Q:Hi,
My boyfriend and I are looking to rent a house and mentioned this to a work colleague the other day. She is having trouble selling her house and was contemplating letting it out instead as she is moving away. She joked about renting it to us and we laughed along, but the more we thought about it the better it sounded, as we could come to an agreement without agencies which would be better for all of us. We then told her and she said it sounded like a great idea, and she was going to speak to her partner about it. However, she then came back the next day and said that they's signed to a letting agency before we properly registered interest (about 2-3 days ago) and they were stuck in the contract so we would have to go thru the agency if we wanted to rent it.
The more I think about this, the stranger it seems…surely they must have a 'cooling off' period where they can back out of the contract? Otherwise what would people do when they genuinely decide not to move house? I know that when selling a house you can get out of the contract quite easily. I don't think that she's just using it as an excuse, but I don't want to keep pushing it and asking her about it as I don't want to appear rude or nosey.
My question is…is the situation really as bad as it seems? Is it legal for letting agencies to lock someone into a contract like that? Please could someone help asap as this may be a time-sensitive situation (if there is a way out of it)

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A:The more I think about this, the stranger it seems…surely they must have a 'cooling off' period where they can back out of the contract?

I think the simple answer is "no". You are supposed to do your "cooling off" by thinking about it, before you commit to the LA's agreement. Once signed, you can then only back out on the terms specified in the agreement.

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A:The letting agency agreement is similar to an estate agents contract in that there is often a clause involved that says if the property is let/sold even outside of the agency then the agency is entitled to their fee – usually because of the fact that a person may have seen a board, advertisement, etc paid for by the agent that first highlighted the fact the property was for sale/rent and so brought the renter/buyer together with the owner although not necessarily through the LA/EA themselves.

The lock in period will have an expiry date, perhaps a month or so after the agent is instructed to remove the property from their books.

As commission is only paid on a completed let/sale then if the property is withdrawn, no fee is applicable.

What your work colleage is basically saying is that as they will end up paying the LA even if they arrange the let privately with you, they may as well make the LA do some work for the money. (and benefit from their skills & expertise at the same time. perhaps)

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A:LAs work in mysterious ways, and some of their contracts can indeed be on the onerous side , until someone challenges them as being unfair.

However, and please don't take this the wrong way, most LLs try to operate under the broad rule "never let to friends" if they want a relatively easy life. It maybe that they would prefer to keep things on a wholly separate footing, given that the two of you are working together, and this couple find it easier to blame the contract/LA than to say this to you and risk causing offence. :smiley:

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