to really hate lettings agents??

[gosssipgirl]

We are moving house next month and so out current house is "to let".

The lettings agents have not responded to my letter giving notice (faxed and posted on 2nd March) but I can assume they have got the message since the house is being adverstied and they have called me to arrange viewings!

Still nothing in writing confirming receipt of notice.

They rang at 4pm on Friday asking if someone could come on Saturday for a viewing, and could I show them around as they were short staffed. Ummm... no I bloody can't. I have a toddler and my DH was doing an exam on Saturday. And also you are getting PAID to market the house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I decided to take my LO out for lunch while they came round and when I came back (a couple of hours later) they had left 2 lights on!!!!!!! (I am quite concious of always turning lights off when not in the room so this really annoys me!)

NOW they sent a letter saying someone is coming to do an inspection tomorrow (I cancelled the last one as I was not in so can't cancel again) and I will be out as I work on Wednesdays.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

YANBU at all! They sound like they're taking the p*.

Typical lettings agents...all flash suits and can't be bothered to work for the money.

Maybe you can point out that you are leaving at the end of the month and if they leave the inspection until then they wont have to do it twice.

Top tip- be there when they do the leaving inspection, with your cleaning kit, so if they are not happy with something you can go and clean it until they are happy. More chance of getting your deposit back.

I will try and arrange to be there for the leaving inspection as our deposit is quite a lot, but they said they would be doing it after we left, so unless they want to be nice (unlikely) I doubt we have any right to be present.

But our deposit is protected under the new scheme so more likely to get it back, no?

I have only ever lost £20 of a deposit to date in 5 yrs of renting (and moving a lot!) so fingers crossed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YANBU - we're selling our house and we've had to show a few people round ourselves - the estate agents apparently told them 'just go round' . Wouldn't mind if we weren't paying them a bloody cut! Even more annoying, the people who are actually buying it viewed it twice without the agents so all they did was put it in their window and we sold it ourselves.

Oh, and twice when they've been round while we were out they left a big storage cupboard open, with the light on inside and our cat (who they know about) had been inside and toppled everything over.

You mustn't let them come in as they choose.

Also don't worry about tidying up.

Your deposit should be protected by an independent scheme.

Tell them you will permit visits on Saturday mornings or not all. Don't accept this 'letting themselves in' crap, it's your house until the day you move out.

It's not as if I have been unreasonable with them - I work on Mondays and Wednesdays, any other day is fine!

The two appointments they have send me have been on a Monday, which I refused and tomorrow.

I will try to leave work early so I can be here...

Don't even know why they're bothering as we're moving out at the end of the month

Do watch out for them leaving messages such as

"hi we've got someone to view the property in 30min, unless we hear from you we will assume it's ok to let ourselves in"

I always tell them that I need 24hrs notice before any viewing.

I hate them with a passion.

They are absolute wankers for that.

"Unless we hear from you we will assume it's ok"

Who says that??!!!

Tenants really do need more rights in this country.

I wonder what would happen re home contents insurance if something went "missing" or they knocked something over or sth.....?

YANBU.

We are in a rented flat and our agents let themselves in (my request) to fix something and left skid marks in the loo

I sympathise entirely!

On the other hand, one time when I was showing a prospective tenant around my own flat (which I started renting out after moving in with my boyfriend) he asked if he could use the toilet, and was in there ages.

After he left I went in to check for skid marks and found something A LOT WORSE.

I didn't let him have the flat.

'After he left I went in to check for skid marks and found something A LOT WORSE.'

What?! What did you find?

YANBU.

Is it in your contract that they have to be reasonable about letting subsequent tenants view the property before you move out? Our contract had a clause about it.

When we moved in here, we viewed the place while the former tenant was still in. They phoned her in advance and asked when would be a convenient time. As it happened, for her it was right then, but if she had said not now, maybe tomorrow/the day after they would have had to abide by that.

Yes, you have to allow people to view, but you still have rights under your contract,and you shouldn't be afraid to stand up for them.

When we were renting the agents came round to show prospective tenants round with no notice.
Unfortunately I was in bed after a night shift and they all came traipsing into the bedroom!!

So no YANBU.

