This is a question to the blog clinic from Leighanne who is a tenant.
For the past 4 years, we’ve been renting a house through a Letting Agency. It was in need of repair, but the letting agent said all the work would be done within a year.
They haven’t kept their word at all. We’ve had years of excuses, lies and nobody showing up for repairs after taking time off work to wait in all day. It’s now 4yrs later and all we get is them saying that they can’t authorise any works without the approval and money from the landlady.
I don’t trust the Letting Agency anymore, but they will only provide the landlady’s name so we can’t contact her to check who is actually stopping repairs from happening. Do we actually have any legal right to have our landlady’s address details?
Answer
It looks as if the letting agents have been less than straightforward with you, but the lack of repairs may not actually be their fault.
A letting agent is the landlord’s representative. They are not the owners of the property and are not themselves personally responsible under the law for keeping the property in repair.
That is the landlord’s responsibility. Often letting agents, as the landlord’s representative, will deal with getting repairs arranged, but obviously, if they have not been put in funds by the landlord, they can’t do this.
Getting the landlord’s details
You are entitled to be told the name and address of your landlord. Your right to do this is under section 1 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 which I wrote about here.
So you need to send a letter to the agents. Tell them that your letter is sent pursuant to section 1 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 and that you request them to provide you with your landlord’s full name and address within 21 days.
In my previous article I talk about the difficulty of enforcing this right, but since that article was written, new rules have come into force requiring agents to belong to a Property Redress Scheme (which is a type of Ombudsman scheme for letting agents).
So if your agents fail to provide the landlord’s details, a claim to the Property Redress Scheme is an easier and better course of action to take.
Bringing a claim using the Property Redress Scheme
Most agents will want to avoid a Property Redress Scheme complaint so I suspect these agents will provide the details. However, if they don’t, proceed as follows.
Your agents should state who their Property Redress Scheme is on their website, headed paper and emails. All the Property Redress Schemes will have information on their websites telling you what you should do if you want to bring a complaint, so once you know which scheme they are using, check this out.
If you do bring a claim against their Property Redress Scheme, you can also complain about the fact that repair works have been promised and not done. Although it is not the agent’s fault if they have not been put in funds, they should not have misled you or caused you to take time off work to stay in for repairmen who were never going to arrive. So you may be entitled to claim compensation for this.
If the agents are not a member of a Property Redress Scheme, then this is illegal and you should notify your local Trading Standards Office.
Ben Reeve-Lewis says
April 24, 2017 at 9:02 AMIf Leigh Anne intends to take action against the landlord for disrepair there is also section 7 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 for which there is a fine for non compliance plus the agent must provide the name and address ‘Forthwith’ not in 21 days. The wording is
7 Service of Notices.
(1)If for the purpose of any proceedings (whether civil or criminal) brought or intended to be brought under this Act, any person serves upon—
(a)any agent of the landlord named as such in the rent book or other similar document, or
(b)the person who receives the rent of the dwelling,
a notice in writing requiring the agent or other person to disclose to him the full name and place of abode or place of business of the landlord, that agent or other person shall forthwith comply with the notice.
Romain says
April 25, 2017 at 7:46 AMBen, is the legal action considered here brought under the Protection from Eviction Act?
Section 7 specifically applies only for actions under the Act.
Ben Reeve-Lewis says
April 25, 2017 at 8:20 AMYes but note ‘Civil or criminal’. I’m not saying it is specifically relevant in Leigh Anne’s case, there isnt enough info in the question, just pointing out the other routes to a landlord’s details. Below, Laura suggests land reg, which would be my first port of call as well, although the owners address is often given as the mortgaged address but at least she would a name which might throw up an address on 192.com or similar with an address for an extra £2 I recall.
Failing that contact the landlord using the agent’s s48 address, presuming this is what has been given threatening court action under s11 LTA 85, you would expect them to pass it on but I have to say, with the kinds of agents I work with they would probably just bin it. Depends whether or not you are just dealing with incompetents or serious committed criminal/fraudsters, he ones I work with
Romain says
April 25, 2017 at 11:21 AMYes, civil or criminal but under the Act.
That would mean harassment of the occupier, not disrepair per se.
Laura says
April 24, 2017 at 1:16 PMLeighanne could also do a Land Registry search for £3 which may provide the owner’s contact address.
https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry
john smith says
April 24, 2017 at 3:18 PMI thought you could withhold rent till they provide you with the information?
Tessa Shepperson says
April 24, 2017 at 5:42 PMThat’s s48 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1987 – where landlords have to provide an address for service in England & Wales.
But the address for service does not have to be the landlord’s contact address – it can be (and often is) the agent’s address.
Colin Lunt says
April 25, 2017 at 11:19 AMS 47 of the 1987 Act requires a landlords address to be included in any demand for rent (the address is defined as the actual address, not an address for service) Sorry cannot locate the actual reference-definition. It was in a footnote in the Encyclo of Housing Law)
I have successfully defended rent arrears claims on that basis.
The rent becomes due once the information is provided
Tessa Shepperson says
April 25, 2017 at 11:23 AMI think that is the case for commercial lets, but my understanding is that with private tenancies (eg ASTs) the landlord’s right to rent does not depend on a formal demand having been made on a monthly (or whatever) basis.
Colin Lunt says
April 25, 2017 at 2:26 PMPerhaps the DJs were just dazzled by my presentation at court!
Colin Lunt says
April 25, 2017 at 2:34 PMSection 48 that you referred to above is contained in Part V1 of the Act.
S46 provides the definition of the tenancies to which Partv V1 applies. S47 & 48 are both covered by the same definiton
KTC says
April 26, 2017 at 12:42 PMThe reply in this blog does assume that the tenancy is not actually a rent-to-rent where the “Letting Agent” is legally the landlord, and is just using “The Landlord” when they mean the Superior Landlord as an excuse with many tenant non the wiser.
Paul says
April 28, 2017 at 10:17 AMJust to note I think it’s local housing authorities (district councils) that are responsible for enforcing redress scheme requirements, not trading standards.
Tessa Shepperson says
April 28, 2017 at 10:33 AMYou may well be right, but hopefully the trading standards people will be able to point them in the right direction anyway, if they are not the ones.
I have always found trading standards officers to be really helpful.