Hi,
I recently moved to a new house and I'm having trouble with the agency. This is a joint tenancy with 3 people in total. The new tenancy was supposed to start on the 10th of September.
- 7/9 Received a new tenancy agreement for review. 12 month fixed term from the 10th of September 2020
- 9/9 We were informed we couldn't go ahead with a new tenancy as we needed an EICR before this. The agent explained we could get around this by signing a deed of assignment. All parties signed the document and I move into the property. The deed of assignment said the following:
"This Licence is supplemental to an Assured Shorthold Tenancy dated 10th March 2020 (“the Agreement”) made between the Landlord and the Original Tenants for the property known as ***** (“the Property”) was let to the Original Tenants for a term of 12 Months from the 10th March 2020 (“the Term”) at a rent of (“the Rent”) and subject to the rights and obligations of the Landlord and the Original Tenants contained in the Agreement."
- 23/9 Electrician visits the property and we email the agent to confirm if we are good to go ahead to with the tenancy agreement. No response
- 1/10 We received a phone call from an electrician saying they are at the property but there is nobody to give him access. We email the agent to clarify what is happening with the EICR. He says this is for the maintenance department to deal with and he will revert our queries to them.
- 29/10 We email again to confirm we would like to go ahead with the new tenancy agreement. No response
- 4/11 We call the agent and he says we are on a monthly rolling contract, as the tenancy had a break clause. One of the tenants now wants to move out and is planning to give notice this month which effectively means she is giving notice for all of us. Also, the electrician still needs to come to the property to carry out the EICR.
I understand that I was taking over someone else's rights and obligations based on a previous tenancy agreement but I feel like I was not properly informed of the situation as the deed of agreement states that the tenancy in place was for a term of 12 months from March to March. He never sent me the previous tenancy agreement and even if I had it, the break clause was enforced using email correspondence with the previous tenant so I would not have been able to know this either just from seeing the contract. I spoke with the agent and he refuses to accept any responsibility, he claims I should have asked for all the relevant information or my new housemates should have informed me of the situation.
It is all quite stressful as we only have a week to decide if we want to hand our notice at the same time or stay and try to look for someone to replacement the tenant that is leaving, which we think would be difficult with a lockdown and Chrismas approaching.
Is this added to the lack of organisation with the EICR enough to go ahead with a formal complaint? What would be a reasonable compensation or solution if this is due to the agent's incompetence?
Thank you in advance!
I recently moved to a new house and I'm having trouble with the agency. This is a joint tenancy with 3 people in total. The new tenancy was supposed to start on the 10th of September.
- 7/9 Received a new tenancy agreement for review. 12 month fixed term from the 10th of September 2020
- 9/9 We were informed we couldn't go ahead with a new tenancy as we needed an EICR before this. The agent explained we could get around this by signing a deed of assignment. All parties signed the document and I move into the property. The deed of assignment said the following:
"This Licence is supplemental to an Assured Shorthold Tenancy dated 10th March 2020 (“the Agreement”) made between the Landlord and the Original Tenants for the property known as ***** (“the Property”) was let to the Original Tenants for a term of 12 Months from the 10th March 2020 (“the Term”) at a rent of (“the Rent”) and subject to the rights and obligations of the Landlord and the Original Tenants contained in the Agreement."
- 23/9 Electrician visits the property and we email the agent to confirm if we are good to go ahead to with the tenancy agreement. No response
- 1/10 We received a phone call from an electrician saying they are at the property but there is nobody to give him access. We email the agent to clarify what is happening with the EICR. He says this is for the maintenance department to deal with and he will revert our queries to them.
- 29/10 We email again to confirm we would like to go ahead with the new tenancy agreement. No response
- 4/11 We call the agent and he says we are on a monthly rolling contract, as the tenancy had a break clause. One of the tenants now wants to move out and is planning to give notice this month which effectively means she is giving notice for all of us. Also, the electrician still needs to come to the property to carry out the EICR.
I understand that I was taking over someone else's rights and obligations based on a previous tenancy agreement but I feel like I was not properly informed of the situation as the deed of agreement states that the tenancy in place was for a term of 12 months from March to March. He never sent me the previous tenancy agreement and even if I had it, the break clause was enforced using email correspondence with the previous tenant so I would not have been able to know this either just from seeing the contract. I spoke with the agent and he refuses to accept any responsibility, he claims I should have asked for all the relevant information or my new housemates should have informed me of the situation.
It is all quite stressful as we only have a week to decide if we want to hand our notice at the same time or stay and try to look for someone to replacement the tenant that is leaving, which we think would be difficult with a lockdown and Chrismas approaching.
Is this added to the lack of organisation with the EICR enough to go ahead with a formal complaint? What would be a reasonable compensation or solution if this is due to the agent's incompetence?
Thank you in advance!
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