Are all letting agents anything but total utter *****?

[Nibble]

I got "done" for cleaning services by a letting agent once.

In the small print of the contract they charge you a fee to clean the flat after you've left for the next people to move into it, taking it out of the deposit.

Except of course they don't clean the flat at all, but as you've moved out you never get to check.

You have a right to see receipts though.

 

[Nibble]

I have always got all my deposit back apart from a small charge for some water damage after defrosting the Freezer. You just need to let them know from the first time you walk into their office taht you know what you are doing. You can still be polite and friendly but always re check the inventory , take photos, get them to sign th ephotos. Know things like the fact that even if you rip their carpet or badly stain it they can only legally charge you for a percentage of the eventual cost of replacing the carpet. Just know what wear and tear actually is. You have to be clued up.

Also clean the place thoroughly before you leave and make good any damage before they get to charge you professional costs.

As long as you are smart t hey usually don't even try and do you over. Except Young Lee who are ****s.

 

[looney]

Probably not the best time to tell you that no tenant in the history on the English Property World ever got their full deposit back. It'll be like, 'Oh, this carpet, have you been walking on it? And did you open and close the curtains, seems to be undue wear and tear there. And has the SUN been shining on them?'

Pure criminals.

Only idiots dont get their deposits back. If you give a months notice just deduct it from the final rent. Thats what I used to do.



Oh and its illeagal to with hold a deposit I beleive.

 

[Les Biehn]

Where have you been hiding Looney?

 

[glasfryn]

answer to original question.........................YES.

 

[Giraffe]

Having formerly been a letting agent and currently a tenant I can argue from both sides.

I can honestly say that not once did I wilfully keep a deposit back from a tenant that i knew was due. If anything I used to get into plenty of barneys with my boss about the fact that I was so willing to give the full amount back.

The main problem is that Landlords get unbeleivable shitty about having to pay for anything that they think may be the tenants fault.

At the end of the day, the landlords are the agents clients and a stable base of landlords is crucial to their livelihoods. Therefore they try and do ANYTHING to keep them happy. I'm not saying I agree with it but it is a fact of life in any business. There will always be tenants if you have the right properties.

The other point is that tenants don't help themselves. The bad tenants ruin it for everyone as it makes the agents and landlords ultra cautious.

This probably just about sums it up. There are a lot of landlords out there who bully their letting agents into giving their tenant a hard time. Good agents, normally ARLA members will fight the tenants corner if they think they the landlord is wrong, and I know for a fact that Leaders and Michael Jones in Worthing will refuse to relet a property for a bad landlord.

However lots of agents will do whatever their landlord tells them to do because as stated they are the client, or at least the long term one.

The recent Tenant deposit scheme should have helped but it is not being policed carefully so generally only the bigger agents are following the rules properly. The smaller agents and landlords who don't market through an agent are generally avoiding this legislation.

The point someone made earlier is a good one though. If you are a good tenant you should not lose more than a minimum amount from your deposit. I rented two houses in the last five years and had just one deduction for not cleaning the cooker (which in fairness I hadn't in the whole time I had been there). The rest was fine and no problems.

There are lots of bad tenants who take the piss, lots of landlords who take the piss, and some very bad letting agents. However that doesn't make ALL letting agents ****s. The good ones do a good job and balance the differing needs of both landlord and tenant.