PLEASE CAN SOMEONE HELP ME! WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS AS A TENANT?

[MadamAnt]

We moved from Aldershot to Edinburgh at the weekend, and I'm having problems with the letting agency for the new house.

It's filthy. Not just a bit dusty, but absolutely farking filthy. The cupboards and drawers are all dirty, so we can't put our stuff away without scubbing them all first. The fridge is broken, so we have no food. The roof is leaking. The garden is also completely grown over (not urgent, but we're paying for an unsuable garden atm).

We've been paying rent since 13th June (i.e. 10 days) and the agency assured us that the cleaning and garden would be dealt with before we move in.

DH spoke to the agency first thing yesterday (Monday) to chivvy them along. They told him that the house had been cleaned then they said, ?it?s the kind of property that could be cleaned for a whole month and still need more work."

It was left that they would get someone to deal with the issues urgently.

I've just spoken to a rude bitch rather unhelpful person at the agency to see what progress had been made, and she said:

a) they cannot give me a date for the cleaner

b) they can't tell me when the fridge engineer will be coming.

c) she didn't want to speak to me, because she had already spoken to DH (yesterday), and she didn't want to deal with two parties (ummm, we're jointly renting the place, and DH has just started a new job and can't be faffing about with this).

I told her that if she can't get the cleaning and fridge sorted out by tomorrow, I'd be arranging it myself and sending them the bill. She said we couldn't do that.

The property is meant to be fully managed, and I told her that I felt they weren't doing their job properly. I said that I wanted to contact the landlord. She said they can't pass on landlord's details. (Is that true?)

She then hung up on me.

I'm literally shaking with rage and disbelief.

Please can anyone advise me what our rights are?

PS - we've refused to sign the contract stating that the house is clean and in good order.

PPS - they have so far received: £200 arrangement fee. £1000 deposit and £800 for the first months rent.

no its not true you have a legal right to have your landlords details, that much i know.

as far the cleaning it would depend upon your contract.

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Oh and there's also a really dangerous paving slab on our front path, which they also said would be fixed. There's a large root growing underneath it, so it's see-sawing up and down when walked on, and I can just see one of the DCs feet being crushed underneath it

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No it wasn't, but the agent assured us it would be cleaned (we have that in an email).

Also, the contract (and inventory) describe the house as clean and in good order. I don't have particularly high standards of cleaning, but this place is the pits. I have photos which I could share, but I'm having to make do with a slow connection atm.

Just saw your first message christiana That's helpful!

shelter scotland please ring them for advice.

good info here private renting housing pane;; shelter

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who has what responsability shelter

We had this when we moved to our house in April, but the letting agents wouldn't help and just passed us onto the landlord. They had never mentioned at all that he would be managing the property or else we would not have taken it on.

It was filthy and none of the things we requested to be done had been. It was a complete nightmare and has ruined this house for us.

Luckily my parents came to help and we spent the whole weekend cleaning.

We took lots of photos before we started though and have kept them as proof, the landlord was very unhappy when we mentioned that to him but at the end of the lease we need something to prove the state it was in at the start. I for one won't be cleaning it when we move out.

when we first moved (a week after our wedding) to london we lived in a hell hole. it hadn't been cleaned and for some reason i found someones tooth in the kitchen. when we walked into the 2 bedroom 2 bathroom luxury furnished flat we found out that there was no second bedroom and that the 2nd bathroom didn't work because it was too high up and because of the water pressure you couldn't get running water in there let alone flush the toilet...which is where we found that someone had left a giant poop and it had been there for 2 months...also there wasn't a 4th wall in the only bedroom or guard railing so you could just fall downstairs into the living room if you got up in the middle of the night to go to the unusable 'loo'...oh, and the 6 months that we lived there we never had hot water. ever. it was south facing on a train track and had 35ft windows that no one could get curtains for.the entire building would shake everytime a train it was £375pw and in EAST LONDON! it's called Bow Quarter (the old matchstick factory) and it was the absolute WORST living experience of my LIFE...and i recently just moved out of the crpyt of st pancras church (in euston).

ohh, i forgot to mention there was no furniture, but because the kitchen had a SPOON and one BUCKET it was considered 'furnished'.

we rented it through a an agency called hurford salvi carr ...so beware.

the absolute horrific thing about all of this is, thats it's actually true. i'm not even exaggerating a tiny bit.

if i ever get my hands on the landlord of the apartment in bow quarter i will probably kick his ass and lock him in that appartment.

...i too was told that contact details of the landlord could not be given to us.

custy - thank you!! xx

Christiana - it's a 12 month let with a 6 month break clause.

sherbet - poor you! This place is meant to be fully managed. I have been taking lots of photos already.

I think this is the transcript you're looking for christiana, I haven't read through it, but there might be some information on landlord's obligations?

Can I ask which agency you are using? I have friends in a couple of the big ones in Edinburgh..

Also, where is your flat? (Not the street or anything, just the area. I am not trying to stalk you )

at this for you as well, by the way. Awful.

It's Ryden. Don't know if they are big or not tbh. We're in Stockbridge

eandz - OMFG

hopefully - thanks. Haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but I will later.