L's remedies if Agent signs-up bad T

[landlordbristol]

Hi All,

I'm new here, but have been having some difficulty and was hoping for some advice. This has been a bit of an on going saga so I will try and bullet point....

DSS Tennant moved in - apparently fully vetted etc.
after 2 months end up in arrears
takes 3 months to force agency hand to help us get to court
judge rules in our favour - serves money order and possesion order
tennant moves out but leaves house in an absolute mess (all carpets need changing, bath broke, hob broken etc - you get the picture).
End up keeping deposit through DPS but still drastically short of monet order value and cost of repairs.
Tennant disapears.
Finally see references for tennant. Only a 4 month period was checked, for a rental value of 50% less than our home and also only on a PO Box address....no other refs or ID seem to have been taken.


I wondered if anyone knew if I had any case for compensation against the agency, I feel that they have been negligent here and as a result I have lost out big time. (Struggling to keep a roof over my own familys head).

They needlesley plead innocence...

Please Help,

[theartfullodger]

What does the agreement you signed with agency say (the one between you & agent, not the tenancy agreement).

What sort of arrangement do you have with them? Full management, or find only, or find & collect rent??

Hope it works out.

Artful

PS I have & expect many other here have had "interesting" tenants like this.. if nothing else you learn a lot from the experience...

[landlordbristol]

Hey Artful,

As I was forced into Landlord-dom, I never really had much of an idea as to what to look for and we used a local agency. They have what now seems like an awfully non-commital set of terms and it doesn't even mention any commitment to refefrence check tennants!

And they were under a Full Management agreement.

[Sad S]

As I was forced into Landlord-dom, I never really had much of an idea as to what to look for and we used a local agency. They have what now seems like an awfully non-commital set of terms and it doesn't even mention any commitment to refefrence check tennants!

And they were under a Full Management agreement.

Unfortunately, anyone can set up as a Letting Agent: they are not subject to regulation.

Are these agents of yours a member of a professional body such as ARLA? If so you might succeed with a complaint to that body.

[Poppy35]

Once the references had been carried out on your tenant your agent should have contacted you to inform you of the decision. Did they do this?

What did they say?

I certainly would be asking the LA why the T was only referenced for 1/2 the rental amount and inform them that you are seeking some sort of financial recompense from them for their inadequate referencing procedure.

[landlordbristol]

To update . . . .

They are a member of UKALA (seemingly a much more parochial version of ARLA - not holding out much hope here!)

And, I was never shown the ref's - the first I have seen was only recently.

They do not accept any liabilty for their inadequate references!!

[Snorkerz]

What info were you given / did you ask for before accepting the tenants?

[landlordbristol]

I wasn't given anything but nor did I ask for anything.....in my naivety, I guessed they would have carried out Due Dilligence!

[Lawcruncher]

The basic test for professional negligence is to ask what a reasonably competent professional in the same position would have done. If you establish that no reasonable agent would have let to that particular tenant you then have to go on and decide what damages flow from that. Whilst you may be entitled to rent lost, compensation for the damage is going to be far more difficult as the investigations that agents make are usually restricted to establishing a tenant's financial status. Negligence can be difficult (and expensive) to prove and is not something for the small claims track. How much are we talking about here?

[Snorkerz]

I have just won a judgement today against a former letting agent who was similar to the OPs.

Refund of all fees paid to the agent
Cost of removing 'bad' tenants
Loss of rent during void
Consequential losses - ie tenants unpaid rent and damage to property
Together with some relatively minor invoicing errors for third-party services he organised. It took just about a year and cost £400+ in court fees (which were - obviously - awarded as well). I also got 40 hours of my time awarded too and the majority of my expenses.

This was all done in the small claims track.

Problem now will be getting him to pay - anyone know a good asset tracing service?

[Snorkerz]

I wasn't given anything but nor did I ask for anything.....in my naivety, I guessed they would have carried out Due Dilligence!But were you given the choice - ie did the agent say "here is Mr X, will you let to him", or did they just install him without telling you?

[Lawcruncher]

I have just won a judgement today against a former letting agent who was similar to the OPs.

Refund of all fees paid to the agent
Cost of removing 'bad' tenants
Loss of rent during void
Consequential losses - ie tenants unpaid rent and damage to property
Together with some relatively minor invoicing errors for third-party services he organised. It took just about a year and cost £400+ in court fees (which were - obviously - awarded as well). I also got 40 hours of my time awarded too and the majority of my expenses.

This was all done in the small claims track.

Fancy that! Sounds like the OP should go for it then.

[westminster]

I have just won a judgement today against a former letting agent who was similar to the OPs.
Yay! Well done!