....because right now I could....and kick the cat.

We started renting a place back at the end of Feb 2015 and have had nothing but problems with the plumbing, electrics etc.
It was on a 2 year contract with a 12 month break clause which the landlord excerised last month, for us to be out at the end of feb 2016.

This was OK by us, we wanted to leavem and they wanted us out. So we rang the letting agent saying we want to leave, and would it be possible to be release at the end of Jan. They said (verbally....yes, I know) that this would be OK as the landlord wanted to move back in.

So we found a new place, with a moving date of the 9th jan, giving us a couple of weeks to get this place cleaned and handed back.

Paid the referencing fees etc this morning to get it going, only to get a call from the current agent (presumably after being prompted by the reference agency) informing us that no such conversation had taken place and we are liable for the extra month's rent.

Merry bloody Christmas....

So, unless the agent has a sudden recollection of what was agreed, don't move out completely and so stop the landlord either moving in or letting it again for (presumably) more money.

Well no. I'll somehow find another months rent, but I feel a bad case of being obstructive coming on.

Well no, I've always owned my property, but then again it's down to post code lottery & how you make choices. I have no idea of your circumstances full stop. I certainly don't want to come across as rude or smug & I realise that it's good to release steam on here, but in all honesty I have no knowledge of renting in your area.

Absolutey Steve. Maybe park a pikey van outside for 6 weeks...

It sounds as though you understand this will be difficult to prove as the agreement (to let you leave early) was made verbally. However, I wouldn’t let it lie and there are a couple of things you can do.

Do you know who you spoke to when you called them? If so I would visit their office and confront that member of staff face to face. It’s much more difficult for them to lie to you in person than over the phone.

For £3 you can search the land registry and find out who your landlord is and (most of the time) where they live, assuming you don’t already know. You can then have a look in the phone book (online nowadays) and see if they’re registered.

If I didn’t get a satisfactory response out of the agent I would have no hesitation in going to the landlord directly; your contract is with them, after all.

It’s very possible that the landlord is unaware of your request to leave early and I’d say it’s highly like that they’re unaware the agent incorrectly told you it was ok to leave early. I’d point this out to your landlord and explain to them that their agent has an assumed/apparent authority (IE. What they agree with you is the same as agreeing it directly with the landlord) and that it would be a shame if you had to pursue a claim for your costs if you had to pull out of letting the other property.

Perhaps you had a witness to the telephone conversation? Wife/partner/friend listening in on speakerphone. Perhaps.

If, at the end of the day, you get nowhere and they stick to their guns, then absolutely make it difficult for them in the final month.

You will probably be required under the terms of your tenancy to allow ‘reasonable access’ during the last 6 months of your tenancy. However, it is completely reasonable to demand to be present whenever anyone wants to visit the property and it wouldn’t be unreasonable if you were only available after, say, 7pm every other Sunday.

If they enter the property without your permission then they are trespassing and would be in breach of contract for not allowing you quiet enjoyment. You could probably also report them to the council under the Protection from Harassment Act (although unless they repeatedly did it they’d probably get nothing more than a telling off).

If the landlord or another tenant takes up occupation of the property before the end of your tenancy (Feb) then you could either demand the rent back for that period or sue them for unlawful eviction under the Protection from Eviction Act.

Unfortunaltey, they have all buggered off for the weekend, otherwise I was going to go in and have a word.

Plan is a very polite email to the guy involved setting out what I believe has happened, bcc'd to both the landlord, and the head office of the letting agent (to the splendidly titled lettings compliance department).

I think there is a clause in the contract regarding allowing access during the last 28 days of the contract, but I will demand that we are present during any access.

I've a pretty long list of jobs that need doing as well....that should be fun!

Ah and to top it all off, the agent have given a reference saying we paid the rent on time but we kept it in an unacceptable state.
First we've heard of it...

Make them prove it Steve.

Well we have asked why it was not mentioned in the art inspection,but they have sent it to the "new" letting agent alrwady.

It's insane,they want us out, but seem to be doing everything they can to prevent it...

Steve, man, you seem to be even unluckier and we are. I sympathise and hope you end up with the last laugh.

I just can't believe how mad it's turns out.

If we lose the one we are planning on moving to because of this there is going to be a riot!

I'd confront them in the office over this. If they haven't been happy with the way in which you've kept the house then why haven't they contacted you following their inspections to address the issue? The landlord is paying them to report the condition of the house to him so I'd get him involved too.

