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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Who's BU - my friend, her letting agent or the new tenants?

119 replies

LRDTheFeministDragon · 20/05/2011 13:50

My mate is in the middle of moving house and has a bit of a situation, I think it's not her fault at all but what do you think? And what would you do (bear in mind she is stressed as heck right now, so quick solutions good.)

As I understand it, her letting agent asked/told her and her wife to show around prospective tenants, which they were happy to do. Their place is a little flat with a small paved area at the back where they have put lots of pot plants. And when I say lots, I mean really, really lots - they've got potted fruit trees that go up one wall and are higher than your head, for example. I can understand someone thinking of them as permanent fixtures. But they are all in pots and when mate got the removal van in, they put had them all taken to their new place along with everything else.

New tenants came over to and threw a wobbly because 'the garden has gone' and they think it's stealing. It's not on the inventory, it's all stuff mate payed for herself or got as wedding presents and she obviously does not want to leave it. The letting agent says that it was my mate's responsibility to explain that the pots were not going to stay; my mate reckons that since there is an inventory (it's a furnished let), and the plants aren't on it, she shouldn't have had to do this.

What do you think? Does she had any legal obligations here? She's really stressed because the letting agent is making noises about her being responsible for not representing the property accurately to new tenants. I don't see she has any responsibility here but I'm not sure - and would you be cross if you moved in somewhere and found pots gone from the garden? It is just a bare patch of concrete now and I can see it wouldn't look very nice like that.

OP posts:

DamselInDisguise · 20/05/2011 14:54

And, yes, I agree that the owners will probably be quite interested to know how crap the letting agents they pay for are. I doubt they'll be happy to hear that they're passing on their own duties to tenants.

Original poster

LRDTheFeministDragon · 20/05/2011 14:58

It had been agreed they'd come round to measure up, though. As far as I know they seemed perfectly nice people until they started getting cross about the plants, and she did ring me initially because she thought she might be in the wrong herself. Lettings agents round here tend to be wankers, sadly ... I am trying to get in touch with her at the moment but she's not texted me back yet, so hopefully she is ok and at the new house.

OP posts:

QuickLookBusy · 20/05/2011 14:58

Agree with EvenLessNarky's last post, contact the owner.

The agents are not doing their job and are seriously taking the p* by telling your friend it is all her fault. They are being totally stupid. If the plants are not on the inventory there is no issue at all.

microserf · 20/05/2011 15:05

Agreed her letting agent is seriously taking the piss. They are her pots, if they aren't on the inventory, they don't get them. I rented so many times, and if it isn't on the inventory, you won't get it. It's so basic!

The one exception being the people I am buying from who left what the agent called presents. Hmm. I am not sure they are indeed "presents" when they look a lot like "junk".

The tenants are completely out of line. Get your own pots people. You're renting!

Katiebeau · 20/05/2011 15:08

Agent is at fault

dinkystinky · 20/05/2011 15:13

Agent is totally at fault - as are the new tenants for being so shouty about it all!

TheNumberTaker · 20/05/2011 15:19

Not read all the responses, OP, but I used to be a property litigation solicitor prior to my current shitty nappy hell, so here's my semi professional opinion. (Assuming your friend does not own the property, and when you refer to her letting agent, you mean her landlord's letting agent.)

Your friend has nothing to worry about, the plants are her property. Showing prospective tenants around was neither here nor there, she had no obligation to do it (nothing in the lease to this effect, I assume), and in doing so was not acting in any capacity as an agent for the landlord or letting agency, such that anything she might have said or didn't say to the prospective tenants could be held to be the representations of the landlord or his agent.

I am assuming the tenants knew full well they were being shown round by tenants not the landlord or their agent. That being the case, they could not reasonably rely on anything said or not said by your friend to be representative of the landlord's position with regard to the flat. I assume they did not in fact make any direct enquiry to your friend about ownership of the plants and it was incumbent upon them to check this situation if it was important, either during the negotiation stage or when checking the inventory.

The letting agents in fact sound like they were failing to do their job, and the landlord might be interested to know this - an outgoing tenant who may not be terribly happy with the flat/landlord is not the best person to be showing round prospective tenants.

Am being yelled at now, hope that helps, your friend could copy and paste the above if she wants to write to the letting agent and tell them they are twats.

TheNumberTaker · 20/05/2011 15:27

Sorry, did not register there were 4 pages of responses, all I've said is a fancy lawyer version of what everyone else has said, the tenants and agents are being twats/planks!

Original poster

LRDTheFeministDragon · 20/05/2011 15:31

I really appreciate it, NumberTaker.

I'll get her to check there's nothing on her contract saying she had a responsibility to show tenants around. I'm not hearing back from her (she will be pretty busy), but I texted her a bit ago to say it seems she is totally in the right, and I expect she's ok. I'll send her your comments if she hasn't already emailed the lettings agent.

