Seriously getting cheesed off with Letting agents

I’m only been here for 8 months and so far I’ve had two “warning” letters, one for not mowing the lawns, which arrived after the inspector came after 3 weeks of continuous rain (I’m not one for electrocution or damaging the grass), and now I get one for “general cleanliness” after the inspector arrived after I’d done an 80 hour week, driven 1000 miles on the weekend and come back at 1am, made some food and left the dishes out dirty before going to bed and then straight back out to work in the morning. AND they tell me I should “cure” the condensation problem (single glazing, middle of winter?!) by leaving the non-locking windows open while I’m at work to air the property.

REALLY starting to get cheesed off with them, bunch of **** morons without a cell between their ears. Whats more, they put a stupid little paragraph in saying “we dont want to tell you how to live but you may incurc charges if you dont keep the property as you received it”. So…

Do I go on the offensive, pointing out their stupidity, the fact that they’ve still not replaced the fridge which swings from -1 to 9 degrees without being opened (logged it with a datalogging thermometer), the fact that one of the rooms is not properly decorated? The fact that the landlord was meant to be removing piles of rubbish in the garden and hasnt, the fact that the landlord left the bins so full they couldnt be removed and I had to empty it in 3 trips to the dump, the fact that I was meant to be getting hedges cut by the landlord and they weren’t? The fact that theres a **** great hole under the loo that lets the cold air, insects and damp in, The fact that I get a different property manager each time I call, the fact taht none of the kitchen windows open so I cant even begin to air the kitchen when cooking. Do I point out the fact that I’ve fixed, without complaining, the fridge, the central heating that needed bleeding, the wiring for the TV antenna, the wiring for the phone extension that was done badly, cleaned the paint off the light switches where it was painted over, the doors that were catching due to being badly hung.

FFS the red mist has descended.

Get down to your council and talk to Housing. Alternatively – CAB.

Finish the contract then move to another one.

😯

FFS the red mist has descended.

Wouldn’t have noticed! 🙄

I would try and speak to the overall person in charge, not the one for that day and point your point accross, seems like you have a fairly good case!
That would severely p me off too!

Problem is I actually like the property and the area and cant really afford to move on due to hassle and lack of similar properties in the area, and I’m fairly sure the landlord (lady) is as laid-back as I am over such things, but the letting agent is a **** menace. I’m really just peeved as its making my life a bit of an us-and-them war, I dont need the extra stress and having to panic on inspection day in case I’ve forgotten to wash the dishes or mow the lawn, or its been a particularly cold night and the windows are a bit condensationy!

Thanks for the suggestions, I may well speak to the CAB.

Did they give you 24 hours written
notice of the inspections? Legally they’re supposed to.

Different agencies seem to have different philosphies/business models, I’ve been with some work on the basis that they want to get tenants in and keep them in and have a little contact or involvement with them as possible unless you need them. Others seem to have a business model that thrives on high turnover – fixed term contracts which can only follow on with another fixed term contract with each renewal incurring an arrangement fee, rents which automatically increase with each year of occupancy regardless of the market and a general sense of invasive meddling.

I moved into a lovely flat managed by countrywide. They were unbearable. Moved straight back out after 6 months and when I did pretty much every one of their flats that we’d seen when we moved in came back on the market as well. I feel sorry for any of owners of the flats they manage, they must loose one months rent in every seven. At the same time much the same experience as yours a pantomime of being vigilant and officious (bottles of cordial in the cupboards were on the inventory ffs!) but utterly lax whenever anything needed doing.

What I resent most was being denied the sense of the house you are renting being your home, with them clucking around it made living there feel like an exam.

when you rent a house you don’t just get the building, you get the right to peace and privacy.

I’ve now made it part of the house hunting process to interview the agency.

If you ask the agency to put you in touch with the landlord they are, I believe, obliged to do so.

you can mail me Coffeeking. I do this for a living
steveaustin12345@hotmail.com

right,were do i begin.i run a property development firm.1.you don,t have to complete your contract.2.if you want to move just dont pay enough rent to cover your deposit.as a tennant 90% of the law is on your side.what do you need to know.i,ll give you all the advice you need…rob..

