Rental agency cant remember agreement

timber22

Hi all,

Myself and my partner are in the process of renting a flat. We had a viewing on the evening of October 3rd where both myself and my partner explicitly mentioned we have a cat to which the letting agent replied this was not a problem. We discussed with the agent any possible additional cleaning / deposit fees involved. We expressed our interest via email that same evening. The letting agent got in touch first thing 9am the next morning regarding the papers for a holding fee which we secured and paid for, after which we got confirmation via email telling us the offer was accepted. All of this 15 hours after first viewing the flat. We went through referencing and paid the deposit and first months rent, and received the letting contract on October 17th. After reading this we wanted to get in writing that our cat is allowed on the property per the contract to which the agency replied this was never mentioned and 'no promises can be made'. We are yet to sign the contract.The chap who showed us the property says he talks to a lot of clients in his job and doesn't remember talking to us about the cat. We are due to move in on October 28th and want to know where we stand. Can the agency pull out last minute and what are our rights to verbal agreements / confirmations?

Hope anyone has some answers. Thanks!

Pixie5740

It’s not down to the letting agent it’s down to the landlord to decide so the agent is correct that he can’t make any promises. As for any verbal agreement that’s just going to be a case of he said she said.

Comms69

Your contract is with the LL not the agency.


I'd suggest that you ask in writing before paying anything extra, in the future get it in writing if you have any special terms and conditions.

timber22

I was afraid it'd be a case of he said she said. However the chap accepted our offer 15h after we met him to view the flat. Surely he's not forgot everything we talked about the evening prior. Hope this deal will pull through or we'll be homeless.

We're due to move in the 28th, up to what date can we reasonably expect the ll / agency to give us an answer? Appreciate the replies all.

LEJC

As the others have said,a pet is as the discretion of the LL,who may also be bound by the terms of their lease on the property regarding pet inclusion.

I have personally heard letting agents tell prospective tenants that in theory yes pets can occupy with the inclusion of extra deposits or provision for cleaning etc...however until this is agreed by the LL whom the agent works on behalf of,it is just talk to pass the time of day during the viewing.

In regards to how quickly a LL should be able to confirm their acceptance of your pet request,I would say its a yes/no answer they can give probably immediately and would want to give it quickly simply if the answer is no they need to be pushing for the agent to find another tenant.

timber22

Just as I post this here we got confirmation we can keep the cat Happy end!

timber22

Many thanks for your replies all.

Comms69

timber22 wrote: »

Just as I post this here we got confirmation we can keep the cat Happy end!

I didn't realise the other option was to get rid of it! - congrats

ognum

Just a note: it is often not the LL who says no but their obligation under the head lease.

I have several flats all without exception say no animals on the lease I agreed to when I bought, I therefore have to pass this on to my tenants.

Pixie5740

Very wise to get the agreement about having a cat before signing the TA.

Red-Squirrel_2

timber22 wrote: »

Just as I post this here we got confirmation we can keep the cat Happy end!

You mean you were going to dump your cat if it wasn't allowed! :eek: