UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi all!

I'e had a terrible time over the last year or so with the managing agent I was using - a string of failures to notify me of urgent repairs badly affecting tenants (or repair them promptly) to the point that tenants themslves contacted me to tell me they had been without heating for a month, no paperwork submitted to me, evasion of questions specifically asked, no information regarding what happened to a 'disputed' tenant deposit, etc etc.

I decided a few weeks back to change agent, and as expected the old one was hardly accommodating. I believe, for example, that at this point, he has still failed to hand over tenant deposit/keys to new agents despite the fact that I've written to authorise this.

But the main problem, for me, is that tenants he found have decided to stay in the property under the new managing agents, and will probably be renewing their contract early October. And of course he has presented me with a 10% of rent Tenancy Renewal bill. For me, it's a charge I'm being asked to pay simply because he was so incompetent that I felt forced to change agents.

But (maybe fortunately) I realise I have no signed contract with him. He was the agent I bought the property from, and as I was moving abroad I simply gave him the go ahead verbally to manage the place for me. Naive and stupid, I know. One of my questions, of course, is whether he can legally pursue such a fee if I never agreed to pay it in writing. I would have never done so verbally, either, although this would be impossible to prove.

I should also point out that he sent the invoice - together with a demand for it to be paid within 7 days - BEFORE they actually signed (which should take place in October), stating that he believed they would do so. I'm also fairly sure they will, but can he legally charge for something that hasn't happened?

I have also read something about a rolling contract as a way to avoid such a fee. But the rolling contract situation would have to be implemented by the new agents, and I have no idea if this could circumvent the ex-agent's claim.

As said at the start of the post, there are many circumstances which I feel were demonstrably inept and completely sub-par. As yet, I have not confronted him with all of these, and have not invited him to debate them, but I was reading that if I were to try to involve an Ombudsman, I would need to show evidence that I had attempted to talk through any dispute. Should I send him an email outlining all the points?

I have a feeling that I may not be able to avoid paying him a month's rent for Tenancy Renewal despite his appalling service, but if this were the case, I would like to attempt to reclaim it via an Ombudsman or even, perhaps, court. This is completely new territory for me and I'm feeling overwhelmed and confused regarding the best way to proceed.

I didn't give him notice of any kind - just wrote to tell him after waiting for a month for him to provide quotes for repairing 'severe' water damage that I had decided to change managing agents forthwith. Perhaps this was also foolish. But I believe I could argue (as was indeed the case) that I felt that he had been putting tenants' wellbeing at risk as well as failing to repair/market a property promptly.

I realise that what I've said is all a bit muddled, so to summarise:

any way of avoiding the Tenancy Renewal fee under a new agent if nothing has been signed / I opt for rolling contract / he has been demonstrably inept?

If not, and I wish to pursue the matter with Ombudsman, what is best procedure?

Many thanks in advance!

 

Just go onto a periodic (rolling tenancy).I doubt if the new agents will argue.Really,forget the Ombusdman.Far more serious cases than yours fail to get any recompense,and I am unclear what you would be claiming for in court? Time to move on,and put it down to experience.   

If you do involve an escalation of some kind you'll need to have first followed the Complaints Procedure of the Agent in question... which could be fun, but is more likely to feel just like a giant waste of time for you.

Tenancy renewal is avoided by it going to Statutory Periodic Tenancy... no-one needs to sign anything, the tenancy terms and conditions do not change in any way, there's just a notice period established, by statute (law), that says the Tenant must give you at least one month of notice and you must give the Tenants at least 2 months notice. Once the old Agent is out of your hair you can talk with the Tenants / new Agent about creating a new fixed term tenancy, if that's what everyone wants (most Landlords don't, some do).

For now, tell your outgoing Agent you aren't going to renew the tenancy, just let it "go SPT", and therefore no renewal fee is necessary. See how quick a response you get then. Do be aware they may hold other strings... mostly relating to Deposit and a claim of Intellectual Property, possibly. But try it out first...