Advice needed from landlords experienced in dealing with lettings agents
All - my old tenant checked out on Dec 23 and my lettings agent carried out a check out/ inventory which showed everything to be well. The new tenant checked in on Jan 4 and found multiple issues with the property ( non working toilet flush, broken oven, rubbish left behind by the previous tenant, soiled mattress etc). The agent is now telling me to fix the issues ( otherwise the new tenant will complaint to the council) but says I cannot recover anything from the old tenant as nothing was noted at the time of the checkout. They are making lame excuses about why such things cannot be picked up during checkout.
Do I have any recourse against either the agent or the old tenant?
Probably not against the old tenant as you can no longer prove it was caused by them.
Possibly against the agent, but it depends of the terms and conditions of the check-out service they offer. If after checking this you think you have a case, write a formal letter of complaint to the agency. If the response is not satisfactory, write to whichever redress scheme they belong to.
You can get independent check out from a third party inventory clerk, but you should check first what they routinely cover.
I would e-mail the agent to let them know they are fixing the issues within 2 days, compensate the tenant for the hassle and refund the money for the inventory check.
If not, I would tell them they are on breach of contract and you will find another agent immediately and tell the tenant they will should not deal with the agent.
If they didn’t comply I would make good on my word and change agent as well as sue them.
I would never use an agent who is clearly not valuing my business and take care of what they are charging me for
agree with Per. I had an agent who held the tenant deposit for a tear and had not transferred to my deposit account at DPS, they did so after I found out and informed them. They were only tenant find agent. another instance where tenant had changed the lock, left the property but still coming back to the property! and the agent did not inspect regularly when it was fully managed. This tenant had not paid rent 4 months, agent was getting his fee, I put a stop to this. They had not managed well, so asked them to pay me atleast 2 month rent or else told them that I will go on social media and paint them black. I got 2 months rent, changed the lock and cleared the old mess.
Thxs both for your advice. I have asked the agent for remediation or access to their formal complaints process. Let us see what they revert with. Meanwhile I guess I will have to fix the issues that the new tenant is facing at my own cost ( because it is not the fault of the new tenant + they may go to the council if the issues are not fixed)
Agent redress schemes can award compensation and its sometimes very substantial. Don’t be afraid to escalate it if the agent complaints process doesn’t come through for you.