Hi after paying my holding deposit for a flat I have found that as businesses reside next door on both sides of the flat, they hold the keys to the fire escape route as they park their vehicles on that land. So the fire escape is locked and not accessible in the evenings and at night time. There is only 1 other tenant living next to me and he is an elderly man.
In the event of a fire how would we escape?
Surely they shouldn’t have passed the fire safety inspections?
I don’t want to go ahead with renting this flat and paying the tenancy deposit.
What should I say to get my holding deposit back - it is the letting agency I have been communicating with?
On gov.uk renting advice it says Landlord should make fire escape route accessible at all times.
There is also another odd thing - the letting agency won’t tell me the name or contact details of the landlord even though I have read they are supposed to or the landlord will be fined? Is this correct?