UK Landlord Forum / Life

I hope someone can advise please as I can't find anything after searching.
We pay 20% (I know and you can guess who they are in London!) to LA for our fully managed flat, they advised us to give full deposit back to outgoing tenant after inventory check came back good.
3 weeks later new tenant moved in (and another inventory check paid for) and shower is not working.

Engineers been sent immediately but 4 weeks later still not fixed because wrong part sent etc new tenants want compensation which I totally agree with.

LA said we should pay compensation. Surely we pay them to pick up these problems and it should have been picked up at end of last tenancy? The we had 3 weeks to sort it. I wouldn't have let new tenant move in if I had known shower wasn't working. LA said they don't check shower or oven they just rely on the tenants word! Again, surely it would not be in the tenants interest to report this at the end of their tenancy and hence they didn't. There is nothing in their terms and conditions which says what they actually check for a fully managed flat.

If you have managed to get this far thank you! Any advice would be gratefully received.

I may respond later... I'm trying to get my head around 20%... I can't.

Don't, each time I read 20% it pains me. What fools to sign.

Mate consider this.

If the shower had broken, and the previous tenant had reported it, you would still of had to pay to repair it.

20% or no 20%, you pay for repairs right?

Plus you have absolutely no proof that the shower didn't break the day the new ones moved in. They do. Its life.

Just cough up, and move on.

Oh, by the way, my uncle in Nigeria needs your bank details for a really good investment opportunity, do you think you could PM me please...... 

Thanks Boboff. Annoyingly it's not the shower being fixed bit, as we know and are paying for that to be sorted but the compensation for being without a shower. Ironically I completly agree with tenants they should be compensated as it's ridiculous to be allowed to move in with no shower working. It makes you wonder what LA checks with fully managed properties.

LA checks there bank balance


Welcome by the way.....

So... my approach...

Always offer compensation to a Tenant before it's asked for, by Tenant or Agent, then you are in control and appear to be the good guy.

You are responsible for fixing the shower, so just get it done. I suspect you're fine with this. Don't try to get anything out of the Agent, they'll push back and I feel there's little point. The relationship might deteriorate to the point where they're not doing anything for their fee (ha-ha!)!

Do whatever you can to remove yourself from this Agent. Is it possible to consider self-managing it, then you can be on the ball and pay yourself 20%?

Good luck.

Thanks all for the advice. It has helped hearing what impartial people recommend. Will start looking for another agent as well!