Problems with letting agents, advice please?

[Natwee]

in december last year I got a leak in my ceiling. I called my property manager, and she said she would arrange for someone come out.

2 days later i got a call from a contractor, asking if i would be in the next day for it to be fixed. I arranged a time with him, and arranged to be in.

On 23rd december, he came and fixed it. it was something to do with the water tank in the cieling and needed a new valve or something (nothing really serious).

The leak made a hole in the cieling, and the letting agents said they would arrange it to be fixed.

IN january i recieved a letter saying that because there was british gas homecare on the property, that they should have been used to fix the leak, and as such the landlord isnt responsible for the invoice, as i arranged an independent contractor. nothing about the hole.

I wrote back to them and said that I was not responsible as i did not contact the contractor myself and he isnt really an independent i found in the yellow pages or somethign as he has a contract with the letting agents and has done god knows how many jobs in my house.

I heard nothign so forgot about it. still heard nothing about the hole in the ceiling, until i called them, and they said that i would have to wait, becausr the landlord hadnt told the insurance company he had let the house, so his insurance wasnt valid, and iwould have to wait whilst he argued with his insurance company. He lives in australia.
I pointed out that it wasnt my fault he hadnt got valid insurance and didnt a mortgage depend on valid buildings insurance, and as such, shouldnt they have checked all this out before letting and managing the property? heard nothing.

I still have the hole in my ceiling, so when i had my property inspection yesterday i showed them and said i wasnt happy with it.

I got a call from the contractor yesterday who said that he hdnt been paid for the leak fixing, and he wouldnt fix it until I paid the outstanding invoice for £103.

Can they hold me responsible for this?

 

[platypus]

Have you got any of this in writing? Eg the letting agency arranging the contractor?

 

[Morba]

Why is the contractor asking for the money from you? He should be invoicing the letting company and they should be looking to get the money from the owner.

That should all be transparent to you.

 

[Natwee]

Why is the contractor asking for the money from you? He should be invoicing the letting company and they should be looking to get the money from the owner.

That should all be transparent to you.

the contractor sent the invoice to the letting agents, they contacted the owner and the owner said it should have been done through british gas so they refused to pay.

letting agets then said it was my responsibility, so sent it to me with a letter saying so.

 

[Morba]

Tell them they have no right to pass it on to you.
I assume that the contractor has the details of who contacted him to arrange the work? If so I would get that in writing from him as that is who his contract is with unless specifically agreed with both parties that you would be paying.

 

[Glaucus]

Keep everything in writing, ask for everything to be confirmed by email.

Also tell the contractor to go speak to letting egency, you did not hire him. Also speak to the letting agency and tell them they are in breech of contract.

And find somewhere else to live ASAP.

 

[OriginalJonty]

The letting agents sound a bit dodgy to be honest. They arranged for the repair and so the invoice should be sent to them. They should pay up. As said above, the contractor should have details of the job and who arranged the work to be done.

 

[SeatIbiza]

There was an emergency - you contacted them and they send a contractor out. The fact that the agent didn't know or forgot BG should have done it is an issue between them and the landlord. End of.

IMO the agent cocked up (as they often do) and the invoice should now be down to them.

 

[Hades]

Hold on I think people might be missing one important piece of information... If I understand correctly the OP raised the problem with the property manager and not the letting agent (they are different). Therefore he made no attempt to contact the letting agent or the landlord.

So if I understand correctly the OP has indeed arranged his own contractor outside of the letting agent. In which case it is possible that he is liable for the initial repair cost. However I would be asking the letting agent to see proof that British Gas cover plumbing on behalf of the landlor (he might just be saying it to avoid a bill). I would also be taking the line that it was an emergency and action was necessary to prevent further damage and therefore the cost should still be covered by the landlord.

The insurance is a different matter and the OP can reasonably expect the work to be completed in a timely manner. How that is paid for is a matter for the landlord regardless of whether his insurance is valid.

 

[Natwee]

Keep everything in writing, ask for everything to be confirmed by email.

Also tell the contractor to go speak to letting egency, you did not hire him. Also speak to the letting agency and tell them they are in breech of contract.

And find somewhere else to live ASAP.

im stuck in a 2 year contract which isnt up until 2012.

They property manager has been awful with me ever since. the light didnt even work on the landing for 3 weeks because of the water damage to it because of the leak, and she wasnt even interested.

 

[Natwee]

There was an emergency - you contacted them and they send a contractor out. The fact that the agent didn't know or forgot BG should have done it is an issue between them and the landlord. End of.

IMO the agent cocked up (as they often do) and the invoice should now be down to them.

this is what i thought, but I have never rented before so Im unsure of things which might seem obvious!

This is why when I had the leak, I called up the letting agents as i dindt know how to go about arranging anythign like this. that and my little boy was seriously ill in hospital all over xmas and new year so a leak was the least of my priorities!

 

[Glaucus]

im stuck in a 2 year contract which isnt up until 2012.

They property manager has been awful with me ever since. the light didnt even work on the landing for 3 weeks because of the water damage to it because of the leak, and she wasnt even interested.

