diddled by landlord with rent arrears

[Chello]

Hi all,

 

I'm having trouble with my letting agency and wondered if anyone here could tell me if I'm being ripped off. Its a bit long but I'd like to give as much detail as possible

 

I have a shorthold tenancy with an agent (Walton Robinson) which started on August 20th. I've had a multitude of problems from the word go.

 

First of all, a window frame is broken and it is held closed with some duct tape and a piece of wood. I asked the agency about it and they said they had were unable to find the manufacturer of the frames and that they were still trying, and would keep me posted. They never kept me informed on any of their actions (because they'd done nothing).

 

If I'd known that it was going to be like this I wouldn't have taken the property in the first place.

 

The flat had other problems. In the first week the blind fixtures fell off, the radiator fell off the wall, the shower fixture fell off, and the toilet was leaking. I visited the agent to let them know and nothing happened for weeks. I had to go in again and complain about it. They finally sent out some cowboy contractors who only bothered to attempt fixing the radiator and shower. They'd done such a bad job that the radiator fell off again. The shower was poorly done. I ended up fixing all of these problems myself (despite the property management being included in the rent).

 

Within the next few weeks our dishwasher broke and the kitchen ceiling started leaking heavily out of a spotlight fixture. We visited the agent again, were told that it would be sorted, and heard nothing back for 3 weeks. We also asked again about the window and were fobbed off with 'we've not found anything out yet'.

 

So we went again, and our complaint hadn't even been passed on to the property manager. They finally sent someone to fix the dishwasher and replaced it after a few weeks but the leak was never seen to, despite them promising to send someone out. We had asked again about the window to hear the same excuse.

 

In late October I went back specifically to ask about the window and the leak again. I didn't want my heating bills racked up because of the window and was sick of the leak coming and going. I was getting annoyed now after months of being messed about. They still insisted they couldn't find the manufacturer. I asked about negociating the rent because this was ridiculous. The manager advised me to send an email with a figure and why. I asked for a measly £15 PCM reduction (on a £550PCM flat), due to the heating costs it would incur, and the fact the property basically was not being managed.

 

I heard nothing back at all despite and sent a complaint. They didn't respond, but when I went back in person asking if they got it, they said they had. They didn't even give me a reponse while I was in front of them and didn't answer my questions.

 

Mid November I decided to look for the manufacturer myself. It took 2 minutes and one email, simply by typing the building name into google. Furious, I forwarded the details to them. I told them that if I heard nothing back from them I would simply withold £15 per month of my rent until the window was fixed. Even acknowledging my email would have sufficed, but they didn't even do that after almost 2 months. So I lowered my rent accordingly on Dec 22nd, in the hopes that they would do something. I still heard absolutely nothing

 

On Jan 3rd (today), I received an automated text message stating that I was in arrears and to call x to pay it. Just a few hours ago (at about 6pm) I found an email that was sent in the morning, stating that I was not being charged £36 per HOUR for as long as I was in arrears.

 

They have not made any effort to do their jobs, and now they are charging me presumably over £600 per day for being £30 in arrears. I went to the agency but missed it (as it does not have an opening hours table anywhere on the window or the site).

 

I'm furious that they would ignore all of the defects I complained about for half a year, and then conveniently get back to me just to charge me an absolutely crippling fee that has arisen purely out of their maladministration. They are a member of TPOS, which they hide very well despite whats in their code of conduct.

 

I'm furious that they started charging said crippling fee and slyly slunk an email into my inbox. Its disgusting that they found this sufficient notice and made no effort at all to make me aware of it. I had absolutely no chance of avoiding this fee because they could not be bothered to give me a phonecall and confirm that I knew about it.

 

Has anyone been in a similar situation before, and does anyone have any advice regarding my rights, etc? Trading Standards states that a defect in the product is a violation - Is the state of my flat and the lack of management that I'm paying for out of my rent enough to report them?

 

Thanks very much for your time.

[seanamarts]

Hi and welcome to CAG

 

First off I would write out a formal complaint to the manager and hand deliver it to them and ask for a receipt.

Does it state in your agreement that they will charge this fee if you are in arrears. If it does not stipulate this then I cannot see how they can charge it.

I would also get onto the environmental health at the council and request that they send some one out to inspect the property. They will give an amount of time to get things fixed, if they are not fixed the council will get the work done and charge the LL for it.

[Chello]

Thanks for the response (: I was never given a physical copy of the tenancy agreement (though I was sure I should have been?), I only have a draft agreement that they emailed to me, wherein I found this quote:

 

"The landlord reserves the right to charge interest (calculated from day to day) at 4% over the base rate of Barclays Bank plc on late payments."

