UK Landlord Forum / Life

This is in England. When i was shown the house I was shown a room getting redecorated and the letting agent was running me through what all the changes would be and i put down my deposits and signed all the contracts only to find when moving in i was given a considerably smaller different room for the same price and they have put someone else in that room that i was shown. I feel that i have been misled but i'm not sure how to ratify this. Any and all answers would be appreciated.

I'm not sure that "ratify" is the right word here. You were either shown the right room or you weren't - it happened to you, so there's not disputing what happened.

The person to take it up with is the agent, because they have to make it clear if what you're being shown is what you're signing up for, or is an indicative example. If they showed you the specific room, you'd expect to be agreeing to that specific room unless they told you otherwise.

Just to clarify, you did go ahead and take the room anyway?  Have you complained to the agent, if so what was the response? 

I think before taking any action you would require some proof in the form of photos of both rooms, and any details from the advertisement to back up your claim. If this was deliberate on their part it is a pretty disgraceful way to treat people,  but I am not sure how you could realistically  take action. Trading Standards deal with this kind of thing, but they are unlikely to do much unless they have had a lot of complaints about this agent.

I suppose it comes down to whether you would have still gone ahead at the same rent if they had showed you the room you ended up with.

Quote from: heavykarma on June 11, 2024, 03:25:18 PMJust to clarify, you did go ahead and take the room anyway?  Have you complained to the agent, if so what was the response? 

I think before taking any action you would require some proof in the form of photos of both rooms, and any details from the advertisement to back up your claim. If this was deliberate on their part it is a pretty disgraceful way to treat people,  but I am not sure how you could realistically  take action. Trading Standards deal with this kind of thing, but they are unlikely to do much unless they have had a lot of complaints about this agent.

I suppose it comes down to whether you would have still gone ahead at the same rent if they had showed you the room you ended up with.

Hi thanks for your help. I didn't know i was getting a different room until i moved in. All the agent said is i could either leave the property (didn't say anything about refunding) or wait until another room in the house is available.

I have photos and videos i sent to my parents on the day of the viewing. That was the room i was shown and therefore why i chose to live there, if i knew i was getting the smaller room i wouldn't have taken it but here we are.

It is quite simple, you have been mis-sold, it is no different to a website that displays a superior product and supplies in inferior product.

Your remedies are

1. Reject and demand your money back and claim losses (reporting to any associations the Agent is a member of)
2. Reject and demand the room you were shown.
3. Negotiate a reduction in rent, you will get one chance to do this so make it count, seriously at least 25%

You are entitled to sue the Agent for the consequential costs you incur as a result of their deceit, albeit that will be long and tedious, but you will likely win in the end.

I would suggest you start with a clear letter to them going over what happened:

"on X date I was shown Room 5 which is 3.7m x 3.8m, the room was being decorated at the time so I was shown room 4 to give me an idea of the level of decor to expect. 

When I took occupancy I was given a completely different room (Room 3) which is vastly smaller and of inferior quality in terms of views, light and space for my desk and double bed.  I raised my concern that this was not the room we agreed upon and you said I could leave or wait until another room became available I had not choice as I had given up my previous accommodation and would have been homeless.

Today, June 12th 2024,  I called you at 17:11 and you confirmed the mis-selling but did not address the issue to my satisfaction, you said "Look I told you, either take it or leave it, there are plenty of students ready to snap it up".

I am a reasonable person, so before considering what actions I will take, please tell me your preferred remedy to this breach of contract, please provide this within 72 hours to avoid this matter being escalated further.

Yours sincerely

A Tenant"

When you make the call (which you will record), if the Agent asks you what you want say you want your room and rebate of rent until the contracted room is provided.  Tell them you need this done within 48 hours or you will have to take matters further.

The follow up letter will form part of your evidence as will their response.

Copy the Landlord in the letter, their name and address should be on the AST, if the Landlord address is not in the AST then do a £3 title deed search from the Land Registry to find the owner.

There will be no penalty for ending the contract because the Agent is in breach of contract, any contract that is mis-sold is an automatic breach of contract under the Consumer Rights Act (2015).  No term in any contract can override common law which includes said Act.  It does not matter if the contract names a different room or even if you were taken to the fake room to sign the contract, the Courts recognise the imbalance of power in Landlords or Agents getting someone to sign.  It would be quite different if they had written to you the room was not available before you paid them a holding deposit.

