Who to complain to about letting agent/management company?

eth0_

Rented a house recently which seemed great until we moved in and discovered a few things wrong - namely the heating system has something dangerously wrong, the toilet in the en suite doesn't flush and the shower there only trickles. Windows don't close properly and could easily be opened with a crow bar from outside. Alarm code has still not been provided 5 weeks after moving in. Neither has the lease been returned to us with landlords sig on it.

So as soon as we discovered these problems we contacted the letting agent who are also a management company. No problem they said, we'll get a plumber out tomorrow. Well, he replaced the timer on the boiler, but it didn't fix it and he didn't fix the other plumbing problems. Despite numerous phone calls, he hasn't been back and the other issues haven't been addressed.

Rang them a few days ago to be told the girl who was dealing with us has 'left the company'. Was told we'd receive a call back later that day with arrangements for workmen to come out and fix the problems. No phone call. Have called them twice since and our calls are not returned. It's getting really ridiculous now considering how easily this house could be broken into.

I'm going to write a strong letter to the manager of this place, but is there any other regulatory body I can complain to?

Agent J

About the management company itself?

Check its myself a while back. They are looking at setting one up but currently there isnt a body that covers it.

You could try seeing if they are a memeber of a another group like IPAV or try complaining to the consumer authority.

antoinolachtnai

Why don't you complain to your landlord?

The_Conductor

antoinolachtnai wrote:

Why don't you complain to your landlord?

Yes- the problems are all problems inside the flat itself, and are all things that would normally be sorted by the landlord, not the management company. It could very well be that the landlord is not aware of these problems at all. Contact the landlord directly.

eth0_

It's not the landlord's direct responsibility, the management company deal with everything on his behalf.

besides, we haven't received the lease back from the landlord so we only have his name. We did speak to the manager of the management company who has assured us he will have everything sorted out next week. The girl we were dealing with has been let go, apparently

antoinolachtnai

I still think you should put the landlord on notice that this is all happening. I would track him/her down if I were you.

Remember, the landlord is renting you the apartment, not the management company. The landlord is paying for the management service, not you. You have very few grounds to complain about the management company, because you don't have any direct legal relationship with them.

I assume they are registered as an auctioneer/estate agent. If they are, you could approach the local garda superintendent, who is responsible for assessing renewal applications for auctioneer's licences. Unless you have been ripped off for thousands of euros though, I don't recommend this route.