A rogue lettings agency which is no longer trading is to be featured in a TV documentary this evening on Channel 5.
The programme - Bad Tenants, Rogue Landlords - is a companion series to Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords, which has already had two series on Channel 5, featuring cases handled by tenant eviction company, Landlord Action.
In this evening’s opening episode of the new documentary series, English teacher Muhammad Rahman is seen in serious financial difficulty as his tenant refuses to pay rent for over four months.
However, the situation is made worse when Rahman finds out that his single tenant has been subletting rooms in his property, and the letting agency he uses - which has since ceased trading - was a rogue operator too.
“When you instruct a high street agent, you just assume they will do the job you are paying them for and act professionally and appropriately, but that was not the case and the whole situation ended up costing me the best part of £12,000” says Rahman.
According to Paul Shamplina, the founder of Landlord Action which again features in the new series, says: “Mr Rahman fell victim not just to a rogue letting agent, but also a rogue tenant, which made this case particularly distressing. With mounting rent arrears and a mortgage to pay, Muhammad and his family were forced to live in cramped conditions in one small room at his brother’s house along with his brother’s family, including four children, and take a second job to cover the costs.”
He continues: “This was part of an organised sub-letting gang, and when we discovered the sub-tenants hidden in a room upstairs during the High Court eviction, the atmosphere became particularly hostile. The police were called and the matter was dealt with, but I hope this scene acts as a reminder to landlords watching the show not to try and deal with situations like this without seeking professional help.”
The programme airs this evening at 8pm on Channel 5.
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When will landlords learn?? Why use an estate agency that doesn't belong to a reputable redress organisation, governing body? Would you use a travel agent that wasn't ATOL registered? NO you wouldn't. Although i am not privy to a lot of details of this case, but i bet your bottom dollar that this agent fees were a lot lower than most? Not affiliated to any governing body? Educate landlords is the only way!
When will rogue letting agents will learn? Honesty and transparency is the best policy in business.
It is not how much you charge to define who you are. It is what you can deliver in service.
There are lots of rogue letting agents are not on the list; they are lots of agents with Redress Scheme or Ombudsman are rogue and rude. If someone told you to educate clients, you should walk out immediately.
One thing i was taught when I started many moons ago was always be nice, honest and offer good customer service, that's why we get our landlords and tenants coming back to us when they need to let their property or find somewhere else.
Carterstones were renowned for this type of practice i have dealt with a number of landlords that have fallen victim to these organised sub-letting gangs via this agent.
This programme is nothing new; it happens more often than you think. It's just that only the extreme cases are exposed on TV.
I wonder if Channel 5 will do a programme on rogue eviction companies that charge a small fortune and cost the landlords thousands in legal fees because they served a section 8 and not a section 21.
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