Letting Agent legal advice needed

[legaladvice123]

I am writing for some advice for a family member. She moved into a private rental with the help of the council whilst fleeing domestic violence. She has since been left the property for a year but is still having issues.

She had numerous issues during her tenancy including the letting agent (who is the director and I believe only staff member) letting himself into her home without warning. She asked for this not to happen and he got quite aggressive. He then tried upping her rent multiple times, I think in a bid to force her out. He succeeded but the council told her she couldnt leave until they had a new property as she would be making herself intentionally homeless, so she overstayed her tenancy notice but was out as soon as she got somewhere to move into.

She has been gone a year and the hassling and bullying has started up again. He is saying she has to release the deposit from the DPS and has listed charges that are ridiculous, so a year ago she disputed it and thought it was done. He is now threatening if she doesnt release the funds, he will take her (and her guarantor) to court and they will get CCJs. This is a man that when she was in the property he also threatened that if she didnt go she would be arrested and go to prison, he has form for this unprofessional and bullying behaviour.

So the charges he is requesting is £445 in court fees, there was no court paperwork and she has never seen any reason for these fees. He wants £120 for a property clean and fridge freezer defrost, she had the home professionally cleaned and has video and photo proof it was immaculate. He wants £280 for painting over a mural she left on the wall. She was told she was allowed to decorate and when she left, the next tenant (in front of the agent) asked if it could be left as she liked it, and it was, and is still up on the wall to date yet he is charging for this as he said it was repainted as it damaged the wall. He is charging £180 for a gate that needed replacing. This gate was damaged while my relative was in the property by the letting agent. I dont believe it has been replaced.

She is getting photo evidence that the mural is still up and the gate is the same but I feel this behaviour is bordering on harassment. She has asked him to respond on the dps but he is refusing and saying she releases the money or he is taking her to court.

The thing is, the money isnt even hers, its the council who paid the deposit but at this point its the principle too, he is lying to obtain this money, harrassing and threatening her and I am concerned. She is mentally not super competent and has a clotting disorder where she is supposed to avoid stress due to a current blood clot on her brain.

I want to find out from a legal point of view, what we can do. I also have major concerns this man is in a position of power and is acting in this manor and wanted to find out if there is a governing body overseeing letting agents?

Before she moved into the property she was told he had also charged the previous tenant for a full redecorate due to childrens drawing on the wall but again this wasnt done and my relative ended up decorating when she moved in. She spent a fortune improving the property and garden and honestly she likely increased the value with the garden work alone.

Im not sure if it has any relevance but in addition, when she said no to the second rent increase in a few months, they decided she had to leave. They did this stating that the landlord wanted to sell so needed to be out by a certain date.

They had no intention to sell and have re rented the property.

It all sounds awful for her but... you need to focus. 90% of the information in your OP is irrelevant to the current issue, which is the disagreement over the deposit. I don't mean to sound harsh but you need to let go of all the old stuff and just concentrate on that. You can pursue a complaint about the agent at a later date, if you want, but surely your priority is your sister avoiding a CCJ against her?

Is the deposit in a recognised deposit-management scheme? If yes, why aren't they sorting this out?

Contact the deposit scheme and ask why they aren't dealing with this? I assume she has submitted evidence of the professional clean. Maybe ask the current tenant for a statement that they asked the mural to be left and a photo that it has been to submit.

If he does issue court proceedings again defend them on this basis and at that stage counterclaim for breach of covenant flr quiet enjoyment.

If he does issue court proceedings again defend them on this basis and at that stage counterclaim for breach of covenant flr quiet enjoyment.

The problem is that, by the OP's own admission, her sister breached her notice period, so was unlawfully occupying the house. Don't get me wrong - the agent sounds like a twunt, but it isn't really 'bullying' for him to state that she might be arrested as a result - it is often a criminal offence (depending on the exact circumstances).

Even if the incident with the agent letting himself into the house occurred before the unlawful occupancy, the sister is going to be on weak grounds, a year on, probably with no definitive proof that he did enter without notice (an agent is allowed to do inspections with proper notice), and with her having subsequently unlawfully remained in the house. I doubt the agent will be worried by a threat of a counter-claim.

The OP understandably feels protective of her sister, but she needs to try to step back from the emotion and think objectively about what can really be achieved at this stage, which - provided that it is correct that the house was left immaculate - should hopefully be receiving the deposit back

The OP needs to let go of the rest, e.g. the sister spending money on the garden -that was her choice. Likewise, lots of LLs put up rents in response to rising mortgage rates last year. It isn't inherently unreasonable to do so.

I think the reason for putting it all was to build a picture that this person isnt acting within what a letting agent should and its been an uphill battle.

But yes the first priority is dealing with the ccj however I would also like to know how to stop this happening to others.

The deposit is with DPS. When she moved out he put through a note (it is a system where they can both log issues from the looks of it) the letting agent put the list of charges. She then went back with a message contesting each item and explaining why. Since then the letting agent hasnt engaged. She also followed up with an email explaining each point.

This was in June 2023, she has then heard nothing until 2 days ago where he emailed her guarantor with a threat that they either get the deposit released or they will both be taken to court and will get CCJs.

Since then, she has contacted DPS who have confirmed that they are waiting on the letting agents response. He is refusing to respond. He said the two options are dispute resolution or court and he is not willing to do the dispute resolution so she either tells them to release the funds or he is taking her to court.

She has asked for details of the charges, any invoices, proof of the work etc and he has refused, because im guessing the work hasnt been done.

I think he is hoping she will back down but the DPS says awaiting landlord so she cannot do a thing.

I completely see what you are saying and to her ive said exactly this, deal with this matter then we look at the rest, but for myself I wanted advice for everything. But with regard to dealing with him right now, we are just trying to get this dealt with whilst butting up against a very stubborn person.

