Estate Agent/Landlord issues!

Pigglesx

Where do I start!! Myself & my Boyf moved into a house in January, we arrived on the day of the move and the estate agent was there, he gave us the key had the lease ready, we signed and he handed us the keys, he said that there was "bound to be issues" and not to hesitate to contact him on anything so he was there for about 3 minutes and left so I went into the sitting room and flicked the light switch- nothing. The little lamp in the corner was on so obv he had known the light wasn't working but didn't bother to mention it, I went to the back door...two panels of the back garden fence were missing and there was a big gap into the next door neighbours garden (we have a tiny dog) so this was a problem. Went into the hall...light fixtures hanging from the ceiling no light in the hall... As I started to unpack and open cupboards I found gone off food, green mould, the fridge was full of food aswell and it was warm, the freezer was frozen solid drawers would not open at all. I went upstairs and found the bathroom had tan stained shower and bath and the presses below the sink was full of stuff. I was so angry I called the estate agent and he said he would sort it for us and because of the time between the old tenants leaving and us moving in he didn't get a chance to check it. He said they would fix anything broken but he wasn't sure if the landlord could get a cleaner .....well I gave him a piece of mind and said if they didn't if be sending the pictures I took to the PRTB as the house was a disgrace and not in a fit state to rent. He eventually agreed....we waited nearly 3 weeks for a fridge after he sent an engineer to fix the broken one and he took one look at it and said it's gone, we couldn't even keep milk in the house, we were promised multiple times that it was coming, the estate agent told me it was coming on the Monday and I took the day off work and it never arrived. We threatened them with our solicitor this time and the fridge arrived the next day. Someone came and "measured" the rest of the broken things but we have been totally ignored after emails and emails and emails and calls and calls, I've given up! On top of all this we are nearly 5 months on the house and we still have not gotten a copy of our lease. We have just about had enough and we would love a bit of advice.

Are we entitled to get our deposit back as we have not recieved a copy of the lease? We just want to move in as we have lost faith in this estate agent and to be honest he's a complete cowboy, quick enough to take our deposit and no help since.

Disgrace!

So we are thinking either we get our deposit back or not pay our last months rent and just move out.

What to do???
Px

athtrasna

Why on earth did you sign and hand over money without checking the house? Step 1 of renting, always check the place out first.

As things stand you are bound by the lease you signed, regardless of whether you have a copy or not. Was it fixed term? Was there a break clause?

Absence of a fridge breaks the law on basic standards in rented accommodation, you could have raised that with the PRTB. The other issues sound cosmetic and you will be told that you should have checked it out before you signed.

the_syco

athtrasna wrote: »

Why on earth did you sign and hand over money without checking the house? Step 1 of renting, always check the place out first.

This. Did you just look at the outside of the house and scream "take my money" at the EA? Sorry if this seems harsh, but the EA is never your friend; their job is to put tenants into the house, and they'll do it as cheaply as possible. Once they have your money, you have no leverage, and they'll ignore you.

Take it as a lesson learnt. Next house you find, check the garden, the cupboards, the presses, ensure the shower and cooker works, and that all the rooms have working lights. Oh, and ensure that all the windows are double glazed, and get a BER rating to see if there's any insulation.

Pigglesx

So there's nothing I can do at all?? That's ridiculous! Surely there are laws to protect the tenant against this sort of behaviour??
I viewed the house with the previous tenants in it, we felt slightly uncomfortable opening fridges and cupboards. We thought those checks would be done after they moved out! That's why they are being paid by the landlord!!

the_syco

Pigglesx wrote: »

So there's nothing I can do at all?? That's ridiculous!

Lodge a complaint to the PTRB.

Pigglesx wrote: »

We thought those checks would be done after they moved out! That's why they are being paid by the landlord!!

Live and learn. Never hand over the money until you check out the place. If the landlord/EA has a problem with this, walk away. You can be sure they'll get those things fixed within a few days so that they can get you moved in!

Also, if the current tenants are still in the house, pop back when the landlord isn't around, and check how the landlord is at fixing things; some people end up moving out due to landlords not fixing things!

athtrasna

Pigglesx wrote: »

So there's nothing I can do at all?? That's ridiculous! Surely there are laws to protect the tenant against this sort of behaviour??
I viewed the house with the previous tenants in it, we felt slightly uncomfortable opening fridges and cupboards. We thought those checks would be done after they moved out! That's why they are being paid by the landlord!!

Yes, to protect the tenant, use common sense!! As you say the agent is being paid by the landlord, not you. All they want from you is your money. Never trust anyone who's not working for you.

djimi

Put every issue in writing and send it via registered letter to the landlord. Request a time frame in which you can expect all of the issues to be sorted. If the issues are not sorted in a reasonable time frame then send another letter stating that if the issues are not sorted in a timely fashion you will have no choice but to take a case against the landlord with the PRTB.

This situation really is of your own making though. Every issue that you have listed would have been noted had you taken five mintues to run through the property before signing the lease and handing over money. As a general rule of thumb the state of the property when you sign the lease is the state that you can expect it to remain in for the foreseeable future. Never take a landlords/agents word when they say that they will sort issues after you move in, and never leave it until after you sign the lease to inspect the property fully and note the issues. Being in the right is no consolation when you have to live in squalor for weeks/months while you fight to get issues sorted that should have been right from the start.

fasttalkerchat

Can't believe you took the keys before seeing the house at that time. Have you been paying rent since?

StillWaters

What are the issues, and are they sufficient to make you move? The property wasnt cleaned between lettings, annoying, but not enough to move for surely. Fridge has been replaced. Have the fence panels been replaced? I dont understand the lighting issues. Have you tried the trip switch?