Ex-flatmate and letting agent problem

[mackwoo]

Hi,

 

My flatmate of 4 years moved out in July at which point the letting agent revealed to me that he was 10 months in arrears with his rent. When I asked the letting agent why I hadn't been informed I was told that a letter addressed to both of us had been sent, but obviously my flatmate had intercepted it before I could. After much stress and argument I managed to receive half of the arrears from my flatmate, but he still owes the other half. I know that according to my agreement I am "joint and severally liable" for the payment, but my question is: Is there comeback for me against the letting agent, as they have left it so long to tell me about this (and they are still in no rush to let me know what they intend to do), and secondly, as my ex-flatmate has already accepted liability by paying half of the arrears, can I sue him for the other half, if he refuses to pay?

 

I now have a new agreement with the letting agent with a new flatmate - as this is nothing to do with them, do the letting agent have any powers with regards to claiming the rent back?

 

Any advice would be gratefully received!

[sequenci]

Welcome to the forums.

 

a) I'm really not sure - hopefully someone more versed in this area will be able to let you know

 

b) You sure can sue the flatmate for the rest.

 

Best wishes,

 

Seq.

[NewSAHD]

No come back against the Agent, not in the way you perhaps want, sorry

 

You could send a 'polite' letter setting out your concerns. Best keep a low profile though until the matter is resolved

 

Is the Agent a small independant, or part of a larger chain? Are they members of any association?

 

Yes, you can pursue your former flatmate, but you have to weigh up the initial cost of doing so, against the sums involved, whilst considering whether or not there is any further money to be had

 

What are you currently owed? Hope OK to ask

 

Personally, I'd have your former flatmate confirm his/her intentions with regards the balance still owed, so you can take a view. Where a close family member of mine was owed rent a few years back I subsequently had the former tenant sign a 'promissory note' with regards the sum owed

 

Promissory notes are evil things as they are effectively a promise to pay on demand and if tenants don't pay you can use it to pretty immediately raise a claim without too much fuss. I've not had to use one now for some years, but unless someone here posts otherwise certainly worth considering too

 

Keep track of your former flatmate too, discretely, so you can always catch up with them later

Edited December 7, 2010 by NewSAHD
added: Is the Agent a small independant, or part of a larger chain? Are they members of any association?

[mackwoo]

Many thanks for your helpful responses..... to answer your questions:

 

- The agent is a small independent, but is associated with a local estate agent group and affiliated with the OEA.

 

- The remaining arrears is somewhere in the region of £1800 - I'm not 100% on this as 1) The agent has been very very poor at keeping me informed as to what is going on (if anything) and 2) My ex-flatmate has stopped returning e-mails/ messages relating to the matter.

 

I've not had experience with such legal matters in the past - would the cost of starting proceedings make the claim worth it in the end?

 

With regards to the promissory note, wouldn't I need to get my ex-flatmate to sign it? This would be a problem if he is refusing to acknowledge the debt....

[NewSAHD]

My comments in red, hope this helps

 

First off, I am typing quickly here, and doing so as if YOU were owed the money and/or were already being formally pursued by the Agent. That's not to muddle matters, more to get you on track to

 

- clarifying what is owed

- obtaining as much information about the former flatmate as you can, to use later - and to keep track of them too

- whilst then writing more formally to set the former flatmate up. It's easy to ignore emails, but formal letters before action less easy to ignore, perhaps

 

Anyway, typing at speed, but will try to come back to edit all this if anything is not clear!

 

Many thanks for your helpful responses..... to answer your questions:

 

- The agent is a small independent, but is associated with a local estate agent group and affiliated with the OEA.

 

PM me their details and that of the landlord too if you wish and I will have a discrete nosy.

 

Whatever you send will only be used to assist and will not be disclosed to any third party without your prior consent. The Agent and Landlord will certainly not be made aware of any of this

- The remaining arrears is somewhere in the region of £1800 - I'm not 100% on this as 1) The agent has been very very poor at keeping me informed as to what is going on (if anything)

 

OK, understood

 

The balance then is chasing them for information and then becoming directly liable - against taking steps to protect yourself too. You can only do the latter, arguably, once you have the facts.

 

The alternative is up sticks and run, although that's not something that, personally, I'd do. My gut feel is to see who the Agent is, see who the Client is too, and see if they can be 'embarrassed' in to helping you out

 

Similarly, you need to find out, perhaps, how much information they already have on your former flatmate

 

The Agent does not appear very switched on, but might have details of employers, former employers, NI information, parents details, and so on. They may not be using it, but that's not to say they don't have it. It may be, later, once you've "won" their support that you have an off the record chat with them to obtain whatever it is that they do hold. Personally, Data Protection issues might be the least of my worries with @£1800 still owing...

 

As for what IS owing can you produce a schedule of the payments YOU made to help narrow this down?

 

and 2) My ex-flatmate has stopped returning e-mails/ messages relating to the matter.

 

OK, back then to using old fashioned post, but first there is some digging to be done

 

To my mind, the sequence is

 

a) clarify what is owed so you're satisfied as to the figures and can back the figures up too

b) liase with the Agent, discretely if needs be, to obtain as much info/address/personal details etc on the former flat mate to help track him/her down. The slight concern here is that this may, perhaps, prompt them to pursue you. My own personal view is to drive this forward yourself and stay one step ahead - hence wanting to know more about the Agent / Landlord so can take a better view on things

 

(Small confession here, a colleague and I a few years back even used facebook and the like (ie no direct cost to us) to track down tenants who owed substantial arrears. I'd add the arrears did not occur on our watch, we just inherited the problems!)

 

c) once you have all the details then send a letter before action setting out what is owed - and at the moment YOU are not being pursued, although it may only be a matter of time, so you could soften the letter, perhaps, by suggesting a lump sum, followed by instalments, if it cannot be settled in full

 

I've not had experience with such legal matters in the past - would the cost of starting proceedings make the claim worth it in the end?

 

If you can prove your case, know where the person is, can prove service of any notices, are aware they are in funds and know who they are employed by too then £1800 against the £100/130 or so for on line Small Claims submission - could well be worth thinking about

BUT at the moment YOU have not been pursued/sued and, in broad terms, the money is owed to the Agent... so, without getting ahead of ourselves here, I'd be doing the digging now, so as to write a reasonable, but firm letter setting out the arrears to the former tenant and how you expect to see it resolved

 

Matters then may develop a life of their own, but, to my mind, you cannot not follow this up as you are still in the firing line

Alternatively, be like Lord Lucan, just disappear...

With regards to the promissory note, wouldn't I need to get my ex-flatmate to sign it? This would be a problem if he is refusing to acknowledge the debt....

Yes, he would need to sign it

 

You say he is ignoring your emails etc, but is he still relatively local to you?

Time for a polite, but firm and formal letter to escalate matters, perhaps?

 

As before, hope that helps, will try to check back in later tonight

[mackwoo]

That's great - thank you so much.... I'm a bit pushed for time now, but will reply to the relevant bits asap....