To ask what you do if you want a managing agent (not your own) to be investigated for shoddy renations/renting?

[VeepVeep]

So, I own a house on a street where most houses are owned except one on the other side of the street near me. Over the past few years, the house has been rented out to families who leave sharpish because of the terrible condition the house is in, beyond the superficial paint job.

The most recent tenant moved out because they put their foot through a stair. The ceiling in the kitchen had also caved in. They got a lot of money back, as a result.

The house is currently empty. No doubt the shoddy managing agent - known for being wide boys - will do a botch job on behalf of the freeholder (who apparently owns several properties and is very nice) and try to rent it again, quickly.

I want to try and get them investigated, or at least bought to task for the poor management of this property. The renters are scared to as they think they might need them again in the future.

Am I mad to consider it? What should I do? Go to the council?

From an outside point of view looking at your question, how is anyone going to predict when something is going to break ???
Can you predict if your kitchen ceiling is going to fall in ?
Similarly, can you predict when your car is going to malfunction ?
Can you predict if your PC, iPad, mobile phone are going to stop working or have issues ?

There are minimum things that good landlords should be providing like
Tenancy agreement/deposit scheme
Gas & electric certificates
Property in good order - tenant should view property before moving in
Landlord insurance
Maintenance & repair
If a property is empty, the landlord should be paying council tax
The landlord should be declaring the income & if appropriate paying tax
The landlord can request regular property inspections with photos inside & out

In return the tenant should be keeping the property in good working order
Paying the rent
Report any issues promptly
They should have their own house contents insurance

You are NOT the tenant, so you have no right to report anything

This property is not your concern

You're confusing managing agent/freeholder with lettings agent/owner. If it's a house, than chances are (some very specific areas excepted) it's owned in its entirety and the freeholder has a very different role in relation to the tenants as they would leaseholders.

The short answer is, if the property is not fit to be lived in then the environmental health department of your local council are the people to force remedial works on behalf of a tenant. But lettings agents' hands are tied by the will of the landlord; it's their money that is being spent and they can't carry out any works without their say-so.

There is a possibility that the house is falling into disrepair and no one is telling the landlord (unlikely but possible) and you could do that by obtaining their details from Land Registry. Alternatively, the mortgage company (listed as a charge on the freehold title) may be interested on the state of the property if they're not going to be able to realise their investment in the asset. But really, as a privately owned property it's not your business. If it's in that bad a state it won't let.

www.arla.co.uk/news/december-2018/homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act/
This is now in force. Should give you the info you need.

Thanks all.

I realise I probably sound like a nosy neighbour. I'm not. I just find it really frustrating that homes can be rented out in such crap condition.

And for the poster who says how can anyone predict when something breaks - of course, I get that. But in this instance, two tenants in a row experienced a caving in of the ceiling, so chances are it was botched up first time around.