UK Landlord Forum / Life

I have a property managed through an estate agency. On the 20.03.18 they contacted by email to say the tenant had advised a small leak in the bathroom and they would send in a contractor and advise if any further action needed to be taken. Yesterday we received a call advising an emergency plumber had visited the property as there was water coming through the ceiling and down the walls. It turns out no contractor entered the property following the call from the tenant on 20.03.18 as agreed. Therefore I believe the resulting damage could have been avoided? I'm not denying the initial problem, only that it was allowed to get this bad by the agency as apparently, they deemed it a non emergency, even though they emailed me to say there would be a contractor going in. Any advice would greatly be received. Emma & Jason.

It would probably come down to the wording of the agreement between you and your agent, which is probably more watertight than your bathroom turned out to be, unfortunately. I think you're entitled to a proper explanation from your agent if they want to retain you as a customer though. Did they just fail to appreciate the nature of the leak or did it deteriorate? Did they give you a timescale for when they expected to get a contractor in there? The agent I use has always managed to get a pair of eyeballs into the property within a day or so to take a look, even if it's only to assess whether the tenant's view of what constitutes a small or a large problem matches mine. Ultimately, though, it's my property and my responsibility so, if I hadn't heard back within a couple of days, I'd chase it up - albeit I'd be less than chuffed at having to do so!