You then wait to see what they come back with and unless it is amazing you reply saying it is an inadequate resolution and state your preferred remedy, give them 5 working days and if you have not had a response email them to tell them you are moving to an AirBnB at their cost in 2 days and will be seeking to recuperate your losses in the County Court.

The Agent will be in a sticky position because they can't evict you and get another Tenant, you can change the lock but still not occupy the room pending the decision of the Court.  You can put a notice on the door (taking a photo), saying the room is subject to a legal dispute and not available to let).

The idea here is to make things extremely difficult for the Agent so they are inclined to provide a good remedy.  Do not show your cards all at once, take the steps of call, letter, impossible situation, escalation and resolution.

I am sure the Landlord did not approve of this bait n switch, so keep things amicable with them, explain that the Agent has created this situation and should bear any costs.

The Agent either has to get the Tenant in your promised room to swap or release you and pay the consequential losses you suffer or they reduce the rent to a level that you feel is acceptable and agree to hold it at that rate for 2 years.  You might think I am playing hard ball here but that is the appropriate response when you have been treated like this.  You have done nothing wrong, you are the victim of a scam and unlike many scams the scammer is there and punishable.

I had a case like this a few years back, the Tenant was a foreign student and it was literally a Goldilocks moment, someone was sleeping in his bed!

Not only did I get him 100% refund but got his AirBnB costs back for 32 days, plus as they insisted on procrastinating for 3 weeks before entering serious discussions we delayed for a week and hit him with a 3x deposit claim for failing to protect the deposit, it did not help that they had taken a huge deposit. 

The Agent was livid and refused to pay the sanctions, interestingly the Landlord was on our side and furious because the Agent did not inform them earlier.  He instructed his own lawyer who was in complete agreement with us, the Landlord went to see the Agent, I do not know what he said but when I googled him I found he had a criminal record that involved bodily harm.   

Quote from: Giggs1014 on June 11, 2024, 06:53:32 PM

Quote from: heavykarma on June 11, 2024, 03:25:18 PMJust to clarify, you did go ahead and take the room anyway?  Have you complained to the agent, if so what was the response? 

I think before taking any action you would require some proof in the form of photos of both rooms, and any details from the advertisement to back up your claim. If this was deliberate on their part it is a pretty disgraceful way to treat people,  but I am not sure how you could realistically  take action. Trading Standards deal with this kind of thing, but they are unlikely to do much unless they have had a lot of complaints about this agent.

I suppose it comes down to whether you would have still gone ahead at the same rent if they had showed you the room you ended up with.

Hi thanks for your help. I didn't know i was getting a different room until i moved in. All the agent said is i could either leave the property (didn't say anything about refunding) or wait until another room in the house is available.

I have photos and videos i sent to my parents on the day of the viewing. That was the room i was shown and therefore why i chose to live there, if i knew i was getting the smaller room i wouldn't have taken it but here we are.

Quote from: David on June 12, 2024, 09:38:41 AMIt is quite simple, you have been mis-sold, it is no different to a website that displays a superior product and supplies in inferior product.

Your remedies are

1. Reject and demand your money back and claim losses (reporting to any associations the Agent is a member of)
2. Reject and demand the room you were shown.
3. Negotiate a reduction in rent, you will get one chance to do this so make it count, seriously at least 25%

You are entitled to sue the Agent for the consequential costs you incur as a result of their deceit, albeit that will be long and tedious, but you will likely win in the end.

I would suggest you start with a clear letter to them going over what happened:

"on X date I was shown Room 5 which is 3.7m x 3.8m, the room was being decorated at the time so I was shown room 4 to give me an idea of the level of decor to expect. 

When I took occupancy I was given a completely different room (Room 3) which is vastly smaller and of inferior quality in terms of views, light and space for my desk and double bed.  I raised my concern that this was not the room we agreed upon and you said I could leave or wait until another room became available I had not choice as I had given up my previous accommodation and would have been homeless.

