Made homeless by estate agency!

[xuntitledx]

Firstly, thank god this forum is here!

I'm hoping to get some advice - any help would be appreciated.

My partner and I have been renting a flat for the past 18 months with no problems however it's come to the time when we need more space so we've been looking for a house to rent in the local area.

We've found the perfect house for us through a reputable estate agency and have agreed to a moving in date (Monday 9th). We did a final viewing the week previously to get measurements etc and after seeing the condition of the beds, we've asked for these to be removed due to general disrepair and hygiene - we've stated that we will purchase our own independently.

And this is where the problems begin...

We had a phone call from the estate agency today (4 day until we move in) explaining they did not look at the house properly and they're discovered broken windows hidden behind a mirror, broken furniture and altogether a dirty property so they've explained that they need to get the cleaners in before we move in and unfortunately this may take a few weeks or even a month.

Our current landlord has a new tenant moving in the day after we move out - I explained this to the estate agency, that we're going to be homeless, and they've advised "they can't forcefully evict you without a court order" - great!

And the best bit, I have paid £200 for a holding deposit so if I pull out now, that will apparantly be non-refundable.

Can anybody help on this issue?

My feeling is they shouldn't have advertised as "available to let immediately" before they've checked the place out and they certainly should not be telling us 4 days before we're supposedly moving in.

Thanks

xuntitledx

[help me kick his butt]

Why not suggest to the LA that you will get the cleaners in, and take it out of your first months rent, failing that, maybe get your rubber gloves on and bill them for your time. Best of luck x

[xuntitledx]

Why not suggest to the LA that you will get the cleaners in, and take it out of your first months rent, failing that, maybe get your rubber gloves on and bill them for your time. Best of luck x

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

I spoke to the estate agents yesterday and explained we would be happy to do the cleaning and reclaim the costs back later to avoid this situation, they explained they were unable to allow us to do this and we will need to wait.

 

So we're still stuck

[help me kick his butt]

Something is ringing alarm bells with me here, Im not sure why but it seems to me they will be losing a months rent by doing it that way. My gut feeling is took look for a more reliable agent.

Hope you get sorted out soon x

[jimminy]

Your holding deposit was paid on the expectation that you would be able to move in on the day. They screwed up big time, not you, so you should easily be able to get the whole lot back. The 'available to let immediately' claim was misleading and you paid them the deposit on that belief - let them know that. I can't tell you what specific laws were breached here but you should be able to find out what protection you have with a little research on the Internet - good luck.

[xuntitledx]

Thanks for your response.

 

We are still waiting to hear back from the agency regarding a definate moving date.

 

I will also be complaining about the situation and will hopefully receive my holding deposit back due to the misadvertising of the property and the giant mess that we've been left to deal with!

 

I'll update with any further information.

[MrShed]

Have you signed a contract? What date did it say on the contract? What does it say on the receipt for the holding deposit?

 

They are absolutely correct, you cannot be evicted without a court order, and this would follow formal 2 months notice. So you do have a little breathing space (although you will 1 - annoy the landlord and 2 - put someone else in the same position instead of you). However, the real concern is that they are saying it will take "several weeks or a month" to arrange to clean the property. 2 days IMO tops. They are in breach of contract in my opinion.

[xuntitledx]

There was no signed contract and no written agreement as we were advised all paperwork and contracts would be signed on the moving in day. However, it was a verbal agreement that we made and therefore should still be upheld.

 

The reason why it's due to take so long is because the landlord has apparantly gone away on holiday with no return date and they can't make any decisions without her okay-ing them. Problem with this is she could be away for a weekend or for a year and we just don't know.

 

Luckily, after speaking to our current landlord, we are extending our contract for a further month but after this time, who knows?

 

I feel extremely frustrated at the moment as we don't have any new definate dates and I don't feel I can lodge a complaint until we have signed something as I don't want the rug pulled from under us again.

 

I just feel trapped at the moment and as we were very organised before, that's gone out of the window and all we're left with is uncertainty and £200 down.

[davey77]

Sounds you are really being messed about with this and it was completely unacceptable of the estate agent to advertise a property as 'availably to let immediately' when they hadn't even checked if it was. (False advertising or whatever the current term is?)

 

One month to clean?! Give me a break!

 

I would get on to your local CAB office and Shelter to ask their opinion of what your rights are and what to do about this:

 

Citizens Advice - the charity for your community

 

Shelter England - The housing and homelessness charity

 

To be honest if it was me (and after you have moved in or found somewhere else and know you are going to have a roof over your head securely) i would ask this lame estate agent to pay any costs you have incurred for deliberately delaying your move and/or misleading you.

[davey77]

...I don't feel I can lodge a complaint until we have signed something as I don't want the rug pulled from under us again.

 

I agree. If they feel you are going to be trouble they may cause problems. If you need written proof of some of the things they have said or done you could (subtly) call/email asking they put a few points of what they have stated in writing for 'your piece of mind' etc etc.

 

Once you have proof of they actions they have taken you can use that against them later if need be.

 

But be subtle and friendly about it for the moment (blame your other half for worrying or nagging or something!) just to get something in writing. ;-)

Edited February 8, 2009 by davey77

[xuntitledx]

Thanks everybody for all of your helpful advice.

I've spoken to the estate agency today who explained they've received an email from the landlady stating the work will be completed by the end of the week. They are then going to view it on Monday to check it's up to scratch and then we'll be able to move in.

I explained to them that we won't be able to move in until after 26th as that's when we next get paid as we've had to pay out for another month's rent and he said "that's 15 days away" I said yes it is...and he said "I'm sure that won't be a problem"

This has then left me slightly confused and even more annoyed - of course it won't be a problem!! We've not got thousands stashed away somewhere for his convenience...

The more time that goes on, the more I'm left increasingly frustrated and dissatisfied with their attitude

[xuntitledx]

Update

My partner has spoken to the estate agency today who have advised all work has been completed and we have arranged a viewing for Friday with a possible moving in date on 26th Feb dependent on how the viewing goes.

After this time, I would like to raise a complaint regarding the poor service and treatment we received - is there a template for this that someone could direct me to?

Many thanks and thanks again for all helpful advice we've received.