Stuck with Letting Estate agent for Ever

neoten

Hi,

If someone can help.

We wanted to let our property. The estate agent looked at it and then emailed their package and terms and business on 3rd September - You can see it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10fyiyGJmwhDEmGmp55YOJcQD14I78N42/view?usp=sharing

We sent an email saying we like to go with one of the packages on 4th September.  We sent our ids.

On 8th September the estate agent sent their terms of business which had terms and conditions and contract to be filled in for the property e.g. if it was sole agency etc.  The contract was totally blank and had no information about property or anything. We did not send the terms and conditions back to them. 

You can see it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QnPdPchT14V1uZkRqkk5M0866IFk7Jpz/view?usp=sharing

They started to market the property for 6 months but got no tenants. They told us to drop the price. So we wanted to go to another estate agent. 

We asked them when we could leave the contract. They said we got 24 weeks contract. We said we never signed any contract.  They said they emailed the terms of business with contract which was sent on 3rd September it had 24 weeks written in it.

They said it does not matter if we did not sign it, or that the contract did not have any information for the property.

As we had emailed that we like to go with the package by email on the 4th September. It counts that we accepted the terms and conditions.

Now they are saying even when the sole agency of 24 weeks finishes, we cannot come out without paying them money for all the marketing they did over the last 23 weeks.

They are pointing to this terms and conditions in the terms of business:

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19.         SERVICE AND MARKETING COSTS

If during the period of our Agency you withdraw from a transaction; and/or you instruct us to cease marketing your property, thus preventing us from fulfilling our contractual obligations; or prevent our ability to fully market the Property in any way, you agree to be held liable for the reasonable costs associated with the marketing of your property, that we have incurred to date. Such costs will be payable by you within 30 days of the date that you prevent us from fulfilling our contractual obligations and/or fully marketing your Property. Further details of the applicable charges can be located on our website at https://www.chancellors.co.uk/pdf/cancellationcosts.pdf. Should the full fee become payable these fees will be set off against such costs and charges. Paying these costs will not release you from the period of Agency and all clauses within these Terms remain in place as agreed.

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I feel we are stuck for life with them. Their last email was that we cannot ever withdraw from them without paying them for marketing.

Is this correct?

eddddy

You don't have to sign anything to enter into a contract.

From your description, it sounds like you entered into a contract with the agent on 4th September, and the terms of the contract were those sent to you on 3rd September.

The contract terms that you were sent on 3rd September say that the "Agency Period" was 24 weeks.

That's almost certainly the same as the "period of our Agency" in para 19. So as long as you withdraw after the 24 week "Agency Period", there should be no marketing costs to pay.

greatcrested

You are bound by contract to them for 24 weks.

After that you are free to leave - no penalty. If they disagree, let them sue you, which they won't.

Post 9: Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?

neoten

Thank you for your quick replies. Much appreciated.
So does the point of para 19 saying 'and/or' make no difference? 
After 24 weeks do I have to give the 28 days notice?
Or can I give the 28 days notice with end date ending just after the 24 weeks?

greatcrested

Are you intendg to "withdraw from a transaction; and/or you instruct us to cease marketing your property" within the 24 week contract period? Yes?Penalty applies.

You cannot terminate wthin the 24 weeks without penalty, but provided you serve 28 days notice you can terminate after the 24 weeks.

So in reality it's a 28 day notice...

Serve 28 days notice written notice on day 1, and the contract ends on day 28.

neoten

Thank you for reply.

neoten

Just spoke to solicitor and they said we have to pay. Just a warning to people if they go with chancellors

AdrianC

24 weeks from 3rd September finished on 18th Feb.

greatcrested

Though it's unclear if OP has served notice, and if so, when.

eddddy

neoten said:

Just spoke to solicitor and they said we have to pay. Just a warning to people if they go with chancellors

Did the solicitor actually read the whole contract, and come to that conclusion?

If the EA is trying to rely on the sentence starting "If during the period of our Agency" - that sentence is badly constructed.  If you apply the standard rules of English grammar (semicolons separate items in a list; commas are internal punctuation within an item in a list), I'd say that sentence is meaningless.


Alternatively / additionally,  if you look at this item in the list:

• "and/or you instruct us to cease marketing your property, thus preventing us from fulfilling our contractual obligations"

Which contractual obligations are they referring to?  If you instruct them to cease marketing, I'd have thought their contractual obligations finish. So they have no contractual obligations to fulfil.


Given the ridiculousness of the fees they want to charge you, in your position I think I'd be tempted to push back very hard on the basis that the clause is so unclear, it is unenforceable.

nyermen

Unclear clauses normally are deemed to favour the party who didn't draw up the contract.  Albeit is that the case for B2B?