To think the estate agent should pay.

[Theheartandtheshape]

Moved in 1 year ago and have been such a good tenant that I've just signed for another 12 months at the same rate.

I don't have any contact with the landlord, it is all done via the estate agent.

Before I moved in, I mentioned on the offer form that I have a hamster. I had permission verbally confirmed by the estate agent at the viewing. I followed this up with an email before signing the lease, stating that I wanted to bring my hamster with me, that I had verbal permission but I wanted to check this was OK before signing. The response was "Yes this is correct". The entire content of my email was about the hamster, there were no other questions or issues that "yes this is correct" could have referred to.

I had an inspection 1 week ago and the woman contracted to do the inspection even asked if I wanted to hide the hamster from the photos. I said no, it's all above board, I have consent.

Received an email today from the estate agent from quite a snotty woman who told me that the landlord was concerned seeing the photos, as she was unaware of the hamster and it might invalidate her insurance. The buildings management company have said she needs to pay them £90. I explained that I had permission from the estate agent to keep the hamster and there is no way I'm paying £90. The woman said I have to pay or get rid of my pet.

I forwarded the email chain where the estate agent confirmed permission for a hamster, and the estate agent is now doubling down and saying that because the email doesn't say "the landlord has given permission" it isn't legally binding.

This seems insane and a semantic argument to me.

My view is the estate agent fucked up by not informing the landlord, clearly their employee wanted me to sign the lease last year and didn't speak to the landlord to get permission for the hamster first.

I feel misled, stressed and angry that the landlord will now be angry at me. I also don't have £90.

I've asked the manager to contact me. I hate conflict. Do you think the estate agent should pay the fee, and apologise to me and the landlord?

I’d reply back once more with something along the lines of this below, then don’t reply to any other emails and save ALL the emails! She’s trying to harangue you into compliance.

Dear X,

As stated in previous emails, permission was sought and obtained in written form in the form of email, received from [email protected] on this date at this time as I have provided. I will not being paying any fee with regards to said hamster. I will not reply to any other correspondence or phone calls regarding this matter.

Sincerely,
TheHearandtheShape

So you're saying my landlord might evict me because my estate agent fucked up? And that it's legal to be made homeless because a landlord is "annoyed"?

Outside of Scotland? Yes. A no fault S21 is still perfectly legal. And the 'annoyance' caused by a rodent coudl be very costly. Whether you want to accept that or not.

I am not saying anyone has acted well in this, not the Agent, not you (well your current outrage is blinding you to common sense in my opinion - here if not in real life), not the landlord really! But there does have to be a compromise that everyone can live with. You might get lucky, the landlord might choose to absorb the additional cost themselves. If they were posting here I would be advising them to do that as it would be the easiest resolution. But they don't have to.

Someone has to give and at £90 it isn't the most expensive solution for anyone!

You have no contractual obligation to anyone other than the landlord.

I would write back and say that you view any discussion between the Landlord and an other party to be private business correspondance. That negotiations involving the contractual relationship between the Landlord and an other party should not involve you as the tenant. That any payments due would remain a private business matter for your Landlord. You believe that it would not be proper for you to be involved in any agreement between the landlord and management company.

Therefore you trust that the agent will cease to enter into correspondance with you on this matter.

Or pay the money yourselves.

You're wrong.

"You can use a Section 21 notice to evict your tenants either:

after a fixed term tenancy ends - if there’s a written contract
during a tenancy with no fixed end date - known as a ‘periodic’ tenancy"

A landlord can't just kick you out mid contract for no reason.

Leaving aside the rights (OP) and wrongs (EA) of this, in order to move forward I would be agreeing to the EA proposal but I would want them to confirm if it's going to be an annual charge, and if so are they going to continue to refund it.

And you're right OP, they can't evict you. The biggest risk is at the next renewal in terms of rent increase so it depends how much you like your home and want to keep loving there (with your Cricetinae)

I just wouldn't trust them to refund it at all after the debacle with the emails

Living not loving! 😆

The estate agent is the landlords agent and was acting as such - the agent had actual or ostensible authority to agree this and did so and you have it in writing. The agent should pay the £90

I would want evidence they had notified the landlord it was THEIR error. Cheeky gits.

I would give them you bank details to pay the £90 and tell them you will pass it on once received, just to close the matter. They will say you need to pay first but refuse and say you have acted in good faith previously based on things in writing that they have later denied so you are not prepared to again.

We rented a house which had been totally gutted & refurbished. When we viewed there were no curtains on the windows, and I asked agent if they were going to be fitted before we moved in, as wouldn’t want to buy them ourselves. Agent said yes. We moved in, no curtains.

Both we & landlord v cross - we’d made it clear we wouldn’t buy, landlord had no intention of fitting them. Agent was basically reckless as to the truth. Agent paid for the curtains.

Agent should pay the £90, as they misled you in saying there was consent.

Tell them to pay you the £90 up front and then you'll pay the LL. Or tell them you already have paid so they send you the £90 and then pay LL.

I had a similar issue in a previous flat I rented but I didn't actually ask permission. The previous tenants had a dog so I didn't think the hamster was an issue tbh but it seems it was. Fair enough this was my fuck up but I just told them the hamster was dead and I just hasn't got round to getting rid of the cage.

name and shame!

Did you pay any kind of admin fee at the start of your tenancy? If you did, then you’ve already paid for the agreement to be drawn up o you have no need to pay it again.

I wouldn’t pay for their error, especially now that you have written confirmation the whole mess is their mistake.

No a LL can't evict you mid-contract for no reason but as far as the LL is concerned there could potentially be two reasons ie keeping a pet contrary to the terms of the lease (yy the estate agent has taken responsibility but presumably your lease had a no pet clause which you signed) and the other reason would be if you withheld your rent as other posters were suggesting. Samphire was responding to those points.

You're lucky the estate agent changed their position because their email didn't specify what was correct and they could have continued to maintain that referred to you signing documents rather than having a pet. As a PP said, get written confirmation from them about permission for the hamster; that the £90 is an one-time full and final fee and clarify that the hamster is allowed to remain for the rest of your tenancy. It would also be helpful to get them to confirm in writing that you will not be liable for any additional hamster/pet related charges.

@SamphirethePogoingStickerist

I am in inventory clerk and the worst pet damage I have ever seen was done by a hamster that escaped for a day or two. Far worse than anything by toddlers or even a Great Dane puppy!

What absolute bollocks!

And this carry on is exactly why I hid my cat for years when renting!

I'd rather have been honest about it, but (and especially with lettings agents involved) was far too likely to cause more trouble than it was worth. Got my full deposit back when I left, and no one knew any different.

Like I wrote previously, I had a hamster that escaped. It absolutely wrecked our house including cables behind the wall, carpet and sofa. Ask my mum, she’ll agree! 😂

The agents are not very good half the time. The problem is taht the written contract is king here -you look at that before you sign it. If it says no pets you refuse to sign it until they add "except for hamster" and then youa re home and dry. the contract probably has a clause saying nothing said to you, no statements, no representations are part of the contract and do not apply and have no validity.

My son has new tenants moving in and we and they have been very clear - no pets of any kind.

The tenancy agreement says no pets without permission and that permission will not be unreasonably withheld.

I viewed their written permission via email as giving that permission.

It is standard for damage by pets on home insurance polices to be EXCLUDED

The owner is absolutely correct!!

They are crazy to be pushing like this. When a tenant leaves the property is inevitably empty for a while and there may be some decorative repairs to carry out. Wear and tear to be seen to. All of which is going to cost more than £90.