"Landlord" is the not the owner of property

[goingoverground]

I am a guarantor for my student DC. He and his flatmates want to end their fixed term AST early because of numerous issues with the property, letting agent and landlord eg cockroach infestation, the agency entering the property without their permission, no CMP, no gas safety certificate when they moved in (obviously we made them resolve this urgently), in breach of local regulations for non-licensable HMOs, to name just a few.

Many of the issues are with the agency, who are either ignorant of the law or blatantly flouting it eg their response to the complaint about the gas safety certificate was that it didn't matter as the only penalty was that they couldn't evict tenants until they got one (?!!) and that they didn't need to join a CMP scheme until 2021 (untrue, they have to join a scheme but they have until 2021 to set up an FCA approved bank account). The letting agent has refused to contact the landlord about terminating the contract and has decided on the landlord's behalf, as the property manager, that they cannot end the contract. They refuse to give any contact details for the landlord other than via the agency.

Their landlord is listed on their contract as "John Smith" and the address given is C/O the letting agency. A quick check on the land registry today shows that the owner of the property is actually a limited company in Cyprus, not "John Smith".

Obviously we will be reporting the letting agent to trading standards and are taking legal advice on Monday. In the meantime, I was wondering whether the AST is even valid if the landlord is not the owner of the property?

Useful info here:

england.shelter.org.uk/legal/security_of_tenure/basic_principles_security_of_tenure/Information_about_a_landlords_identity

Thanks, @LangClegsInSpace. I knew that they have to provide the name and address within 21 days if requested but the agent doesn't seem to have much regard for the law.

The law about rent demands having to have the landlord's address is useful though. They had to pay the last 2 months' rent up front and rent is currently due so the agent is chasing them and saying they will charge them a late fee and interest. They are refusing to use the money up paid up front. I guess that means if the agency won't give the address, they don't have to pay rent until they get the address so they can't charge late fees.

It would be good to know if the contract is valid if the landlord isn't the owner though. I have rented offices from limited companies before and even when the contract has been signed by an agent, it states that they are an agent not the landlord. That would be great from the point of view of ending the contract although it does raise the question of how we could recover the upfront rent that was paid to "John Smith".

Write to the agent
Your agent must give you the landlord's name and address if you ask for it in writing. You can email or send a letter.
They have 21 days to give you the information in writing. The council can prosecute the agent if they don't reply and the agent could be fined up to £2500.
You could make a formal complaint to the agent if they don't provide the information you've asked for.
england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/how_to_find_your_landlord

Before you report the lettings agent to trading standards, there are other steps you have to take, namely making a formal complaint (first) and then going through the redress scheme. See
england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/complaints_about_letting_agents

You could also contact the council's housing advice team and ask if they have a tenancy relations officer who could advise and help with negotiations.

Thanks @AnotherEmma

We already know that they have to provide the address but they won't so we will have to go down the route of making a complaint. The council doesn't have a tenancy relations officer. The letting agent isn't signed up to a property redress scheme so it is a matter for trading standards.

Ah OK I see. You'll need to contact the citizens advice consumer helpline to report.
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/get-more-help/report-to-trading-standards/

It seems that the £40 late fee and 10% interest they are threatening to charge is illegal too

If it's a student let it might be worth letting the uni accommodation office know they're a dodgy landlord.