Help & Advice - Utter mess

[bennew91]

Hi everyone,

 

Found the forum on google when doing some searching on my current situation/problem. Seems like its a very helpful forum so was hoping someone will be able to advise me or shed some light on what i can do.

 

Here is a quick(ish) summary:

 

Me and the other half were set to start renting a house in July in Newcastle. Shes at university over there and my plan is to relocate once i have found a job. The agency emailed us saying the current tenants would like to stay until September, fair enough its saves us a few months rent as my other half wouldn't be moving in until September anyway. So dates were arranged, house would be ready and keys collected on 3rd of September. So the 3rd of September came, the day we also start paying rent and we go to collect the keys. We sit around for 30-40 minutes waiting to be dealt with yet different people keep coming and asking which house we are here for etc.

 

Finally a guy comes out and asks when we would be moving in, i just said not today. His face lit up as if to say thank god for that. Doesn't say anything else on the matter, basically hands us the keys and says i will email you over the inventory list as i have not had chance to get it ready. So me and my girlfriend go off to the house to check it all over. Once we get there its pretty clear that the previous tenants have only just moved out. The house is an utter mess.

 

A quick list of the things i can remember off the top of my head -

 

Wooden laminate flooring coming apart

Skirting boards been kicked off etc

90% of the walls throughout the house are all grubby/ripped wallpaper

Kitchen cupboards dont shut at all

Part of kitchen worktops damaged/burnt

Alarm sensor on back door hanging off

Holes in various ceilings around light fittings

Shower hanging off the wall

Sink basin loose

Tiles smashed

Toilet seat broken

Roof mouldy/damp.

 

The list could go on.

 

So by the time we had took pictures of everything/documented all the damage the agency was shut. So we set off back home.

 

Next day i phone up the agency to express my views and question what the hell is going on. I wanted to know why the house was not ready for us and why they wasted my time collecting keys when we clearly could not move into a house that is not habitable, why we are paying on rent now on a house that is not ready and what are they going to do to sort it all out.

 

He told me he didn't want to sound political but it depends what you class as not habitable!

As for damage/repairs he told me it depends on the landlords current money situation and what he can afford (so if he says he cant afford it does the house stay as it is?)

Rent starts from the tenancy start date whether the house is ready or not

I cant look for another house until they find someone else to take over this current agreement.

 

What the hell should i/can i do ? I have had some basic legal advice.

 

Do i give them the opportunity to rectify the house/redecorate or do i tell them to shove it and I'm going to find another house and cancel the payments but so far they over £1k of our money including deposits. I have already found 3 other places that we would be happy with and the companies seem much more professional. It needs sorted asap as i currently live/work nearly 100 mile away so i will be relocating there eventually but every journey is going to be nearly 200 miles at the moment, so Monday was a complete waste of my time and a day wasted off work.

 

1 legal company told me to write to them explain they have 7 days to sort the whole house out and otherwise its a breach of the agreement and i will opting out of it and going for a house elsewhere. They also said i could just opt out of it now but there is a good chance they will chase me and try to sue me? But i would have evidence to fight them.

 

All this needs sorted very quickly either way, my girlfriend is due back at uni on the 24th. They are just lucky i am yet to find a job over there otherwise i would of been f**ked not having anywhere to live!

 

What should i do? My worry is if i give them a chance to sort it all and they have proved to be this useless already, what would they be like say 3 month down the line and the roof started leaking in?

 

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated right now, so stressed!

 

If you would like any more information to help me out then please ask, i have probably missed something out. My head is battered at the moment.

 

Thanks

 

Ben

 

 

Edit: The more I sit and think about it, the more I really don't even want to give them the chance to put it all right, I think I would prefer to just go elsewhere with a much more professional company.

Edited September 5, 2012 by bennew91

[raydetinu]

as you have not actually taken posseision, by moving in, the tenancy has not started.

Suggest you write to LL or agent for your monies back as house not ready. ( presume you did not view prior to this), within 7 days or you will take them to court, and will claim for out of pocket expenses/costs as well.