Letting agent issue! (too late - look at the pictures)

mattyfez · 25 Jul 2011 at 21:17

Ace Modder said:
Aye, there is a Mr and Mrs ....... named on my contract but no contact info.

If it is fully managed by the agent as suggested above, then the agency should contact the insurers, like, right now!

I'm sure the landlord would not be happy that the agent is taking a cut and not providing the service they have been contracted to do.

Ace Modder · 25 Jul 2011 at 21:18

I think they will try to send "bob" (enter name) the handy man round.

But I wont accept that.

Amnesia · 25 Jul 2011 at 21:42

AcidHell2 said:
As posted on findaproperty website in connection with CAB

Chances are they'll crack by step 5 at the latest.

Do it in writing by recorded mail and tell them what failure will result in. Once that happens, they know you know your rights and the end game.

That has little to do with being evicted.

Glaucus · 25 Jul 2011 at 21:44

Amnesia said:
That has little to do with being evicted.

I know, it's about what you should do, ie. Not withholding rent as that's not allowed.

Amnesia · 25 Jul 2011 at 22:36

AcidHell2 said:
I know, it's about what you should do, ie. Not withholding rent as that's not allowed.

He had already withheld rent and been served an eviction notice.

Glaucus · 25 Jul 2011 at 22:37

Amnesia said:
He had already withheld rent and been served an eviction notice.

What's that got to do with it.

Why would you advise him to take the pee and stay for another month and withhold rent. Then hope a judge is nice. Which they probably wouldn't be.

Amnesia · 26 Jul 2011 at 00:00

AcidHell2 said:
What's that got to do with it.

Why would you advise him to take the pee and stay for another month and withhold rent. Then hope a judge is nice. Which they probably wouldn't be.

firstly i didnt advise him to take the pee as it had already happened, unless he can time travel....i said IF HE wanted to pee them off then he should have stayed there another month rent free(past tense)....
in other words they couldnt just throw him out because he had breached his contract.
im not saying what he did was right...he made a mistake as he should have used it as a negotiating tool to get their attention NOT just stopped paying the rent as that just looks like he was looking for an excuse to stop paying and in that case they would want him out as soon as possible.

secondly i didnt tell him to withhold the rent....he had already done that himself and it was in the past so again unless he can time travel...

and both of us cant say for certain what the judge would say about the arrears but from my experience its along the lines of 'good luck with getting your rent'

i wouldnt just advise someone of withholding the rent without negotiating first....but if after so many weeks of asking if they dont play ball then like i said its a good bargaining tool which does get peoples attention, but really the letting agency should be doing the talking on behalf of the tenant if the landlord isn't getting the work done.

Ace Modder · 26 Jul 2011 at 22:24

Result!

I have had a visit today from someone who the letting agent sent. They have advised that the whole ceiling needs to come down and new ceiling putting up. They notice their was a crack by the bay windows too.

Work being done next week.

Glaucus · 26 Jul 2011 at 22:27

Good work, glad it's sorted almost.

Huw · 26 Jul 2011 at 23:54

Did they at least apologise, and/or explain what took so long?

Ace Modder · 27 Jul 2011 at 08:48

Not sure, as I was at work, but my wife was home.

Plus it wasn't the letting agent who actually called and booked the appointment it was the contractor.

I have not had any contact from the letting agent yet. They just got the contractor to contact us.

Radiator, and the window with the crack is also being fixed.

Participant · 27 Jul 2011 at 09:02

Probably repeated, and semantics anyway as it obviously worked for you, but I wouldn't have started with 'hi'. Sounds like you're too relaxed about the whole thing. Start with Dear Sir / Dear Mr. XXX imo.

Huw · 27 Jul 2011 at 16:31

In the future, take note of which regulatory bodies to which they may belong - the Property Ombudsman Scheme, or ARLA, for example. Then, if they really drag their feet or mess you around again, you can threaten to report them to whichever body it may be. If they aren't members of any such bodies, you can use the threat of Trading Standards.

Ace Modder · 29 Jul 2011 at 07:35

3am this morning I woke up to this.

Kinda lucky that is happening in the night.

I had 2 contractors round yesterday too assessing the work and were giving the letting agents the quote today.

Jono · 29 Jul 2011 at 07:46

Ouch! I'm not usually one for legal action, but....

Cosimo · 29 Jul 2011 at 07:58

Wow, that is bad. I think that you might be having a word your solicitor.

EniGmA1981 · 29 Jul 2011 at 08:16

^^ This! I would!

They had plenty of time to fix this well before it caved in and caused damage to any of your belongings (could you say your cat was crushed in the collapse and claim for a new moggy too? lol)

That's just ridiculous that it was left to go that far!

This thread makes me feel petty about nagging my landlord to fix my front gate though lol that's some serious structural issues going on there!!

Hope this gets sorted ASAP!

dodgem · 29 Jul 2011 at 08:30

Ace Modder said:
To be honest the ceiling has only got worse over the weekend. The risk didn't look anywhere near that bad until Sunday. As for the window, I don't think that it looks structurally dangerous.

As for the radiator, well it's been in the position it is in now for 6 months. It's not causing any major issues to anyone. To be honest it's highly unlikely to be a fire hazard with a chest of drawers against it. Plus my central heating isn't going to be used anytime soon.

Wow, you're taking it all in a very laid back fashion!

I know it's on it's way to being sorted now, but there's no way I'd be happy to have a radiator held in place by a chest of drawers, or a large crack in a window head! Stuff the fact that it's been ok for a while and you won't need your CH until later in the year. Those are serious problems that your LA should have had fixed some time ago...

AcidHell has listed the steps to take to get things sorted fast, and personally I would have been writing such letters a long time ago, and as Robbie G said, they wouldn't have started with "hi". But then i had a formal letter writing masterclass from my dad - he's ace at getting the right tone in letters

Reckon you can claim off the LA for some new stuff though - don't hold back, it's entirely their fault that it came to this. If they had acted when you first contacted them then the ceiling would not have fallen down.

Ma'am · 29 Jul 2011 at 08:37

I don't know about claiming for compensation but I'd be asking for professional cleaners to clear that lot up. The carpet will need cleaning too.

Hades · 29 Jul 2011 at 08:40

Take as many pictures as possible before starting any cleanup. Then contact the agent immediately. Advise them you will need the room cleaned professionally at the landlords cost immediately. State that if they do not arrange this today then you will be having the room cleaned and passing the invoice to them. Also state that if cleaning fails to restore your personal property to a satisfactory state then you will be passing the cost of replacement onto the landlord.

Also remind them that this situation could easily have been avoided had action been taken in a timely manner.