Flat sharers Rachel Halle and Lena Kożuch
(Picture: Handout)A pair of London renters agreed to put down more than £13,000 to secure a lease on a London flat – only to be informed two days later that the property suffered from serious condensation issues.
Rachel Halle and Lena Kożuch share a small flat in Palmers Green and wanted to find something bigger and with outside space.
They found a two-bedroom flat in Bromley by Bow and to secure it, offered to pay £1,700pcm, against an asking price of £1,650pcm.
Before signing a contract on June 15, the pair were told they would have to put down £1,700 for the first month’s rent plus a security deposit of £2,125, equalling five weeks’ rent.
Halle, 34 who works freelance, was told she would need to pay 50 per cent of her rent upfront, adding another £9,350 to the bill.In total they put down £13,175.
“Looking back I feel quite silly,” said Halle, who raised her share of the money by delving into her savings, putting £3,000 on a credit card, and borrowing from her father.
Having signed the contract and paid the money, on June 17, they received an email from Abdul Azad, of London Move estate agents in Islington.
It read: “The property in the past has suffered condensation issues and the building management have requested that we inform all new tenants that the flat will need ventilating to ensure this does not return, they have also asked us to remind any tenants that the build in dehumidifiers must be kept on to ensure the air flow within the property.”
When challenged Mr Azad agreed they should have been told about the situation earlier, but claimed the dehumidifiers would be inexpensive to run.
When Halle and Kożuch, 29, informed the agent on June 21 they were not prepared to move into the flat, they were told that their money would not be released until a new tenant could be found and that they would be expected to cover the flat’s rent in the interim.
Homes & Property contacted Mr Azad who declined to comment. Shortly after he agreed to repay Rachel and Lena’s security deposit and the money arrived in their bank account, in full, shortly after.
In June the Government unveiled plans to increase protection for private renters like Rachel and Lena. The rental reform White Paper will include the establishment of a rental ombudsman to settle disputes between tenants and agents and landlords. It will also make it easier for tenants with pets to find homes.
