Threatening ex-tenant

anselld

susaq12 wrote: »

The information has been requested on behalf of my son

That is not the same as your Son requesting it.

TBagpuss

susaq12 wrote: »

The agent has a forwarding address but won't give it due to data protection. I have been given his email address to respond so I can contact him that way but don't want him having my email address. Am I within my rights to do this?
You're right about the cost, they've slipped up in an email today and said they're trying to get a quote from espares. I'd already tried them with no joy.

I would have thought that as the agents are acting as, well, agents for your son, that he is entitled to whatever file/data they hold.

In terms of the e-mail issue, however, could your son not create a new email address for the purpose of corresponding with his tenant? He doesn't have to use his main one if he doesn't want to.
You can usually use 'delivery receipt' and 'read receipt' when sending e-mails.

Did the tenants refuse access to the roofer?

susaq12

We couldn't gain access and they wouldn't respond to any agent communication.

theartfullodger

susaq12 wrote: »

We couldn't gain access and they wouldn't respond to any agent communication.

You are landlord's mum: Trying to help son, the landlord, (good, help him but..) but you have NO LEGAL STANDING in the matter & tenant & everyone else is quite entitled to ignore your "interfering" (which is probably what it looks like to them).

Your son, the Landlord, is the one who needs to ...
a) Get educated in how to be a landlord (RLA & NLA run good intro courses, they'll save him more time & money than they cost)..
b) Be the one writing letters, sending emails, turning up.
c) By the sound of it, sack agent and do it himself or get a better one: There are decent agents..

I, as a landlord, have had tenant's mum trying to tell me what needs doing on behalf of their little darling baby. I simply ignore them, but politely suggest their little darling, the tenant, is perfectly entitled to contact me & I will respond as and when he does...

I have 3 sons: Tried to bring them up to stand on their own 2 feet:

PS By the way, Harassment (which is how it may appear your actions look to tenants) is both a civil & criminal offence: so possible fines and/or criminal record (unlikely but ..)

Guest101

You have no relationship with either agent or tenant. So you're basically a nobody. If the tenant asks you to not contact them, you MUST not contact them

Mojisola

susaq12 wrote: »

he has authorised me and his father from day one to make decisions where needed as his intention was to go travelling.

How was this done - a Power of Attorney? A letter to the agents saying that you could act in his place?

susaq12

Okay, you are all missing the point here. This isn't about who should or shouldn't be sending emails or requesting information. Any of us can send an email and sign it from another person - hence my reluctance for any of us to respond via email. It is also open to being tampered with if paper evidence is all that's supplied.
The EX tenant has said he CAN be contacted by email not by post. A reply was sent to the agent who has refused to pass it on.
The tenancy has ended, it was only for 6 months. My son will never rent another property again after this experience.
I am not interfering I am supporting. We are all finding this very stressful so family support is getting us all through this.
Try responding to the questions at hand.

When the initial agency forms were completed there was a section about a third party acting on your behalf. We are the third party. Anyone can appoint someone to represent them with most things these days.

G_M

susaq12 wrote: »

The agent has a forwarding address but won't give it due to data protection. I have been given his email address to respond so I can contact him that way but don't want him having my email address. Am I within my rights to do this?
Within your rights to do what? to respond to the tenant by email? Yes, though I too think it would be better comeing from the landlord.
Or to withold your own email from him? Yes, again - but then how do you respond.....? (Oh - of course, get the LL to respond!)

You're right about the cost, they've slipped up in an email today and said they're trying to get a quote from espares. I'd already tried them with no joy.

Sounds like you would lose at arbitration over the fridge deposit deduction.
* the £375 figure seems to have been plucked out of the air and can easily be challenged by the tenant
* it sounds like an unjustifible repair cost
* you need to establish exactly what needs repairing- is it a replacement part (scratched door?); a repair to the motor needing an engineer? what? I would not leave this to the agent (who in any case you no longer employ!), but deal with this yourself/selves.

lush_walrus

theartfullodger wrote: »

You are landlord's mum: Trying to help son, the landlord, (good, help him but..) but you have NO LEGAL STANDING in the matter & tenant & everyone else is quite entitled to ignore your "interfering" (which is probably what it looks like to them).

Your son, the Landlord, is the one who needs to ...
a) Get educated in how to be a landlord (RLA & NLA run good intro courses, they'll save him more time & money than they cost)..
b) Be the one writing letters, sending emails, turning up.
c) By the sound of it, sack agent and do it himself or get a better one: There are decent agents..

I, as a landlord, have had tenant's mum trying to tell me what needs doing on behalf of their little darling baby. I simply ignore them, but politely suggest their little darling, the tenant, is perfectly entitled to contact me & I will respond as and when he does...

I have 3 sons: Tried to bring them up to stand on their own 2 feet:

PS By the way, Harassment (which is how it may appear your actions look to tenants) is both a civil & criminal offence: so possible fines and/or criminal record (unlikely but ..)

That's just silly, of course the son can nominate someone else to handle communcate for him. And yes, the communication between the person he has nominated and the tenant does have legal standing - just as an agent or a solicitor does.

You see examples of this throughout life, employees communicate on behalf of their companies. Secretaries communicate on behalf of their seniors, sign letters on their behalf. I communicate on behalf of my company without the other partners needing to sign over power for me to do it.

Even HMRC allow it, I can call them and name anyone I like to discuss my account with them at any time all I need to do is be there for the first call - so I think it's well within the realms of imagination that a parent would act on behalf of their child.

It is only the landlord who can call it into question and say he did not provide authorisation for her to do such, the tenant can not.

Just get your son to notify the tenant that you will be communicating on his behalf - that's it.

OP - don't be put off by all the puff and bother on here of your son should be growing up blah blah.Not all children are dragged up by the school of hard knocks, my parents were and are always there to help should it be needed, at the end of the day no matter how old I become they are always 35 odd years more experienced than me. Good for you for supporting him through this.

I think you have your answers from the more helpful posts already on here. The tenant is trying to counterclaim to panic you and make you relent. Now you have access if there is no issue with the roof I would stick with that point as your argument. You had a visual inspection and no issue was found. Since the tenant has left and claimed this you have had a further inspection by a roofer who has confirmed no issue. Ask the roofer to put that in a written form to you and you should be done.

susaq12

susaq12 wrote: »

Sadly it was an expensive American one, which was fitted with the new kitchen. It has a filter and temperature gauge for the water cooler in the door that was damaged so I think that's the reason for the cost.
It's cosmetic damage down to the primer for the whole length of the door.

Guest101 wrote: »

You have no relationship with either agent or tenant. So you're basically a nobody. If the tenant asks you to not contact them, you MUST not contact them

E
I think you may have misread my post? The tenant is expecting a reply to the email he sent my son via the agent. A response was sent (via the agent) but the agent has refused to forward it to the tenant stating they are no longer the agents as the tenancy has ended. This is all fine but the only way the tenant will accept the response is via email.
We are not happy to respond by email and would prefer to reply by letter. My question was do we have to reply by the method dictated by the tenant? Is it going to go against my son for not responding and entering into negotiations?