Today, June 12th 2024,  I called you at 17:11 and you confirmed the mis-selling but did not address the issue to my satisfaction, you said "Look I told you, either take it or leave it, there are plenty of students ready to snap it up".

I am a reasonable person, so before considering what actions I will take, please tell me your preferred remedy to this breach of contract, please provide this within 72 hours to avoid this matter being escalated further.

Yours sincerely

A Tenant"

When you make the call (which you will record), if the Agent asks you what you want say you want your room and rebate of rent until the contracted room is provided.  Tell them you need this done within 48 hours or you will have to take matters further.

The follow up letter will form part of your evidence as will their response.

Copy the Landlord in the letter, their name and address should be on the AST, if the Landlord address is not in the AST then do a £3 title deed search from the Land Registry to find the owner.

There will be no penalty for ending the contract because the Agent is in breach of contract, any contract that is mis-sold is an automatic breach of contract under the Consumer Rights Act (2015).  No term in any contract can override common law which includes said Act.  It does not matter if the contract names a different room or even if you were taken to the fake room to sign the contract, the Courts recognise the imbalance of power in Landlords or Agents getting someone to sign.  It would be quite different if they had written to you the room was not available before you paid them a holding deposit.

You then wait to see what they come back with and unless it is amazing you reply saying it is an inadequate resolution and state your preferred remedy, give them 5 working days and if you have not had a response email them to tell them you are moving to an AirBnB at their cost in 2 days and will be seeking to recuperate your losses in the County Court.

The Agent will be in a sticky position because they can't evict you and get another Tenant, you can change the lock but still not occupy the room pending the decision of the Court.  You can put a notice on the door (taking a photo), saying the room is subject to a legal dispute and not available to let).

The idea here is to make things extremely difficult for the Agent so they are inclined to provide a good remedy.  Do not show your cards all at once, take the steps of call, letter, impossible situation, escalation and resolution.

I am sure the Landlord did not approve of this bait n switch, so keep things amicable with them, explain that the Agent has created this situation and should bear any costs.

The Agent either has to get the Tenant in your promised room to swap or release you and pay the consequential losses you suffer or they reduce the rent to a level that you feel is acceptable and agree to hold it at that rate for 2 years.  You might think I am playing hard ball here but that is the appropriate response when you have been treated like this.  You have done nothing wrong, you are the victim of a scam and unlike many scams the scammer is there and punishable.

I had a case like this a few years back, the Tenant was a foreign student and it was literally a Goldilocks moment, someone was sleeping in his bed!

Not only did I get him 100% refund but got his AirBnB costs back for 32 days, plus as they insisted on procrastinating for 3 weeks before entering serious discussions we delayed for a week and hit him with a 3x deposit claim for failing to protect the deposit, it did not help that they had taken a huge deposit. 

The Agent was livid and refused to pay the sanctions, interestingly the Landlord was on our side and furious because the Agent did not inform them earlier.  He instructed his own lawyer who was in complete agreement with us, the Landlord went to see the Agent, I do not know what he said but when I googled him I found he had a criminal record that involved bodily harm.   

This is really helpful. Thank you so much!

First, I'd recommend checking your tenancy agreement closely. See if there's any mention of the specific room you were supposed to get. If the agreement is vague or doesn't specify, it can make things trickier, but it's still worth looking.

Next, you should contact the letting agent and explain the situation. Be clear that you were shown a different room and that this isn't what you agreed to. Sometimes, direct communication can resolve the issue if they're willing to make it right.

If that doesn't work, you might want to take the following steps:

Put Your Complaint in Writing: Write a formal complaint to the letting agent, detailing the situation and how you were misled. Request either a refund of part of your rent or to be moved to the room you were originally shown.

Contact a Tenant Advice Service: Organizations like Citizens Advice or Shelter can offer guidance and might be able to intervene on your behalf.

Consider Formal Action: If the letting agent or landlord refuses to resolve the issue, you might need to escalate it. This could mean contacting the Property Ombudsman if the letting agent is a member or considering a small claims court for misrepresentation.

Misleading tenants about the property is not acceptable, and you have a right to get what you were shown and agreed upon.

I hope this helps, and you get the situation sorted out soon. Don't hesitate to reach out to tenant support organizations for more detailed advice.