Need advice please on House left with £6000 damage..Agent denies knowledge

[doosie]

Hi All,

I have been letting my spare house through a letting agent for the past year and a half. The tennant has been a pain since day 1 but as the agent was dealing with her it was not too much of a problem.The tennant stopped paying rent 4 months ago and it has taken this long to get her removed. When i inspected the property there was about £5000- £6000 damage caused by then tennant.
Tha letting agent admits they didnt inspect the property every couple of months like she was supposed as she was scared of dogs and there was one present...even though tenacy states no animals.the tennant always denied dog was hers and was looking after it for a few hours even though she put a beware of the dog sign on the gate.
The property was last allegerly inspected 3 months ago and the agent states it was not like that then but the builder i took with me says some of the damage is at least a year old.
It also turns out that the Tennant lied about her job and was actually claiming benefits...what was i paying the agent for!!!..surely they are obliged to see wage slips etc as proof.
I feel the agent has let me down as much as the tennant and i was wondering what action i have to take next.
As a final nail the Tennant has dissapeared of the face of the earth.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks

[MrJohnnyB]

The agent sounds very very useless. Are they affiliated with any regulatory body such as the NAEA or ARLA? I would be utterly disgusted at the excuse that the agents were scared of the dog - Absolutely pathetic, as a property professional I am embarrassed by this.

Whilst the letting agent should have been inspecting, often it can be difficult if the T is difficult.

Obviously the tenant is liable for the damage and not the LA. What does your Agency agreement say with regard to inspections? I personally would put them on notice of your intention to take legal action or consult a solicitor.

[doosie]

Thanks for the advice it is much appreciated. The Agency agreement does state every 2 months for inspections.
I will find out if they are regulated as i am not sure...this i should have checked and was an oversight on my part.
One question i would like answered though is what measures are put in place bt other LA to prove someone works where they do..do you have to see wage slips or some other way??.
Thanks again for the help

[oaktree]

The tenant 'should' have been put through a vetting procedure but it depends on the terms of business agreed with the LA. Do you have anything in writing? I once saw a LA's terms of business that said they would only accept tenants with a deposit and the first months rent - no mention of references - good or bad!

[MrJohnnyB]

Thanks for the advice it is much appreciated. The Agency agreement does state every 2 months for inspections.
I will find out if they are regulated as i am not sure...this i should have checked and was an oversight on my part.
One question i would like answered though is what measures are put in place bt other LA to prove someone works where they do..do you have to see wage slips or some other way??.
Thanks again for the help

Generally speaking you would simply ask for an employers reference. Obviously nothing precludes the tenant from later leaving the job, but then seeing wage slips wouldnt prevent this either!

[Snorkerz]

Thanks for the advice it is much appreciated. The Agency agreement does state every 2 months for inspections.You should bear in mind that if the tenant refuses access, the agency can not do such inspections. Tenant has 'exclusive occupation' which means even you could not go in without their permision.

As has already been mentioned, damage and missing rent is primarily tenants responsibility.

You can find tenants current whereabouts by using a tracing agent like findermonkey. It isn't expensive and is usually successful so log as you give it a couple of months for the tenant to leave a new trail.

However, if T is not working, you may want to consider the viability of recovering any money from them before you spend on tracing and court fees.