Reclaiming letting fee

Our Experts Answer:

It sounds like the agent in the agreement with you was hired to arrange a casual let and that the landlord intended to manage the property. You haven’t said what type of agent announced that the landlord was putting the house on the market. But I assume it was a real estate sales agent. You can ask the landlord for verification, because the landlord must advise a tenant in writing as soon as a property is placed on the market for sale.

Regarding the letting fee paid to the first agent: That fee was charged for the service provided by that agent in signing up the tenancy agreement with you. Accordingly, the service was provided, and so the fee is non-refundable. However, if you can establish that the landlord intended all along to sell the property, you may have a case for claiming from the landlord for not letting you know of his intentions at the time you signed the tenancy agreement. A landlord must let a prospective tenant know if the property is on the market at the time of letting.