ARGH! They are the bane of my life at the moment and I'm not moving/letting/selling etc! Our next door neighbours are moving out and so their flat is up to let. The flats have been made out of a house which has basically been split in half but still looks like a house in appearance (one front door) but we have a 'half' each including outside... and the bloody agents have put their boards on OUR side, not theirs (ours looks a LOT nicer, with a bush, shutters in the window, plants on the windowsills - theirs, by contrast, has a bin at the front and net curtains) and although I keep asking them to move them they are STILL there! To add insult to injury, tonight we have had TWO instances of the agent showing people around and trying to access OUR flat first by ramming the key in the lock and then banging on the door! The bloody cheek.

Not quite the same experience as OP I know but shows their bloody ineptitude!

YA so NBU

Since I became a tenant, I've been blatantly ripped off for hundreds of pounds (deposits on phantom lets) and have been rejected for not fitting requirements - even when the properties were sitting empty. A very large proportion of agents seem to think they're playing poker, not working in a regulated profession.

The Trading standards people weren't remotely interested in my complaints.

Having said that, some agents are wonderful! I think it depends on where you live. I live where I do because there's one lovely agency, which sets the standard for competitors.

still havn't given our agentsnotice that we'll not be staying after our lease, putting it off as long as poss!

someone will correct me here but if youre leaving at the end of lease i thought you were under no obligation to allow them to show people round

hope thats the case anyway because lease runs out4/7, new babys due 4/6 the house will be a tip, i don't know when i can replace the carpet and i know the old hag 2 doors down who is the landlords mother who hires a fricking letting agent to manage the property will be butting her ugly decrepid nose in the moment she finds were leaving

YANBU letting and the agents you have to deal with is a total PITA!!!

One agent came in while we were on hols. Didn't ask, didn't tell us. I knew someone had been in and was a bit freaked out. Was only when We saw the photos they had taken in the estate agents window with our bed linen on that we figured it out! And I have one now that cannot spell tenants or tenancy. Tenents and tenency!

Outrageous bastards. First I heard of one visit once was when I heard the door open and voices coming in to my flat. Was a tiny studio flat so they just needed to open one door and they would have walked in on me in bed. I got up quick sharp and sent them away. They tried to claim they had left me a message - uh, no, you didn't! Modern mobile phones have these clever functions that show you if someone has called or left a message!

The current agents did an inspection while I was out which wasn't agreed - they had left a msg asking if it was ok but I hadn't replied - the place was a mess, and they wrote a report saying the flat was being kept in an unacceptable condition. I got the manager round to do another one and he could not give me one thing that we had done that might cause damage to the flat. They had been commenting on my housekeeping! He still couldn't really understand why i objected to that

I have now insisted that all visits are confirmed in writing in good time and they have stuck to it. You have the right to demand that.

YADNBU. Currently our agents have fucked up big time. We have a house that is let, the tenants have somehow made a hole in the bathroom floor which is affecting the electrics. Agents claim this has happened within the last two months which was when it was last inspected. I find it hard to believe and have refused to buy the tenants a new bath and shower screen because they are moving at the end of the month and they should have been more careful. The hole will of course need to be mended before we can sell it and according to the agents, it will cost around a thousand pounds.

You are not BU.

Tenants have a legal right to "quiet enjoyment" of the property throughout the duration of the tenancy.

Even if the tenancy states something along the lines of "allowing viewings prior to moving and having served notice" you can still legally refuse access (but obviously not for emergency repairs).

There was an OFT ruling regarding unfair terms and conditions with regards to these types of contracts.

Although some lettings agents are ARLA registered in theory that "regulatory" body can sometimes be just as useless.

You can refuse to have these types of intrusions into your home life.

Our last agent arranged an appointment to show one set of people round the property. Then also advertised an open home on the internet without telling us. She left after the first people so wasn't there to show people round! First I knew of the open home was when the doorbell started ringing. I was livid.

But our current landlords are worse. Gave us notice unexpectedly on New Years Eve and are now hassling us cos we haven't been watering the garden every day.

You are definitely NOT BU!!

Letting Agents are generally shites and I hate them with a passion too.

I actually 'spoke' to Gordon Brown about the lack of rights that private tenants have on another parenting website

No it won't. There is currently a website being set up so that tenants can post their opinions of their landlord and how they maintain the property and treat the tenants.

It will also have the landlord's details on. I am not happy about this as we are HM Forces, so I am hoping that my letting agent's details will be on there and not mine.

That sounds interesting scaryteacher! There is a lot that needs doing in order to make private rental a fair deal for tenants in this country so I guess that is a start!