I can sympathize with you. I have just spent the past few months looking for a new house. Looked at several crap, rundown over- priced hovels. Found one we liked and agreed on it, only to be told that we would have to pay £180 for reference checks, £80 for admin, £80 checking in fee and £80 for each time we renewed the lease. Basically told them to go **** themselves. Have now found a lovely place with private landlord who we deal with directly. This is the way forward IMO.

countrywide, what a bunch of **** wasters. Never come across a more obnoxious arrogant bunch of shisters.

They sound like a bunch of kn*bs!
Its the winter you dont cut the grass!
Who says you have to wash up/put dishes away every time you use them!
Im getting annoyed now 👿

I do get notice of the inspections, and I’ve never considered my keeping of the property to be anything more than occasionally untidy – like I say, often living out of a suitcase near the weekends so sometimes its left looking a bit untidy, but never unCLEAN – thats why I never bothered thinking about “preparing” for inspections. I’m wondering if it’s the fact that I have a bike in the livingroom there that they’re unhappy about. As skidartist says, its the fact that you get the feeling you dont get any privacy, peace or a home, just a few rooms to look after. I’ve actually just found a 2 bed semi with a drive and gardens in the next town over for the same rent – quite tempting. I’m currently on a rolling (month by month) contract so that might go part way to explaining why they’re being a pain, new tennant=new fees etc etc. I’m just hoping they dont try to use these over-zealous complaints against me at the end somehow. Scottish law is a bit different to English too, I think?

Cheers again!

Move.

check out CKD Galbraith – just about to move into a place in Ayrshire with them – 6 months contract then it just goes to month to month. An upfront fee for credit checks and a fairly hefty deposit, but after that no more nonsense. If you are somewhere fairly rural look out for houses that a part of big posh estates – usually good value because they we’re bought and paid for generations ago, and the toffs that own them just want to get people in and keep them in, and you do that by offering them at under market price. I’m moving to a 3 bed coach house in the grounds of a castle and its cheaper then my pokey* 1 bed flat in glasgow

You can usually expect unfurnished properties to have good tenent friendly terms as offering a property unfurnished is a good way of attracting tenents who’ll stay put for a while.

* by pokey i mean I can’t stand up straight in the kitchen!

i wouldn’t trust steve austin’s advice. call shelter’s adviceline instead

😀 Good points, noted, so far – I’ll keep them in mind and if I get no joy from a discussion with them I’ll find somewhere better locally. Somewhere without faux-leather sofas that sweat unpleasantly!

the horror!

😆

‘i wouldn’t trust steve austin’s advice. call shelter’s adviceline instead ‘

I think this is one for you as its oop there

£80 checking in fee. WTF?!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hora, before you start getting indignant on Coffeekings, and every other renters behalf. that is a very normal charge

The fees at mine were actually pretty low, about £34 credit check and no repeat/re-issuing fee on renewal of lease. Hefty deposit (1.5 months) but I could buy the interior decor of this flat for less than that lol. I’m feeling a little calmer today but I’m still going to ask them to justify exactly what they’re talking about and exactly how they’d like me to reduce condensation when the humidity outside is as high as inside and despite having numerous draughty window vents open the problem re-occurs on all windows. And all of the other properties in the road, if they’d look.

8 months? 2 inspections? That’s WAY too much.

A rented property is your home, and you have the right to say who comes into your home and when. The only exception is in an emergency, when the landlord or agents can enter – but that will be for something like a pipe burst or a gas leak when you’re away. You don’t even have to allow viewings at the end of your tenancy if you don’t want to.

The deposit is there for remedial work if needed at the end of your tenancy. They shouldn’t be that bothered about what you’re up to in the meantime, and frankly it’s none of their business anyway.

You bled the radiators without complaining? 😆

8 months? 2 inspections? That’s WAY too much.

Actually 8 months, 4 inspections (every 2 months). But I did agree to it, assuming it would be a cursory glance to check I wasnt destroying the place, and would stop after the 6 month initial period- I shouldnt make assumptions!

boofon – 😀 im not sure where the humour lies, but not only that but I’ve also fixed and sealed the taps that span in place and leaked when i moved in! Can we fix it? Not anymore!

