UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi
I have been renting my flat out for almost ten years now, and the last three years have been very strtessfull and financially expensive. I might bring this up in another thread.

This thread concerns my current situation:
in november I commissioned an estate agent which I found online from abroad to rent out my flat (I have somebody on the ground to help me, just a firend);

on the 3rd of december the tenants moved in, the agency found them and claimed they were great tenants and they knew them before;

the december rent was paid, but no rent came in by mid-january; half a rent was paid in the third week of january out of which the agent took more than half

the tenants claim that they do not want to pay the rest of the january rent since they had asked for important maintenance work to be carried out (water pump pressure, malfunctioning window and dishwasger) and nobody did anything

Now I had been in constant contact with the agents asking whether there was anything that needed to be done, and also soliciting to get the gas certificate and the contract; it turns out  they were sending all emails to me to a mispelt address and not making the connection between the emails I was sending them asking whether it was all ok and the ones they were sending to the wrong address

Now this agency, which is part of a chain, seems to me pretty useless. Furthermore the tenant claims to have done the works and that the agency should waive their fee to make up the rent, since they did not manage the flat at all; they say they will pay again in february, but they are keeping the half rent for the works they had to do and will provide receipts.

The tenants is a qualified plumber and he told me that he would be willing to take over from the agency in managing my flat for a lower fee.

I am not sure what to do a bad tenant/agency combination cost me 15000 euros of legal fees just two years ago.

I feel that overseas landlords and landladies are being taken for a bit of a ride.

I am not finished with my mortgage and where I am living I pay rent, so I cannot afford to miss rent payments.

I would be grateful for any helpful suggestions.

Tenants are not entitled to withhold rent if repairs are not carried out.Nor should they be arranging repairs without your prior agreement,whether they produce receipts or not.Odd that a plumber should need to call someone out to deal with water pressure problems?  Did he use proper tradesmen for these repairs,or do them himself and charge you for the parts? The rent is still owed,and in arrears.
It is impossible to get agents to waive fees unless they agree-they have access to the rent before you do. I suppose you could threaten to post a critical review on social media,otherwise it would be down to small claims court.No way should you let the tenant manage it-what a bizarre idea!           

thank you very much heavykarma. I am actually mad at the agents, I heard that you can file a formal complaint http://www.thetenantsvoice.co.uk/advice_from_us/the-role-of-the-letting-agent/?
What do you think I could do to get the agency to shape up their act? What can I do to retrieve the missing rent?

Assuming you are still using the agent,it is part of their duty to pursue the rent.You should instruct them to write to the tenant,making it plain that the payment of rent,and the costs of repairs are totally separate issues.They should give the required time for the tenant to pay arrears.You should also request copies of the invoices submitted by the workmen (not just receipts for what the tenant claims to have paid out) I am not abroad,but I do have an agreed limit on what the agents are authorised to spend on urgent repairs if I was away and out of contact.You will need records  for your tax returns.
I would certainly tell the agent that you intend making a complaint if they do not agree to refund their fees for the period in question.To be honest,you probably won't get very far.Can't  you change to a long-established, old school estate/lettings agent in your home town? They may cost more,and they are certainly not perfect,but they may have more to lose if they cock-up.

thank you again heavykarma, I just hired the agents in November, they found these tenants, I am not sure how easy it is to change, Could you name companies that you deem long established and more trustworthy?

It varies according to where your property is.The nearest local high street would be a good place to start,or ask your solicitors which agents they feel are of good repute.If you have a friend in the U.K. they could ask around,do some research on your behalf.

Just to add to this conversation; A tenant can not withhold rent, however they can deduct it from future rent which is to be paid if they take careful steps and keep a record. Did they follow the following steps cited in the link?
http://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/doing_the_repairs_if_your_landlord_wont

Just to also add...
The tenants may have acted in good faith. they asked for something to be fixed and it wasn't.
Water pressure would usually relate to a boiler, which any tenant should know how to boost the pressure in a boiler. If they don;t then I would consider getting new tenants.

Regardless, a plumber should also have definitely known how to do this. Unless the problem was related to some other item or than the boiler.

The agents may have replied to the wrong email address, I find this quite strange as pressing reply usually replies to the exact email.
Regardless, If they hadn't replied to me within 3 days I would have called them and told them to get their act straight.

As for the tenant managing the flat, I would consider that EXTREMELY risky. they could easily create "problems" that they need to fix and try to bill you anytime they liked.

Far better to have someone you know to manage the property. Either a close friend or relative.

If they had work done, tell them you need to see the receipts before you will pay the costs, However FULL rent is required as they were living there at the time.

I would tell them to pay the rent in full and you will reimburse them for any losses.

Personally I would never tell a tenant that you are out of the country. But if they already know this, then ask them to send a copy of the recipet to your email address.

(they can either take a photo of it on a phone or scan it on a scanner.)