I have rented myself for 25 years and ive never encountered anything like it, I think the bigger picture needs considering too, but I am of course just dealing with the priority first.

We cant even get to the point of submitting evidence because he is refusing to even give consent to the resolution service. He said he doesnt want to do that.

The claim has been sitting untouched since June 2023 and he has now decided to try and tell her she either gets it released or they go to court, but DPS have said its still sitting in the same position, waiting for the letting agent to respond.

We very much want the resolution service so she can upload all the information gathered and get this resolved but he wants the funds now or is threatening court, to him the resolution service is not an option.

Is it worth talking to the council office that housed her - after all it is their money?

Alternatively the dps is there to stop people like him, so make use of it. Go back to him 1 more time and say either he needs to use the dispute service or go ahead with court. He is relying on bullying her into paying out as he likely knows he stands no chance in court as he has no evidence.

If he continues to harass her and her guarantor - contact the police.

This is what I have advised now, ive said he will have to provide proof whether it be via the DPS or via court so let him do it.

The problem with that is she is so anxious. She is awaiting assessment for autism, I would say she has learning difficulties too and she struggles with comprehension which is how this guy has managed to get away with it in the past and what im trying to stop now.

I said I could research to see if its possible to get a proxy for court as I would happily go on her behalf. She has all the evidence needed to show she has done everything right and made every attempt to resolve this.

I have also suggested reaching out to the council to see if they can appoint someone to deal with it, we are still waiting to hear back.

He'll be given a very short shrift if he goes to court without going through dispute resolution first - courts are very keen that every other avenue is explored first (I work for one of the landlord accreditation schemes) it seems very likely to me that he's just making threats, although I appreciate that's stressful to deal with.

If he does go to court, its very likely she'll be able to successfully defend her case based on the evidence you've described. Courts are of course well versed on housing law and will also know that she will have been advised to stay put to avoid the "intentionally homeless" saga

Does anyone know if she can have a proxy go to court on her behalf as I really want to push for her to say we need the resolution but if unwilling then we will have to go to court, but she doesnt want to say this as she is so anxious about actually going to court.

I personally do not believe it will get there based on him having zero evidence but she is worried he will go through with it and she will have to talk in court and she doesnt feel capable.

I really think this is true, he is seeing it as its not her money so she should just release it. He has made comments that he would go after more than the outlined amounts but if she releases the money, he will leave the rest.

But then when she asks to go via DPS, he is then saying he will speak to the council and tell them she is trying to obtain public funds.

The council and any court will tell him to go through the DPS. She is vulnerable and he is harassing her. He knows he's going to lose through the DPS or most of it anyway. If I was you I would get her permission to talk to the council about this case, and reassure her there would be no issue if she was 'reported'. I don't think it will come to proxies, he can't take her to court when there is a DPS resolution waiting to occur or if he does, he's likely to lose.

It's all threats against a vulnerable person.

Is it definitely the letting agent who is the problem here, OP, or the LL?

Also, check with the council whether all LLs have to be licenced by them. In some areas, only HMOs do, in others it's all rentals. If the LL has to be licenced, they may be breaching the terms of the licence.

And this is exactly why in my initial post I wanted to ask about further action. Right now I want this resolved for her, but I want to make sure this doesnt happen to someone that doesnt have someone in their corner. It worries me to think of all the things she would have dealt with if I were not helping her as he only stopped coming into her home unannounced once I wrote a letter, which is when everything got worse because I think he didnt like her pushing back.

I was asking about the proxy to give her assurance, if it ever got that far, she would know I or someone else could step in. I am confident he wouldnt go that far but on the off chance he is that pig headed, I want her to not have that anxiety given that she currently has a blood clot on her brain and does not need the stress.

Its hard balancing between getting facts and keeping it to the letter and feeling absolutely furious that he is attacking someone vulnerable (the messages are a lot more vile than ive put here) and is able to keep doing this because it is his letting agency.

It is the letting agent. She tried reaching out to the landlord once, early on in these issues and the letting agent told her that he wasnt happy and she isnt to speak with the landlord.

This has all come through the letting agent, he is the director and looks like its just him and one other person in the company, so its a small company that are seemingly doing what they want and hoping people dont know their rights.

How do I find out about the licensing aspect? Is it just a case of getting on google or contacting the council?

If you Google the council concerned and 'landlord' or 'HMO', it will probably come up.

I've just checked online and it seems you can act as a Lay Representative in Small Claims court but only if the defendant were present too.

He sounds like a bully- it would look terrible if the deposit was in the DPS and he just didn't use that and went to court. DPS is there to avoid court. I'd call his bluff but I understand your relative might be upset and just want it all to go away, which is up to them.

All agents have to be a member of a redress scheme also, which means that if you go through the agents full complaints process with no satisfactory response, it can be referred to them. The redress scheme will adjudicate and the decision is 'usually' binding (it almost certainly would be in this case).

It is a legal requirement to be part of a redress scheme, so if they are not they will get into huge trouble including massive fines.

Might be worth looking into, link below

www.nationaltradingstandards.uk/property-agent-checker/

Ive just found the register and done a search and the landlord nor the property are on either the hmo nor the selective register, what does this mean?

Don't be ridiculous. She wasn't unlawfully occupying the house. A landlord cannot end a tenancy agreement. Only the tenants or a court can do that.

Of course she was unlawfully occupying the house if she failed to leave at the end of the notice period, provided notice was properly given as laid out in the contract. And of course a LL can give notice.

Probably just that this council does not require all LLs to be licenced, unfortunately. But you could double-check this when you contact the council WRT to your sister's deposit.

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow online it says you need a selective license. The landlord and property arent on the register.