Is the landlord legally correct

Marcus3344

Hi all

My son had a debt with his landlord.

Following advice from this great forum, my son made an offer of a monthly repayment to the Landlord via the Estate Agent at the end of November 2025.

This was agreed, and my son, as agreed paid the first payment 5th December, then a second payment on the 5th January.

Yesterday he received a letter from C and L Collections.
The letter states that the landlord had claimed on his tenants insurance policy, and has been paid by their client.
From an original debt of £1400, they state he now owes them £2900.

We queried this with the Managing Estate Agent.

They basically said send all proof of agreement and proof of payments made to C and L.

we have done this, but they have said:-

Thank you for providing the evidence. After discussing with our client, they mentioned that further payments are expected to be made to us.

Regarding the payments you made to the landlord, we will reach out to them to arrange a refund, which will then be credited toward your outstanding balance.

Any advice would be really helpful….

Many thanks

Marcus

sheramber

it sounds like the agent made tha agreement without consulting the landlord.

saajan_12

So to summarise the prior threads, this was rent arrears arising from a joint & several rent liability? 

I would 'helpfully' give the Collections company the name and any contact info of the ex joint tenant - if the Collactions Co have any more luck in recovering some of hte money, that could mitigate how much son ends up paying. Legally the Collection Co have no more power than the LL but they might just seem 'serious' enough to spur the ex into action. 

As far as who to pay, I ask the LL for written confirmation of who you should pay - are they getting the money from the agent (who may have gone rogue) or do they want you to pay the Colleciton co? The last thing you want is a claim that you didn't pay the LL and the Collection Co was unauthorised. 
- If the LL confirms you can pay the Collection Co then great, do that and copy the LL in each time to confirm its paid. 
- If the LL insists on payment directly then inform the Collection Co of this as they will try to claw back any insurance payout rather and not chase you as much. 


Note: Forum etiquette wise, this issue is now split between 4 threads for the same rental arrears case. Please stick to this one for any further updates and don't create new ones. 

Marcus3344

Thank you for the post Saajan, I have also noted the etiquette part.

If the original repayment agreement is in place already. Why would the landlord have claimed on his insurance? Would that not be fraud?

Also with the agreement in place, why would the outstanding balance now increase by another £1500 when the LL has already agreed the repayment plan and the amount owed in writing?

saajan_12

Marcus3344 said:

Thank you for the post Saajan, I have also noted the etiquette part.

If the original repayment agreement is in place already. Why would the landlord have claimed on his insurance? Would that not be fraud?

Also with the agreement in place, why would the outstanding balance now increase by another £1500 when the LL has already agreed the repayment plan and the amount owed in writing?

Re fraud - not necessarily, could be the agent pursuing one side and the LL purusing the other. Also an agreement doesn't mean son will keep up the payments (as we have seen with the ex already). So the insurance could be to plug any cashflow gaps and the LL will likely have to reimburse the insurer for any further rent received. 

Re extra £1500 - no idea without a breakdown of the £2900 claimed by the insurer. You should only have to pay the rent arrears, not collection fees etc. 

born_again

Is the agreement for the whole amount or for only sons part?

Reply to C & L advising that he has a agreement with LL which is up to date, as such they need to pass this back to the ins co.
Who one would think are not going to be best pleased.

Marcus3344

Thanks again.
The original debt of £1400 is the total joint tenancy debt.
This consisted of one month arrears (final month) and additional days she stayed in the property after the tenancy had ended.

My son has accepted to pay the total amount on an agreed monthly payment plan.

I can see from correspondence that the C&L client is not the LL, it is the insurance company who have paid out to the LL.

sheramber

Did the landlord know about the payment agreement the agent made with your son?

Marcus3344

Yes the offer was sent to the LL via the agent.
The LL agreed in writing to the repayment plan.

_Penny_Dreadful

Marcus3344 said:

Hi all

My son had a debt with his landlord.

Following advice from this great forum, my son made an offer of a monthly repayment to the Landlord via the Estate Agent at the end of November 2025.

This was agreed, and my son, as agreed paid the first payment 5th December, then a second payment on the 5th January.

Yesterday he received a letter from C and L Collections.
The letter states that the landlord had claimed on his tenants insurance policy, and has been paid by their client.
From an original debt of £1400, they state he now owes them £2900.

We queried this with the Managing Estate Agent.

They basically said send all proof of agreement and proof of payments made to C and L.

we have done this, but they have said:-

Thank you for providing the evidence. After discussing with our client, they mentioned that further payments are expected to be made to us.

Regarding the payments you made to the landlord, we will reach out to them to arrange a refund, which will then be credited toward your outstanding balance.

Any advice would be really helpful….

Many thanks

Marcus

It could be a breakdown in communications between the letting agent and the landlord, who knows?

In the meantime your son shouldn't ignore the letter from C and L Collections but equally I wouldn't hand money over to them straight away.  Instead your son should send them a 'Prove It' letter asking for documentation showing a breakdown of costs.  At this stage your son shouldn't admit liability for the debt and all communication should be in writing, no calls.

What written evidence does your son have that the letting agent accepted the £50/month payment on the landlord's behalf?

@fatbelly and @sourcrates on the Debt Free Wannabe board will have advice on how to deal with debt collectors. 

penners324

Marcus3344 said:

Yes the offer was sent to the LL via the agent.
The LL agreed in writing to the repayment plan.

Tell the Collections company that they're sticking to the plan agreed with the LL. No further 'costs' will be paid.