Complaint against letting agent

[HassanAmin]

Hi,

I want to file a formal complaint against my letting agent, without having to hire lawyer. Is there a government body that sees into such complaints and take acton if provided sufficient proof of illegal or inappropriate dealing or practice.

 

Regards,

 

Hassan Amin

[MrShed]

It really depends upon:

 

a) what the complaint is regarding?

b) whether your letting agent is a member of a professional body such as ARLA or NAEA?

c) what you hope to get out of such a complaint?

[HassanAmin]

There are three parts of the complaint:

1). He did not put the deposit in a standard account.

2). He rented me a flat , which was converted from a single house but the conversion was not authorised by the council.

3). He made a commitment to me that all bills are included in my rent, but then I got a notice from council tax. At that time only, I realised that there was no mention of bills in the letting agreement.

 

By all these acts, he acted dishonestly and caused me severe problems. Now as the situation stands today, the tenant is considered criiminal by default. It is the tenant who submits all his details(bank, employeer etc), and the landlords hide behind letting agents. In this situation how a tenant like me , who is a foreign student having little understanding of laws or legal dealings in this country survive ? For a person like me , London has proved to be a worst kind of jungle. I am totally devastated.

 

By going through a legal complaint , I want to ensure my rights on one hand and ensure that letting agents and landlords act within law and do not bend the laws to their advantage. Second, it will give me confidence to be able to defend my rights in this country.

 

Regards,

 

Hassan Amin

[MrShed]

Can you embellish more on complaint 1? Number 3 is unfortunate, but unenforceable as you have nothing in writing. Number 2 is a bit out of my knowledge base - how do you know the conversion was not granted permission? When did the conversion occur?

[MrShed]

Some more thoughts:

 

- I assume here what you mean by number 1 is that the deposit was not put into a tenancy deposit scheme. Judging by your other posts, you have been in the property at least 6 months, which means that it did not have to be in such a scheme. But if you can confirm when you moved in also would be helpful.

 

- I wont go too much into detail regarding your comments about letting agents/landlords, but needless to say it is a broad generalisation, and somewhat unfair. Of course the tenant provides all his bank details etc, he is in effect loaning a 6 figure value property. As a tenant, the best thing you can do is ensure everything is in writing. There are many good agents and landlords out there.

 

- With regards the complaint, depending upon the details of the permission to convert issue, I would probably advise to leave it. It is all well and good to pursue a "point of principle" case, which is pretty much what this is, but they are difficult to win and will cause you more problems than you need, and probably more hassle than the defendant.

[HassanAmin]

Hi,

In case , I am unable to arrange the property in time, and I am at the end of my notice period can I ask my letting agent to give me extension of two weeks. Is my letting agent bound to give me extension, or can he forcibly evict me in that case.

 

Regards,

 

Hassan Amin

[MrShed]

He can only forcibly evict with a court order. If he has not formally given written notice, then he must give this first(2 months). Then, must take you to court to gain a possession order and then evict - a timescale of at least a month. However, you will become liable for the costs of eviction. I will be able to help further also if you answer the questions above...

[HassanAmin]

Can you embellish more on complaint 1?

 

It is the six month contract we are talking about.

 

Number 2 is a bit out of my knowledge base - how do you know the conversion was not granted permission? When did the conversion occur?

 

Ans: We had a visit from some body from local consul , when he applied for planning permission to convert. The consul guy commented about it. But, I am not interested in following this one either, as it has nothing to do with it. The letting agent gave me a contract and that's it as far as I am concerned.

[MrShed]

That doesnt embellish on complaint 1. What do you mean, it wasnt stored in a standard account?

[Planner]

- Can I ask how you 'know' that the conversion from a single house to a flat was not authorised?

 

- And do you know how long ago the conversion took place?

 

Paul

[HassanAmin]

It means that the deposit was not held in a tenancy deposit scheme or whatever it is called.

[MrShed]

When did you move in?

[HassanAmin]

8th March, and the contract duration was 6 months.

[Jeanjaquessmoothie]

The bond scheme did not come into effect until April 2007, so it's not applicable in this case.

 

Sections 212 – 215 of the Housing Act 2004 comes into force on

the 6th April 2007. Landlords who take a deposit in respect of any

new Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) agreements after 6th April

2007 will be required to protect the deposit using one of two

protection schemes.

Full details from Maidstone Council here:

 

http://www.maidstone.gov.uk/pdf/Tenancy%20Deposit%20Protection%20Information%20Sheet.pdf

 

This will be the same in the whole of England.

[Nightmare4banks]

Hi all!

 

HassanAmin,I would just like to add:

 

1.The deposit scheme does not apply in your case due to your moving in date which was before the law became applicable.

 

2.Whyr are you so bothered about the planning issues concerning the property?The main thing you should be concerned about is that the owner/agent treats you well and deals with any issues to do with the property mainly repairs in a prompt and professional manner such that this does not affect your comfort and safety.

 

3.This point seems to be the only point which you should be concened and possibly annoyed about.If the agent is registered with one of the professional bodies i.e. the NAEA or the ARLA you could complain but the problem is here it would be your word against the agent's word as you do not have anything in writing to confirm otherwise.

 

So,remember if you rent any further properties in this country make sure everything that was agreed verbally is also put in writing.

 

I think that you are being totally unfair to say negative things about all landlords.

 

Also, without being unpleasant but very blunt with you - if London is such

a jungle why are you still staying in London?

[Joa]

N4B- the OP said that he is an overseas student. Presumably he has no choice but to stay in London where his uni/college is.

I often get referrals from overseas students; they are royally screwed by l/lords, employers, service providers. Their English is often a bit lacking, they have no family back-up, sometimes the law in their home countries is dramatically different. I get very embarrassed by what kind of image these unscrupulous people create in overseas students' eyes of UK.

HassanAmin; check whether your uni/college has an advice centre. Student advisers are very used to dealing with your kind of enquiry.