And remember, a section 21 notice is not a notice to quit. It is a notice of the landlord's intention to begin possession proceedings. You are under no obligation to leave until you have an order from a court (and, providing you continue to pay rent, you are not doing anything wrong by staying).

Oh there will be a confrontation on this. We had an infection at the back end of October and nothing was raised,and we have reams of emails about issues we have had with the place which has all been forwarded to the potential new agent who appears to e sympathetic. Hopefully they will give us the benefit of the doubt on this.

Otherwise if they won't give us the means to move out, then they will have to go to court!!

Well, I was up much of the night throwing up, which set me in a great frame of mind, but we went to see the letting agent this morning.

Apparently, he gave a negative reference, stating:

"The property has not been maintained in a suitable condition, and the tenants have caused damage to the property"

When challenged on what exactly the damage was, he referred us to an inspection report from the end of October.

This included such things as damage to the laminate floor - it went all rippled after we had a water pipe burst that pissed water all over the floor. This was reported at the time, obviously (as we really are good tenants you know!).

Bathroom door locks that tend to fall apart (Which the landlord has been to fix at least once).

A "slightly overgrown" section of the garden (Actually it was tomato plants).


Pretty sure there was nothing that we'd not previously reported to their maintenance team.

So, I've mailed this blokes boss, and (again) the complaints team at the parent company...


So we've lost the house we wanted to move to, and the reference fee paid.

Merry Bloody Christmas.....

lets hope 2016 brings you better luck !

Thanks Glenn.

We were hoping the see in 2016 in a 2 bed cottage with a massive garden with a stream at the bottom, with parking for 5 cars and a garage...but it seems it is not to be.

looking forward to when I have to move out and try and get my deposit back ! Luckily I have a good landlord , so fingers crossed. That place you described sounded lovely too, will have to be patient and see what happens next [ plenty more nice properties in the sea ! ] not literally lol. [ garage no1 priority eh !

A reference should be fair, accurate and not give a misleading overall impression. If they have fallen short of that and caused you loss, you have a decent legal claim.

Ali - isn't there a regulatory body for letting agents? Worth liaising with them, perhaps?

Assuming there’s no way to salvage the situation you should be able to get some/most of this back.

Even though I’m sure the application form you’ve sign will state that the fee is non-refundable if you pull out or fail referencing, they’ll struggle to make this stick if you pursue it. At best they’d be able to keep their reasonable costs, which shouldn’t amount to much.

I’d write to the agent requesting a refund of the fee you’ve paid stating your reasons. Let them know that you accept they can deduct reasonable costs incurred but also let them know that you won’t hesitate to pursue this via a redress scheme. If you do, they will often find in your favour.



Yes, as of October last year we all had to join one of 3 government approved redress schemes. More info here – Redress Schemes

You’ll need to exhaust the company’s internal complaints procedure before you go to The Ombudsman though, they won’t hear your case unless you’ve tried to allow the agent to resolve the issue first.

The cottage sounds lovely Steve and you should fight for it!

Can't you go and see the landlord of the cottage and explain how things are?

Offer him personal references and a bigger deposit if you have to.

I'm not sure how these things work, but I'd certainly be fighting my corner if I wanted that cottage and would be doing everything possible to get it.

Sounds shite Steve.

be careful with them saying that the property has been damaged or kept in a bad condition.

They could be paving the way to try and hang onto your initial deposit (if you paid one).

some letteing agents are nothing but theives acting with the law on their side.

Actually, more often than not the law is weighted in favour of the tenant.

Well, after a weekend of moving and a weekend of cleaning the old place, we are out of where we were and into the centre of Witney in a new-ish townhouse...with 75Mb internet (one of the benefits of being without 200 years of hamfaced cockwombles constituency offices..)

All we have to worry about now is the arguments about the last months rent and the deposit...and the formal complaint I have made with the letting agent (with has been acknowledged and now totally ignored)

But at least no-one is going to be stalking us, or recording us in the pub, or threatening to report us to the rozzers as being drug dealers.....

Closer to work as well.... 12 miles a day less commuting....I wonder if the saving in petrol could go into a new Coop fund......

Heartening to see you can now look on the bright side

Hope the remaining loose ends tie up satisfactorily.

Fancy a real laugh now... 7 weeks after moving out, they have come back with a schedule of works that they want to deduct from the deposit.





