My mum and problems with letting agent

[shieldblaster]

Hi

 

My mother who is 80 yo is moving into a sheltered bungalow having lived in a privately rented house for the past 10 years.

 

I am helping with the move and changing services, notices to quit etc. and we have just had a letter following our notice to quit and it states that it is a requirement that my mother provides copies of final account statements of all utility bills to ensure the release of her deposit. As most of the utilities are being transferred to the bungalow i'm not sure how this is gonna be possible.

 

Am I right in thinking that they can't request or require that this be done? I'm sure I have read somewhere that the utitliy bills are nobody else's business other than between the utility company and the account holder?

 

My mother is ony on a pension and she could really do with the deposit to help pay for removal fees etc and i'm concerned that the LA are gonna play hardball with her so any help/advice offered would be most grateful

[Aequitas]

There is no reason for the agent to see the final bills. Charges for gas etc are payable by the person who has the contract with the relevant company and not by the landlord. Since the landlord cannot be responsible for the bills there is no justification for the agent to withhold the deposit on that account.

[shieldblaster]

Hi

 

My mother has recently moved to a new sheltered bungalow (she is 80) from a privately let house she occupied for 10 years.

 

The letting agent has telephoned her since with a list of defects that they want attending too which i'm happy to consider prior to the return of deposit but they are putting pressure on my mother in that they have told her that these things need attending to urgently priior to the new tenants moving in and if they are not then they will call in professionals and bill us. As my mother can't possibly do anything and I have my own business to run they don't seem to be giving us much time to discuss things.

 

Whilst I appreciate that we have to enter a dialogue with these people i don't see why we should be bullied or rushed into doing anything just so they can re-let the place. There are things on their list that I don't agree with and imo are fair wear and tear bearing in mind that the tenancy was 10 yo and the place was never decorated by the LL in that time.

 

My questions are:

 

Do they have to supply me with a list of defects in writing?

Is there a period of time given to negotiate and perhapscome to agreement about these alleged defects?

 

Thanks very much in advance

[help me kick his butt]

Hi there. If I was you I would phone or write to the Agents and ask them to deal with you in the future as your Mother is elderly etc.

Firstly, May I say with respect, the Letting agents are quite within their rights to request that any dilapidations are dealt with, within a time limit as it is obviously in their best interests to get the house relet. All the time the property is empty, the owners are losing money.

That said, they do need to give you a list of these dilapadations, then you can inform them of the things that you feel are wear and tear. Certainly ,after 10 years with no redecoration there is bound to be wear and tear.

You are also lucky that you are being given time to sort out these problems yourself as most LL and LA like the property to be sorted out before the tenant leaves.

I would say your next move is to contact the LA and ask them how long they are giving you to sort these things out.

Best of Luck x

[shieldblaster]

Thanks for your reply help_me I have done as you suggested already and delivered a letter asking them to deal with me direct and also for a delapidation list.

 

As you say there is a fair amount of wear and tear within the property as it has never been decorated by the LL during the tenancy and anything that has been done has been carried out by myself. I have asked to meet a representative on site to discuss the problems. As my business deals with property development and maintence I am hoping I can do most things required myself given enough time. I will let you know how the meeting went.

 

Thanks again

[MrShed]

If you do not "rush so they can relet the place" - they will be losing rent. You will then become liable for this rent. Therefore, it is in your best interests to do so.

 

They have no obligation to even allow you to rectify the issues - they can just go ahead and deduct from the deposit/bill accordingly. As they are giving you the opportunity to resolve, I would suggest that if they are giving you anything more than 7 days, they are being very generous.

[shieldblaster]

thanks for your input MrShed. I am due to meet the property manager on thursday to see what needs doing.

 

Whilst I'm aware that they need to re-let the property I merely wanted the opportunity to see what needs doing and whether I could do at least some of it..and I am aware they can just go ahead and deduct what they need to with the deposit...but whether it's reasonable or not is a different matter..my experience so far with these letting agents hasn't been particularly good and all I want from them is to be fair.

 

Also wasn't aware that we would still be laible for rent, My mother had a periodic tenancy and my understanding was that she is/was only liable for the rent up to the date of quitting the tenancy having given the appropriate notice... perhaps I am wrong and someone here can clear that point up for me?

 

Thanks again

[MrShed]

She is not still liable for rent. However, her damages mean that she is liable for actual financial loss. If these are not resolved, and as a result rental income is lost, then she is responsible for this loss.

[shieldblaster]

Ok thanks for clearing that up