1 Topic by Sam

  • Sam
  • Unregistered poster

Topic: legal action against letting agency

My wife and I have been putting up with a noisy neighbour for two years now and some of the experiences on here are very familiar to us, like recording and recording and recording the noise with no consequences for the neighbour.  I was thinking of putting pressure on the letting agency who let the house out to her because they are under an obligation to make sure she is not a nuisance to her neighbours.  This is part of her contract (in fact any shorthold tennancy agreement, which the vast majority of letting agencies prefer), so I thought maybe suing the letting agency for the anxiety which her behaviour is causing my wife, my six month old daughter and myself.  I was wondering if anybody has explored this option before with any success?

Quote Post 1

  • Registered: 13 January 2011
  • Posts: 142

Re: legal action against letting agency

I'd also be very interested in this.  If tenants are breaching their contracts, is it only the landlord's best interests that the agent is protecting with the contract?  I guess what I'm saying is that there must be some kind of recrimination against agent/landlord for them to put such a clause in?

Quote Post 2

  • Registered: 20 December 2010
  • Posts: 277

Re: legal action against letting agency

This is also something I will look into if the Housing Association who's tenant is making my life hell keeps dragging their heels.

Quote Post 3

4 Reply by dontknowwhattodo

  • dontknowwhattodo
  • Unregistered poster

Re: legal action against letting agency

I have looked into this and it is very expensive just to get the legal advice but if you have plenty of independent witnesses who are prepared to offer witness statements that can be used in court and thus will be open to public view, then it would be well worth it. Nearly always it is someone else's word against yours, and the letting agent has to be "fair" to all sides.

Quote Post 4

  • Registered: 14 January 2011
  • Posts: 26

Re: legal action against letting agency

i have had the same problem sam for the last 2 years and , like you say no amount of recording or diary entries seems to make the authorities take any action. i went to Shelter for help. i did not realise they can assist you as i thought their only concern was working for the homeless. in fact they are quite active in their fight against anti-social tenants and landlords who ignore it. just call the national number for Shelter and get your local area office. i had a meeting and they are now assisting me with  a civil claim against my neighbour. i am on low income so i may get particial funding. hope this helps

Quote Post 5

  • Registered: 16 November 2010
  • Posts: 3,787

Re: legal action against letting agency

Rachel,

Many thanks for information about SHELTER.

Please let us know how it goes.

I confess I'm truly confused having read your other post, an abatement order that in effect is'int.

Sending you a huge hug  xx

Quote Post 6

  • Registered: 28 April 2011
  • Posts: 3

Re: legal action against letting agency

I have looked into this possibility (BUT NOTE THIS IS SPECIFIC TO MY SITUATION AND IS NOT ADVICE)...

Background:
- I am a leaseholder, noisy neighbours are tenants of the HA
- There is a term in my lease that I cannot do anything to "annoy, disturb" etc any other people in the vicinity
- The same term is in the tentants' tenancy agreement
- My landlord is required under our lease to take legal action against tenants who are breaching similar terms to those in my lease, provided I provide security for costs and provided it is reasonable
- I have asked the landlord to take action, they have refused

The reason such a term is there is that there is no way for me to directly sue a neighbour for such a breach*.  The problem here is that I would need to sue the landlord for breach of my lease for failing to take action against the tenant (or perhaps a common law claim for interference with quiet enjoyment - judges in several cases have suggested this should have been the course where claims in nuisance against the landlord failed).  If I win, the court will not likely force the landlord to take action (that is an equitable remedy and it is difficult to obtain a mandatory injunction to force them to do something).  Damages are not likely appropriate (difficult to quantify the value of my chances that the landlord would have won against the tenant), so perhaps an injunction granting me subrogation rights (so I can step into the Landlord's shoes and sue the tenants) would be possible.

The landlord is claiming it is not reasonable because no statutory nuisance has yet been proven.  However, the standards applying to statutory nuisance are much lower than annoyance - there is a useful LEASE Tribunal case summarising the court case law (which I will post when I find it).  On this basis, I think there is a reasonable case against my neighbours so the landlord is in breach.

Anyway, I am planning this action against my landlord, as well as a defamation action and a harassment action against my neighbour.  But before all this kicks off, I need to get my sound-proofing sorted!

*I need privity of contract.  You can't sue someone unless you have a contractual relationship with rights against them.  This is why standing for legal action against neighbours is usually grounded in statute or tort law.

Quote Post 7

8 Reply by Jules

  • Jules
  • Unregistered poster

Re: legal action against letting agency

I been in contact with my local council who came out a couple of times and the neighbours in the flat above stopped for a few months, think that was more to do with me offering to "fix" there stereo than what the council did.

Have now emailed the property management company who manages the flats to see if I can get a name and address for the landlords and am going to write directly to them, if this has no effect will be getting in touch with a solicitor to see if they can sort anything out.

Have read some of these posts and found them quite usefull, will let you know how effective this has been...watch this space.

Quote Post 8