Landlord ignores agent, deals with tenant, and is in debt

[angyb]

I am a small agent and one of my Landlords is in a mess financially. She asked me to serve notice on her tenant for the wrong dates. I sent her a letter correcting her and asking for confirmation that she wanted me to proceed with the new notice and dates.

I then had a phonecall from the tenant saying a man had served him with a notice, and it seems she went ahead of her own accord and instructed her ex-husband to serve the wrong notice on the tenant.

I know the ex-husband from previous dealings so I rang him to find out his part in all of this. He is a local landlord with a number of properties so as a favour to to ex-wife agreed to help her out by serving notice for her. I explained to him that the dates on the notice were wrong and he insisted they were right as the tenant moved in in April. I advised him that the tenancy did not in fact start until June!. He told me he had been misled by his ex-wife.

I have since received a letter from the Landlady stating that her ex-husband now has power of attorney, and enclosing a copy of a new notice that they have served on the tenant.

My questions are as follows:

Should I demand to see a copy of the Power of Attorney?

Would the POA overide anything in the Housing Act, or is she still responsible for the tenancy, given that her name is down as Landlord?

The 'new' notice served to my knowledge is invalid for a number of reasons:

i) they have served a Section 21 (4) (a) for a periodic tenancy. The tenant is still in the first 6 months of a fixed term!

ii) They have inserted both of their names as Landlords, even though the tenancy agreement states only her name.

iii) The notice is lacking the prescribed information and refers to many notes none of which have been included.

I have told the tenant that as far as I am concerned this notice is not worth the paper it is written on, and given the lack of communication between the Landlords and myself, they won't respond to phonecalls only texts - I don't feel obliged to point out that the notice they have served is incorrect. Am I wrong. As her agent should I point out that they have served the wrong notice, even if they went behind my back.

To be honest my concern now is for the tenant and to find him suitable accommodation, obviously by not stating the invalidity of the notice, this buys him more time.

Any ideas or comment please.

[Paul_f]

Many unawsered questions?


Did the tenants take up occupation in April?
Just because you said the tenancy started in June that would be a matter for dispute if (1) is true.
Are you a "let only" agent or is it "managed" to some extent according to your terms of business (if you have one)?
If the landlord and ex-husband have made a mistake it's not your problem as they have acted on their own initiative .
You are not permitted to advise the tenant as the landlord is still your client and should refer them to the CAB or a solicitor.
You should have a copy of the POA on file otherwise you are not empowered to deal with anybody other than your client directly.
Don't get involved more than you have to.
Have you considered cancelling your agency if the landlord has breached your terms of business with them?

[angyb]

Sorry for not being more informative.

Yes, the tenancy commenced in June.

Property is managed (supposedly) as they seem to be doing things themsleves without consuslting me. But yes the landlady signed an agreement for me to manage the property.

I know really I should cancel the contract, but I don't wish to until the tenant is settled somewhere else, even with another agency. I know I am too soft for my own good! Once the tenant is established somewhere else then too right, I will cancel, but I would feel as if I was walking out on him at this stage and leaving him to deal with this couple on his own.

Thanks for your input - it is appreciated!

[davidjohnbutton]

I would be inclined to write straight away to the landlord and say what you have put in your first post as your reasons for terminating the agreement between them and yourself and saying that they, by their actions have put you in an untenable position where you can no longer support them because of the actions that they have taken without consulting you and particularly as they have served the wrong S21 notice.

You need to get yourself off the hook with these people - look after yourself, not the tenant - there is nothing to stop you going and having a chat with the tenant and explaining things if you want to get it off your chest and be fair to the tenant.

If you continue to act for these people, it is a potential minefield and you could end up with some very expensive legal arguments if they say you could/should have done something and didn't, or indeed vice versa (i.e. did something and shouldn't) and you will never know what the landlords have done behind your back with their meddling.

When I handle any landlord/tenant business - I spell this out to the landlord for whom I am acting. "I am acting for you - you keep out of it and if the tenant contacts you, tell them to phone/write me - if you meddle with my actions, I will not continue to act for you"

Anything I do, keep copious notes and records of - just to avoid any confusion and as soon as a situation looks adversarial I discontinue all visits/phone calls and resort to written communication only.

[pms]

I agree with DJB.You need to get out of this agreement otherwise you will be heading for a potential legal minefield.If you take his advice you cannot go wrong.

[Surrey]

I agree with DJB.You need to get out of this agreement otherwise you will be heading for a potential legal minefield.If you take his advice you cannot go wrong.

I think you should also write to the tenant, copied to the landlord, informing them that you are no longer acting as agent, just to make absolutely certain.

[angyb]

Thank you so much for your replies, inparticular DJB, I shall now be drawing up a letter terminating my agreement with her.

Thank you again.

It's nice to know there are some friendly people willing to offer advice when needed.

Thanks