I am having problems with my letting agency / landlord.?

Question

I have been emailing and phoning the letting agency since the beginning of September about a few issues I had in my flat, I have not heard from the landlord once and everytime I speak to the agency they say the same thing over and over "we are really sorry for this, we have passed this onto the landlord again and you should hear from him in due course" and I still have not heard anything and still have the issues. I have spoken to a few friends and family who say I have my own rights with this situation and should be able to do something about it but couldn't give me anymore information than that, do I still pay my full rent every month? do I speak to a lawyer? what do I do?

Answer 1

England/Wales



There are 2 things you can do.



Firstly, liaise directly with the landlord - the agency won't be trying to contact him at 8 o'clock at night. If you don't have his details, the agency have to provide them if you make a WRITTEN request - it is a criminal offence not to do so. (Section 1 - Landlord & Tenant Act 1985).



Secondly, depending on the severity of the issue, your friends are right - see this link, but make sure you follow the process exactly. http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets/tenants_doing_repairs

Answer 2

There are some things you can do.



1) First make a record of all contacts with the agency - and their replies.



Like when you called - who you spoke to etc.



2) Contact your local council houseing - I think that now all landlords have to register with the local council

and the council have a dispute resolution service for this type of thing.



Do you know any details that may help you contact the landlord directly -.



How do you pay your rent - from which I guess the agency get a cut. If its by bank s. o. then stop the order.



IF by cash or cheque then do not pay - but e mail (keep a copy and a copy of any reply) and state that you have been unable to pay your rent as you are unhappy re the issues.



But in all this you have to be reasonable etc - You do not say what the issues are so I guess it must be serious.



This is about getting up and makeing a noise and getting heard.



Hope this helps.





http://www.shelter.org.uk/



This is the site for Shelter - thier site see under Repairs on the right hand links.



They give lots of good advice - for those in Private lets.





HOPE THIS HELPS IN SOMEWAY.



ALL THE BEST.

Answer 3

I'm in the US so things may be a bit different... Is there some sort of agency like the housing authority that you can contact? Here we have this agency specifically to help with issues of bad landlords. Contact your local government office and ask if they have any such place.



Make sure you keep track of your contacts. Record the times and dates and what both parties said. If it ultimately needs to go to court, this will be important. You said that the letting agency forwards the message to the landlord, is there any way for you to contact the landlord directly?



You should have certain rights as a renter, especially if you are not in arrears with the payments. You should be able to have certain expectations to your living conditions and they are not allowed to keep you in something "less than". Good luck... I hope this helped.

Answer 4

List your faults then send recorded delivery letter to the letting agency advising them if not resolved within 7 days you will raise the matter with the local authority as all landlords have to be licensed and by reporting any issues with the local authority could be the push your landlord or letting agency need.

Answer 5

contact the landlord directly at the address you should have for him to make sure that the letting agency are actually passing things on; they are not always famed for their efficiency. Meantime set a deadline with the agency for an answer.



don't with-hold rent, there are very few causes to do that.



speak to citizens advice. It does all depend on what is actually wrong.

Answer 6

what ever you do keep paying your rent or the situation will get nasty . The best course of action i think is to write everything down. Write to letting agent giving a full description of problems and include a photo if necessary (at least please make a record of photos) Write requesting the problem is resolved and give a date you want it done by. If they still do nothing then write again stating you are consulting a solicitor over breach of contract . ie they are not keeping to their side of things (you may find a hearty threat is enough) Just remember please keep paying your rent ! Letting agents can be very good at evading problems. If they are part of a chain then write a letter to their regional or head office or report them to regulatory body .. good luck love x

Answer 7

Yes you must pay full rent.



Request from the letting agency the name and address of the landlord, they have to provide this, and contact the landlord directly yourself.

Answer 8

you don't say what the issues are, normally the letting agency check things out before letting,

sometimes tenants have issues about silly things, like "the light bulbs gone in the hall" or "next doors dog keeps barking" and tend to get ignored.

If they are real genuine issues and no one seems to be taking any notice, stop the rent, that usually gets some attention pretty damn quick, but don't forget to put it to one side.

Answer 9

you have called your letting employer, that's there interest to handle you ***** effectively. They then could checklist this to the owner and wait on acclaim for them to be waiting to accomplish the mandatory artwork required eg. hire an electrician etc in case you have no longer heard returned interior of a 2-3 days, touch your letting employer returned. i could additionally advise which you positioned it in writing and shop one reproduction to your information, have faith me, I truly have had all styles of hassle with letting businesses truly ending up required upkeep, so shop all of it on checklist. If this difficulty isn't resolved touch you community council to be sure what they are able to do to assist as your letting employer could be breaking of the t&c's of your signed tenancy settlement. do no longer call everyone different than your letting employer as that's THEIR interest to maintain the valuables and this includes working heating centers as that's a elementary human requirement.