Thanks!

OP posts:

Sarsaparilllla · 20/05/2011 15:46

Tell the letting agents to get knotted, incompetent lazy twats, it's not her fault at all, ofcourse she's going to take her property with her

ScarletOHaHa · 20/05/2011 15:49

Your friend has no responsibility to show the flat or agree the inventory. The agents were very unprofessional and it is their responsibility to sort out disputes with new tenants. The garden was a big reason we decided to buy our house. At the second viewing the seller made it clear which plants they were taking. They did leave a tonne of shoite in the loft though. You live and learn :)

jumpingjackhash · 20/05/2011 15:54

I wouldn't even give this issue this much attention if I was your friend! To any sane person it's very clear cut - they are your friend's personal posessions. End of.

Now she needs to just laugh and tell the agent it's not her problem and to just get it sorted between them, the new tenants and the landlord and leave her out of it - she has some unpacking to do and plant pots to arrange.

agedknees · 20/05/2011 16:19

Get your friend to send a bill to the letting agents for doing their job.

oldraver · 20/05/2011 16:26

They are movable objects bought and owned by your friend just the same as her furniture. What on earth made the new tennent think they would be left behind ? Maybe she fancies the telly or bed as well

The agent is just passing the buck

Mitzimaybe · 20/05/2011 16:27

I'm sure this has already been answered properly so sorry if I'm repeating.

It's all to do with fixtures and fittings. Fixtures are things screwed to the walls (e.g. fitted wardrobe, fitted kitchen) and fittings are things that are free-standing e.g. standalone wardrobe. The default is that FIXTURES MUST STAY and FITTINGS WILL GO. Obviously any variation to this can be specified in the contract / agreement - which can be verbal.

In the garden, anything planted in the soil of the garden is a FIXTURE and any plants in pots are FITTINGS so unless your friend SPECIFICALLY STATED to the new tenants that the pot plants would remain, the assumption is that they would go.

animula · 20/05/2011 16:48

Btw - just to make my previous post clear - that was my aunt denuding her garden ... which is (as DamselInDisgrace points out) completely and utterly different to tenants taking their goods with them!

Lonnie · 20/05/2011 16:57

chuckles when we received our inventory for the house we rent there was comments like " cobwebs" on the lampshade outside (does that mean I have to leave cobwebs for the next tenants?

everyone else have already said the right things. I would suggest that your friend emails the letting agent and ends it with words similar to " I trust this will be the end of the matter and I shall expect my full deposit returned as pr our tenancy agreement"

DamselInDisguise · 20/05/2011 17:35

Mitzi: with renting even some 'fixtures' can go if the tenant fitted them themselves. You only get what the landlord provides, so if a tenant has fitted their own towel rail, they're perfectly within their rights to take it with them (provided they fill any holes, paint and leave the wall as they found it). It's exactly the same in the garden. The tenants only have to leave it as they found it. The onus really is on the prospective tenant to check whether something is going to be there when they arrive.

Hullygully · 20/05/2011 17:38

ABSOLUTE TOTAL AND UTTER BOLLOCKS.

I hope I have made that clear. She helped them out by doing their job for them and now they want her plants.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

MrsSnow · 20/05/2011 17:39

Its quite clear the plants are in pots and therefore removable. If your friend had dug up the garden (from the ground) then that would have been different.

The agent is just being useless. If they were doing their jobs properly they would have done the viewing and explained all.

JanMorrow · 20/05/2011 17:56

They want her to leave them her wedding presents? Oh they might as well take the matching china then! How about the toaster?

Fucking dickheads. Fair enough be a bit miffed but to accuse someone of stealing? Do me a favour! She needs to just put it from her mind and ignore them entirely.

fivegomadindorset · 20/05/2011 18:06

Maybe she should ask them what else they would like of her wedding presents, seriously.

YOur poor friend, I would never expect potplants to stay in a tenanted house.

WillieWaggledagger · 20/05/2011 18:19

how utterly mad

there were three pots with plants in when we moved into to our rented house (one a jasmine going up a trellis). we've bought more pots and will take those with us. the ones already here we will leave

get your pal to chant 'not my fucking problem, not my fucking problem... etc'

Mitzimaybe · 20/05/2011 18:55

Damsel you're absolutely right; I was stupidly talking about when you buy somewhere.

If the plants were so important to the prospective tenants, they should have asked about them! If they had asked, and she had said they were staying, then taken them, that would be a whole different situation. But she wasn't asked.

chipmonkey · 20/05/2011 19:52

I am a landlord and would be furious if my letting agent had allowed this to happen. I pay my letting agent good money to show people around and manage the property and would be very annoyed indeed if he didn't do his job and then tried to blame the former tenants in a dispute.

Your friend has nothing to worry about and is being far too nice.

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