Who's the property manager? Is it the estate agents? What's the difference and who are they.
Damaged property has to be fixed quickly or they are in breech of contract. How easy it would be to use this to get out the contract I don't know, but maybe worth a look into.

 

[Natwee]

Who's the property manager? Is it the estate agents? What's the difference and who are they.
Damaged property has to be fixed quickly or they are in breech of contract. How easy it would be to use this to get out the contract I don't know, but maybe worth a look into.

the property manager works in the estate agents, yes. because the landlord lives in australia, they pay them to look after the property when things go wrong instead of just letting it out nd that being the end of it. it works out that i tell them somehtign is wrong, the they email the landlord in aus to check if they can fix it... and i have to wait in the mean time.

when my oven broke a couple of months back i called them up to tell them, and she said "ill have to call the landlord to see if he will authorise a repair" a week later one was done.

it takes the **** a bit tbh!

 

[Glaucus]

Tell them to sort themselves out it is there responsibility and there duty to repair stuff in a timely fashion. The fact the landlord lives in Australia makes no difference. That's their problem not yours.
You might be better going on a more specialised forum and getting some template letters and advice, but you need to be hard with them and keep bugging them and throw your weight(legal rights) around.

 

[vanandjuanunited]

Is there no legal basis to get repair done and deduct from rent if repairs are not completed.
Speak to CAB for advice

 

[Natwee]

Tell them to sort themselves out it is there responsibility and theft duty to repair stuff in a timely fashion. The fact the landlord lives in Australia makes no difference. That's there problem not yours.
You might be better going on a more specialised forum and getting some template letters and advice, but you need to hard with them and keep bugging them and throw your weight around.

I just panicked when I got told I needed to pay £100 for it so was after a general bit of advice really, but I will look into it better now I know its not just me being silly!

my bf has written this letter for me to send them:

On the 21st December 2010, I called the Thornley Groves office about a leak in the ceiling of my landing. I spoke to "lauren" who said that she would contact the relevant people and arrange it to be fixed. I had heard nothing by the close of business that day, so called back again on the 22nd December and was told the same thing. On the evening of 22nd December, I received a call from the contractor at A&M Property Solutions saying that they had been asked to come out to look at the leak.


On the Morning of the 23rd December, A&M came out and fixed the leak though did not repair the ceiling damage. I had no part in arranging it other than telling Thornley Groves that there was a leak, and then making sure I was at home for the contractor.

I subsequently received an invoice from Thornley Groves saying that as the property had British Gas Homecare, the repair would have been covered so I would need to pay the invoice as A&M should not have been involved.

I returned the invoice to Thornley Groves confirming the above ie. That I had not booked the contractor and this was done by Thornley Groves and that if Thornley Groves had not acted in accordance with the landlords wishes that was not my liability. I received no response.


It is now almost 7 months later and I still have a hole in my ceiling. I am now told that this will not be fixed as I have an outstanding invoice.

To clarify; I am not responsible for this amount and shall not be settling this invoice. I have no liability for the failings of Thornley Groves employees to act in accordance with the landlords wishes. Please can you settle this situation and arrange for the contractor to fix my ceiling as a matter of urgency. I will not hesitate in contacting the property ombudsmen if this situation is not rectified to my satisfaction within 14 days as I have had several grounds for complaint against Thornley Groves thus far and I am not prepared to accept such poor service any longer.

 

[Hades]

If the property manager is indeed the same as the estate agents (I was assuming they are different) then you should take the approach that you advised the agent and the fact they did not pass the information onto the landlord is not your concern.

 

[Glaucus]

Is there no legal basis to get repair done and deduct from rent if repairs are not completed.
Speak to CAB for advice

I don't think so, you have very very very little rights to with hold rent.

Letter sounds fine, but in reality I have no idea.

 

[Natwee]

If the property manager is indeed the same as the estate agents (I was assuming they are different) then you should take the approach that you advised the agent and the fact they did not pass the information onto the landlord is not your concern.

I thought this. I thought they should have some sort of information about what cover is taken out on which property and refer to it?

I'm also a bit concerned that they never checked he had landlords insurance??
I had to provide them with all sorts of information, and then they said that i had to earn 3.5 times the monthly rent every month to rent the house, or get a guarantor, they then wanted all my boyfriends details, and made me pay an admin fee for him as well which was £156 altogether! yet they dont seem to have checked somethign as basic as insurance with the landlord?

 

[Glaucus]

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Privaterenting/Repairsandstandards/DG_189194

What tenants should do when repairs are needed
If you think repairs are needed to the property you live in, you should contact your landlord or letting agency. They should be able to tell you when you can expect the repairs to be done. If they do not carry out the required repairs, you may be able to take court action or ask your local council for help.
You are required under the tenancy to continue to pay the rent even if you believe the landlord needs to carry out repairs. If you decide to withhold rent, you should bear in mind that this will put you in breach of your tenancy agreement and your landlord could take action against you, including seeking a court order to evict you.
Tenants who are not sure who their landlord is should ask for this information in writing from the person or company they pay rent to. If you do not receive this information within 21 days, your landlord may be fined.

So may well be useful phoning local council up.