 

The, further down it states:

 

"[Tenant is obligated] To pay, or be liable to pay any costs of the landlord or the agent apart from those defined in clause 2.25 above which the landlord or the agent is entitled to charge under this agreement at a rate of £35.25 per hour inclusive of VAT if applicable together with any reasonable associated expenses."

 

Clause 2.25 states that the admin fee covers:

Viewings, offerings, negotiations and queries

The preperation and completion of all documents relating to the tenancy

The exchange and copies of all documents relating to the tenancy

The preperation and completion of a guarantor agreement

The aquisition and checking of all references and status enquiries

 

 

I don't understand why they are stated seperately, or what exactly is justifying this hourly charge as they have no expenditure as a result and it is absurdly expensive proportional to the amount owed.

 

Are they contradicting themselves here? Or have I been misled into believing that the first quote is what I should be paying by how they've worded it?

 

I'm quite new to renting, and I really can't afford this

[seanamarts]

So you never signed an agreement, was this sent after you had moved in?

[danielr]

The, further down it states:

 

"[Tenant is obligated] To pay, or be liable to pay any costs of the landlord or the agent apart from those defined in clause 2.25 above which the landlord or the agent is entitled to charge under this agreement at a rate of £35.25 per hour inclusive of VAT if applicable together with any reasonable associated expenses."

 

Clause 2.25 states that the admin fee covers:

Viewings, offerings, negotiations and queries

The preperation and completion of all documents relating to the tenancy

The exchange and copies of all documents relating to the tenancy

The preperation and completion of a guarantor agreement

The aquisition and checking of all references and status enquiries

that is basically saying that when you cause them to do work, you would pay for it.

so if it takes them 2 hours to photocopy and mail out renewal contracts then you'd expect to pay 2x hourly rate. (because you admin fee only covered the ones signed when you moved in.)

 

If you consistently are late with rent payments, causing them to have to send you letters, or causing them to have to do some work, means that the work would be paid for by you, not by the landlord -since it's you that has caused the work to need to be done.

 

What I don't understand though, if that they've agreed that the property has been mismanaged, and they've agreed that you don't need to pay £15 of your rent, because of their shoddy service, why are they now chasing you? do you have this agreement written down?

 

I also don't understand why you think that this hourly charge for work being done with be applied all day everyday to the tune of £600 a day?

I read this as a charge for every time they send you a letter, not an hourly fee. I also think that this is in addition to the interest which they want to charge for late payment.

so if they send you a letter on monday an amount that is (rent arrears interest) + (letter fee) is added to the amount that you owe them

on Tuesday, if they don't send any letters as they are just sitting waiting for a response, the only extra thing that you'd owe then is more interest on the rent arrears.

 

 

So far as everything else goes, yes, do complain you shouldn't have to live in a place where there is broken windows (not secure) or where water is leaking from light fittings. and they should have arranged to have these fixed promptly.

 

 

have you had any contact with the landlord, do they know what is going on?

if you can, try to talk to them and see what they think about the situation, they will be paying these agents a hefty monthly fee for them to manage the property, and they clearly aren't doing it. getting the landlord involved means that she/he will also pressure the estate agents into getting the work done. as well as you putting pressure onto them.

 

(Can I assume that you have been keeping your deductions from rent in a separate account? so if this plan all goes wrong you can afford to pay immediately?)

 

and have you been keeping a diary/log of the correspondence that you've had with the letting agent?

[mariner51]

I understand your frustration over repair delays, but by reducing your rent unilaterally by £15 you are in breach of contract.

The correct? procedure would have been a Notice in writing to give them 7 working days to inspect and initiate repairs, stating otherwise you will undertake repairs at own expense and deduct the cost from future rent, supported by paid invoice.

 

Interest clause on monies due I read as 4% per annum (not day) and the interest will be added to account each day (compounded).

 

They slyly slunk an email into your inbox? which you regard as insufficient Notice, yet you communicate with them mainly by email and regard that as sufficient Notice!

Put all complaints in writing, on paper addressed to Manager, copy to LL and keep a copy.

[R J Dearden]

Does the agency belong to any governing bodies such as ARLA, RICS or ANAEA?

 

If so you can write to them if you get no where following a letter to their CEO.

 

Sounds like an estate agency "playing at lettings" rather than a professional letting operation though could be wrong!

 

Good luck.

Edited January 5, 2012 by R J Dearden

[ataloss]

Some local authority town halls have a department that deals on your behalf with private landlords. It may be worth investigating if yours has one. The Shelter website has some useful information regarding contracts and what to do if you are experiencing problems.