Get ready for this.....




and be prepared to laugh (otherwise I would scream).....




£ 14,349 and 39 pence.

Made up of:


Plastering Invoice £769.00
Bifold Doors (supply) £1,586.00
Bifold (install & disposal) £540.00
Replacement of Wardrobes £559.98
Gardening Invoice £255.68
Chimney Sweep £45.00
Invoice call outs during tenancy £205.00
Lightbulb replacements £520.01
Lightbulb replacements £59.97
Lightbulb replacements £104.89
Wooden flooring replacement £1,905.06
Whirlpool bath repair £295.00
Repairs to doors/flooring/skirting £4,050.00
Supply and replace bathroom floor £481.81
Call out during tenancy £240.00
Replacement of damaged fireplace (unable to repair) £350.99
Rental arrears £1,050.00

wow they really don't like you!

A distinct whiff of you at the wrong end of a shafting attempt.

Did you take any evidential photos before you left?

Yes....and the flooring was all there, and the bifold doors were firmly in place.

£600+ of lightbulbs is pretty good going too!

Has somebody switched an invoice in for renovation of another property?

Fccuk me Blackpool illuminations doesn't even cost that much to light up

I suggest you write them a letter if you haven't already

Send them another letter saying that you are willing to be reasonable and make a peace offering. However state if they are not willing to negotiate and mediate between you and the land lord you will issue proceedings with the small claims court.

If nothing happens then issue proceedings. They will probably bail out at that point.

However if they don't and you have a case against them then go the whole way.

Its great fun

I would advise this before they get in first and try and issue you with a bailiff order to collect the money.

I would take them to Court, as you have photographic evidence of the state of the place you left it in!
Do you have any photographs of the state it was in when you moved in?
Surely the onus is on them to prove you have done this damage not just bill you!

Also you can contest reasonable costs not inflated bull!
Sounds like they were going to do this to anybody you just got unlucky

Best of Luck

Shocking, Steve. Keep your cool and get the best, informed, advice that you can.
The extreme nature of the claim suggests to me that your ex-landlord has failed to remain calm and logical. Hopefully his undoing.

Steve, I am more than happy to offer my assistance with this if you want it. It’s what I do for a living.

PM me if you’d prefer.

Will pm the full story this evening if that's OK.

No problem at all.

And 6 months after we moved out we had a letter from a solicitor appointed by the landlords insurer demanding £13k!

Supported by a motley selection of cobbled together invoices, random credit card receipts and screenshot a from websites with prices on...


I was hoping they had given up and gone away....

Sound like you need some proper legal advice before this gets more out of hand. Did Ali manage to help you?

Yes ali gave me a hand in putting together a response to the letting agent and landlord.

I get the feeling we will be up before the beak at some point!

Civil matter, so it will go through the county court system.

Unfortunately you would be well advised to appoint your own qualified legal representation. Insurers will obviously have 13 thousand reasons to fight you.

Have you legal cost cover included in your household insurances?

Steve, I am wary about dipping in and out and advising without knowing all the facts, but the fact they are claiming over 10K is significant, it takes it out of the small claims court territory.

On balance, I suspect it will be better for you to get it back within small claims court, so think about whether there is anything they are arguing that has merit. If so, and paying it takes what they are arguing about below 10K, that may be the best tactic.

NB the issue is claims over 10K the normal rule is that the winning party gets their legal costs. Claims under 10K each side pays their own costs (you also may find small claims a more "amenable" jurisdiction for you to argue your case in).

We've got free legal advice cover through insurance, but only as far as a phone service, rather than covering representation etc.

They advised us to inform them that we do not feel we are liable for the money and explain in detail why.

Why isn't your landlord using the service through the deposit protection scheme?

Have they provided you with photos/video evidence of the damage? (with before/after)

The list of items they have given you looks like new for old and it feels like betterment, rather than fixing. (i.e. if the original wardrobes cost £500 and could be expected to last 5 years and you damage them on the fourth year then you wouldn't be expected to pay for the whole £500).

Dispute everything, stick to your original story regarding the last months deposit, threaten to sue the letting agent for defamation etc etc.

There is an awful lot of betterment going on.

I have also just discovered that the addendum to the check out inventory was raised by the landlord himself sending some pics and a moan in to the letting agent, rather than by the independant inspector...

And it was logged 2 weeks after the checkout!!