Error in listing for rented house, is there anything I can do?

[misscph1973]

I'm moving into a rented house next month and according to the listing on rightmove, the house comes with fridge freezer, washing machine, tumble drier and dish washer. But now that I have agreed to rent the house and given notice on my current rented property, it turns out that there is no dish washer or tumble drier after all. Is there anything I can do? As I now need to go and get at least a dishwasher.

Where they there when you viewed? Did they say that they were staying?

I'd at least be asking for them to be replaced and itemised on the itinerary. I think as long as everything on the itinerary is present there might not be anything you can do.

What does your contract say?

What does the inventory specify?

Rightmove means diddly squat, I'm afraid.

You won't see an inventory or a contract until your move in date. Have you asked the agent? If no agent have you asked the LL yet? Maybe they will provide one for you.

speak tot eh agent. ask if LL will provide all those white goods.

if not come to some arrangement which ones.
mine dint have dishwasher - we agreed I would buy one but LL would pay for the plumbing (none there before).

Right move is a third party site. All it is, is a collection of properties which have been pulled in from other sites, so if the listing is incorrect then it's very difficult to find our who is at fault. You're better off asking the agent. Have you looked on the agents site to see if the property is advertised with these things? This will help.

The agent didn't have a listing on their own site. I know that they used old pictures, so I am assuming the error is due to using old text.

I just hate agents, and especially their fees. I do have a contract, a draft, but it doesn't mention any specific white goods, just white goods. When we viewed the house, she said that there was all the white goods that we could see and that she would get a white good inventory list for me. She is actually quite nice for an agent, but she is not very together, I think she has a lot on, they are only 2 in the office.

Also, when she told me the actual amount of white goods, she said that she didn't know what state they were in as the current tenants had their own and that we could let her know if there were any problems. I am paying a bloody check in fee, so I am going to ask her to get them tested before I move in.

Regarding the missing white goods I will try to talk to her about either compensation out of her agent fee or her providing white goods.

A lot of landlords expect you to provide your own white goods, especially in part-furnished places. They're liable to go wrong and require expensive parts and repairs, so they prefer the tenant to buy their own and take full responsibility.

Personally I quite liked having my own stuff as I could pay extra for better models and it meant I was building my own 'bottom drawer' for when I eventually had my own place, but sympathise as it's not easy to budget when you're also funding the deposit and rent up front before your previous deposit is released. It can be difficult when you come to move, too.

Ask your landlord and see if they're inclined to pay for the white goods. My guess is probably not- they're running a business, they don't want to pay for stuff they'll not be able to recoup the costs on. But some take the view that a happy tenant is a saving in the long run, so you might get lucky.

You'll get nothing back from the agents; they're a common enemy to both tenants and landlords, and they always get away with being useless and dishonest because there's not much in the way of an alternative. Best not to waste your time.

Its been my experience that its better o have your own appliances. I rent and all white goods except the fridge freezer which is built in are mine. This means I have the warrantee details and can get them repaired as I need to.

In 2 previous houses where the appliances were the ll's, both times the washing machines broke one was fine the ll arranged repair, but the other even though it was under warrantee refused to call them out and as it wasn't in my name I couldn't get a call out. It was ridiculous, it had been installed the day I moved in and had issues from the day I first used it (generic cheap brand from big electrical retailer and less than £200), so I have no idea why they would have rather have had a broken machine that could be repaired/replaced for free than make a quick phone call.

anyway guess all that's beside the point, can you speak to the ll directly and not the agent and ask him/her to clarify exactly what is being left and if it works, has a service plan etc?

No, I don't think I can speak to the landlord, it's all through the agent. I haven't spoken to her yet, been too busy with work and also I wanted to work out what to say and how.

I have noticed that many rented properties no longer have white goods of any kind, it wasn't like that when I started renting my current house 5 years ago. This house had no dish washer, but I got the landlord to provide one and I paid for the installation. I'm not unreasonable, but I am really not happy that the agent has incorrect info on the listing.

I'm not even sure there is a stove anymore!

I rang the agent, and she got really offended when I pointed out the error in the listing! She took it very personal. Later on she had edited the listing, I guess she is covering her tracks.

She said she would check the white goods "with the tenants" again, what good is that going to do? I reminded her o the massive fees we are paying her company and she totally blanked it.

If I were you I would just ask the agent/landlord whether or not the dishwasher and tumble drier are included. If it's on the listing, and you suspect they've used old text/photos, then presumably these were included in the rental at some point, so no harm in asking. And if they're not - ask if they would be willing to provide them.

IME good landlords tend to be quite flexible with this stuff. There's no harm in asking - most would prefer to pay a couple of hundred quid to buy a new appliance or give the place a quick lick of paint if it means the place isn't standing empty and the new tenant is more likely to stay a while.

Unfortunately this is all through an agent, mackerel. I have an excellent landlord at the moment, but this new let is managed.

At this point in time, I really don't need anymore trouble from this agent so I doubt I will pursue it further.

if you are being blocked from contacting the landlord, I would also walk away. You are entitled to their contact details - although this may not be until you've actually signed up. But if the agent is awkward at this point (when they are in line to make money) you are up for a world of trouble.

hope the landlord finds out because he/she is also paying for this.

specialsubject, they are no blocking me to speak to the landlord as such, but as it is a managed let it all goes through the agent.

so why not ask to speak to the landlord?