of tea and cake for the neighbours will generally work wonders.

G_M

AlexMac wrote: »

G_M's solution of tea and cake for the neighbours will generally work wonders.

Due to a change in medication I've started drinking coffee again.

I hope this isn't going to cause problems on the forum?

waveneygnome

Its a blinking disgrace.....I'd stocked up on Darjeeling.........next thing you know you'll be saying you're off the Battenberg. I've gone right off you.

bouicca21

Please at least reassure me that it's not instant coffee ...

agrinnall

G_M wrote: »

Due to a change in medication I've started drinking coffee again.

I hope this isn't going to cause problems on the forum?

I didn't know you were present at every tea and cake session you recommend. Do you bring the cake? What do you find is the best for smoothing troubled waters?

theartfullodger

Fraud Act s4 (criminal offence)
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35/section/4

4 Fraud by abuse of position

(1) A person is in breach of this section if he—

(a) occupies a position in which he is expected to safeguard, or not to act against, the financial interests of another person,
(b) dishonestly abuses that position, and
(c) intends, by means of the abuse of that position—
(i)to make a gain for himself or another, or
(ii)to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.

(2) A person may be regarded as having abused his position even though his conduct consisted of an omission rather than an act.

davidmcn

theartfullodger wrote: »

Fraud Act s4 (criminal offence)
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35/section/4

Which party do you think is expected not to act against the financial interests of the OP? Surely the job description of the vendor's estate agent is the very opposite!

Miss_Samantha

It's very common for leases to restrict pets, so I think it should be considered a special restriction that ought to be highlighted.

In any case, usually getting the lease only involves paying a few pounds on the Land Registry website.

Boatdweller

A block of flats I have managed has wording in the lease that 'no bird or dog should be kept in the property after objection thereto in writing. '

So it would also depend on how the lease is worded.

cloo

I think that standard wording is often something like 'not allowed to keep pets that may cause nuisance' - sure we had it on our last place, which was leasehold, with freeholder living upstairs, and sure we ignored it as we knew my very shy cat was hardly going to cause nuisance.


I don't believe anyone has ever had their leasehold property reclaimed by the freeholder because they had a pet in it against the lease. In fact I'm not sure anyone has had their leasehold property taken back in living memory.