UK Landlord Forum / Life

My property is full managed by a Letting Agent but when the tenant left the property it was left in a very poor state of repair with lots of damage, unauthorized work done to it, carpet replaced with very badly laid laminate flooring, very badly re decorated without consent and two dogs had been kept there which was not allowed.
My claim to the Insurance Company (Just Landlords) was very modest but I got a derisory "offer" of 10% of the claim and a poor excuse why the claim was not paid in full. I rejected the claim as being derisory and it is with the underwriter to review.
The Letting Agent (Pad-2-Let, Barnoldswick, Lancs) has just shrugged their shoulders at what has happened saying that they did their job so tough luck! After 3 months they have not yet retrieved the Bond.
A contractor (Andrew Pell/Permanent Home Improvements of Clitheroe, Lancs) I employed (under contract) to carry out repair, maintenance and improvement work started well on what was to be a four week contract but after 3 weeks and three payments has "disappeared" with still the main parts of the work to be done.

I am continuing to pursue Just Landlords for a fair and reasonable settlement and will take them to the Insurance Ombudsman if necessary, I am considering what I should do about the Letting Agent and I have given the contractor notice that I will now appoint another Contractor to finish the work and take him to Court for the balance of costs.

Anyone got any suggestions to add to what I'm doing?
Graham   

Hi Graham - I'm sorry to hear of the situation you describe above, but I am wondering what sort of amount you are claiming from the insurer, as to whether there would be a better way of trying to get the money? I only ask, as I was in a similar situation a few years ago, and I didn't claim via insurance at all (maybe I should have done, as that is why we pay it!), but I used a no-win-no-fee solicitor to chase payment, on a 25% fee of total amount collected. With that, they chase the tenant via a forwarding address, however if you don't have one they may ask you to pay a fee to try and chase the tenant's address. To be honest, in the end I decided not to pursue it that time (although it is  within 6 years, so I could take it up again if I wish), as I wasn't sure we'd get anywhere and I didn't want to lose further money. In contrast I am now having to do the same again (but it is a pretty small amount - a deposit would have covered it, but the tenant was placed there by the Government so didn't have one!), fees are the same basis, but we have an address, so I am hoping for a better outcome! The positive of chasing this way is that you won't have to lose any no claims bonus, or report that you've made a claim to the insurance company on any other properties. You'll lose 25%, which may be higher than the excess (if insurance do pay out), but may save on future premiums.

Obviously I have no idea what sort of sums you are looking at, or whether it is likely you could recover costs from the tenant, but it is a just suggestion if you having no luck with the insurance company and wanted to pursue it another way.

With the letting agent - if it were fully managed, you could claim the management fees they charged you back - as clearly they didn't "manage" it. My agent lied by saying they were having regular inspections, but when I asked for copies of the reports, it turned out they hadn't done one in 18 months (as I suspected - I just pushed and pushed until they admitted it!). Suffice to say, I moved the property to another agent quickly!

Graham - your tale is a cautionary one indeed... the challenge of allowing the role of Landlord to be one of some kind of silent, removed, investor.

The things you are doing are more than likely the correct ones. However, my main suggestion is simply this - focus your efforts, for now, on getting the property back up and earning for you. Pay out what you need to pay out and get new Tenants in to, hopefully, a more desirable place that could possibly earn you more money - if it's that bad then consider taking it up a level (if the situation allows). All the other stuff - blame, claim, compensation, justice - can come later. Don't wait (it's not clear if you are waiting, but I got that vibe) for things to be resolved.

With the Insurance - you just have to wait and then take it, probably.
With the Letting Agent - find out where the deposit is, did they return it to the Tenant? You can complain - it will be like water off a duck's back.
With the Contractor - get someone in to replace ASAP.

Sorry if that sounds negative - but there's the good fight and there's a potential waste of your time - concentrate on getting the property let out again.