By
Liam Embleton, Negotiator at Edward Ashdale
"I’ve
recently started working as a Negotiator for Edward Ashdale. My first
role in the lettings industry.
"After
an initial period of training I was out conducting viewings, a
process of filtering the good applicants from the bad. My first
successful let was a three bedroom ground floor flat in Shortlands
and it didn’t go as smoothly as I expected it to. Apparently, not
even the Lettings Manager had experienced anything like it before.
Problems occurred through the process of moving tenants on the
planned date.
"On
Friday 18th September, I had organised two very good applicants, Pawel and
Lukasz, an early afternoon appointment to show them around the property. They both
work for a large company in the local area and were looking to rent
a flat in the Bromley area. Pawel and Lukas showed immediate interest
as this flat was exactly what they were looking for. The flat was empty at
this time as the Landlord had vacated. We had in fact managed the
property two years ago, so the Landlord was no stranger to us and the
process. The property was available to be moved into as soon as possible,
which was ideal for Pawel and Lukasz as they needed to be out of
their current property within two weeks. They requested permission
from the owner to redecorate in the same colours as they planned to
remain long term.
"Everything was agreed and a reservation deposit was
paid by the tenants. I confirmed with the Landlord the property was
now let on the terms agreed and proceeded to carry out the
referencing process. The landlord confirmed he was happy to take on
these tenants and was looking forward to them occupying the property
in two weeks. The proposed tenants were excited and the date for
occupation was set with a date of Friday 2nd
October which was perfect for all as they needed to be out of their
current property that they were renting by that date.
"During the week
coming up to Friday 2nd, I had no
contact with the landlord despite my attempts to make contact. I
couldn’t get hold of him: he was not responding to any of my calls
or e-mails. I had to apologise to Pawel and Lukasz, explaining that despite
having signed contracts returned from the Landlord-client, he had not
authorized the references we had obtained, despite them being
rendered ‘good’ and ‘acceptable for the tenancy’. They were not able to collect the keys on the Friday 2nd, as we
had no response from the landlord.
"When
I finally got contact from the landlord three days after the agreed
move in date, he said that his wife had changed her mind on the
proposed tenants and that he now no longer agreed with them moving
in. Pawel and Lukasz was not happy with this late decision, not to
mention the grief they were having from their existing Landlord. They
were telling me they were about to be homeless because new tenants
were pressing to move in their own property.
"My manager in the office
became involved and tried to learn from the owner what the delay was
or if there were any concerns. Luckily, later on that day the landlord
phoned again and told us he had had a further discussion with his wife
and agreed to the tenants moving in.
The
new date for occupation was Saturday 10th
October, which was going to be a definite! I had to politely speak to
Pawel and Lukasz and explain to them the reasons why we had to change
the date.
"During
that week I made sure everything was prepared, including organizing
the inventory and gas safety testing. I could not believe it when
we received a telephone call from the gas engineer advising there was
no seal on the oven door and no chain on the gas cooking appliance,
so he had to fail the gas check. I immediately conveyed this to the
Landlord, who refused to accept the gas check had failed and assured
me there was nothing wrong with the appliance. We obtained quotes for
supplying and fitting a new gas cooker and oven appliance, but the
Landlord refused. This ran into a few days, with the tenant
continuously chasing to find out what was going on and the Landlord reluctant
to do anything. He wanted a second opinion and the same result was
found. This meant the tenants were not allowed to move in the next
day until the landlord had replaced the cooker, which ultimately
delayed the move in date once again by another three days. This
caused big problems for Pawel and Lukasz and there was nothing I
could do but apologise for the inconvenience of being delayed once
again. The Landlord finally conceded after reading the gas engineer’s
reports, but decided he wanted to arrange the new appliance, which he
did through a local store who were offering an installation deal too,
ensuring it met current regulations.
"Finally, on Tuesday 13thOctober, we finally got Pawel and Lukasz happily moved into the property with
all the problems solved. Yet the story didn’t finish there. The Landlord
contacted my Manager, saying he had been talking to his wife and
after everything that had happened, had decided not to let the property to the tenants.
They were going to sell the property instead!
"The Landlord had signed and returned his
contracts.
"All of the associated tenancy obligations were complete.
"The tenants had signed the Tenancy Agreement and here we were with a
Landlord saying we needed to tell them to move out. I was quite
amazed, but I was assured the Landlord could not get the tenants out.
It was a horrible feeling for me, after all my efforts. Fearing having
to tell the tenants and a possible legal battle, the Landlord
telephoned later in the day and apologized, saying it was his wife
and that he himself was quite happy to proceed!
"I’ve
been told to expect many more unusual experiences, which I suppose is
part of the job when you are dealing with people that have different
agendas."
You can view our earlier posts in our Index here.