There is no legal restriction on how many times a landlord can visit. Even if you have agreed to let a landlord in in writing on your tenancy agreement, you would be well within your rights to say no. The only restrictions are that they need to give reasonable notice, this is been accepted as 24 hours, but it must be convenient.
You are well within your right to change the locks on a rented property and not give your landlord a key. You must allow them access though. Of course if you change the locks and throw them away, then you have thrown away their property, so you must replace them at the end of the contract, or you could be charged for refitting of the locks.
At the end of the day, its their property and you live in it. if the relationship starts going sour, as a tenant only has a limited amount of security, it is sometimes easier to move on.

Good god, they actually sound WORSE than the numerous crooks we’ve dealt with in edinburgh.

I’d be worried that they were building up a paper-trail to justify withholiding your deposit at the end. If they agree they’ve been over-zealous, i’d want it in writing, and signed, to use at a later date if they quibble about deposits.

I always think the Flat Letting ‘industry’ needs some sort of reform to stop them taking the p1ss like this, we’ve been charged ridiculous £80 per person admin fees by a letting agent who have consistently proven themselves to be totally useless/unwilling to perform any admin.

I don’t think I’ve got a positive word to say about lettings agents either, having been both landlord and tenant. I’ve said it on here before, but as a landlord I took a letting agent to court (successfully) to recover money from them.

Assuming that you have the same right to the landlord’s contact details as you would in England & Wales I think that I’d be tempted to write to them direct and mention that you have some concerns about the agent… If you can demonstrate to the landlord that you are a good tenant (e.g. by noting the problems you’ve fixed without incurring any charge for the landlord) and are keen to stay, but cannot put up with ‘harrassment’ from the agent, then the landlord may stick their oar in on your behalf.

The agent is probably shafting the landlord anyway by charging for the inspections, and is attempting to justify the cost with their comments.

good luck!

im currently counting down the days till the 5th of March when i’ll away from this feking landlord for ever.

Only thing i found that worked was to e-mail them/him after every phone conversation to confirm what was said. Stops him using his favourite line “i forget what i may or may not have said” .

Have to stop myself laughing every time the followign are mentioned to prospective housemates:
the cleaner (he said he would get one, or would do it himself, but nothings been mopped for months)
the gardener, ditto
“I only pop in occasionlay to check up on the place” he practicaly lives there
“I never go into rooms without asking” (you’ve seen me naked, one of the girls ditto, went into another girls room whilst she was sleeping, and are a general nosey shi*)

wish we could demand referances from previous tennants, would have saved me a whole load of hastle.

Thankfully I managed to get my landlord to ditch the agents he was using as they did bu**er all when the boiler broke down one winter. It was only fixed when the landlord sent someone round to do it.

Since then he’s been brilliant, let me pay late when I was skint before I get this job, sorted out the windows and installed double glazing, put in a new boiler when the aforementioned one when totally tits up, and gave me two bottles of wine for fitting a new element in the oven, lets me dig up the garden to grow veg…

All in all, a really nice chap…

Oh, and the rent hasn’t gone up in 5 years now… :o)

Used to rent from Grant Management in Edinburgh and it was a nightmare. Well flat was just average, but getting them to fix anything took ages, when finally got a new oven, when it arrived it turned out it was too wide (at least 10″). Had only one visit after about 8 months, but when the lease was coming to the end 2 months before I had people coming for viewings every 2-3 days (and I work on night shift so sleep during the day). Signed on some open viewing thing, and got extra £70 for it, but they charged me £83 for cleaning and missing things (I left more cutlery, pans and plates I got).

Still my friends were better. 3 girls sharing a flat from GM. They cleaned it perfectly as girls only can but got charged for 4h of cleaning and some other bits like light bulbs and that too £130 off their deposit.

Now I have a private landlord, been on this flat for almost 2 years and only saw him once. I pay the rent on time, look after the flat and thats it.

I would get well annoyed if I had to get visits from an agent every 2 months. Had a similar situation while studying back home, we had a room rented and our landlord found it fun to visit the flat every week when we were at uni and left us a letter what he didnt like and what needed improvement 😀