I am not all that clued up with landlord law’s and tennants laws etc however I can tell you that more and more repossessions, evictions and foreclosures are happening in the UK and I think its to do the with UK / USA (world?) credit crunch?

I also think its only going to get worse…

As it stands, the tenant would have a clear claim against the landlord (derogation of grant, breach of quiet enjoyment, and other breach of contract issues). But unless the agents’ position is changed – and I suspect it would require legislation – they are just that – the landlord’s agents, acting on his behalf. Certainly, the agents are acting irresponsibly (at best) by any real world measure, but there is no contractual relationship with the tenant and I’m not sure where one would find a duty of care either.

Having said that, I wonder if the contract between the landlord and the agent could be used in a Rights of Third Parties way? Would depend on the contract of course, which could be hard to get hold of.

Or, in a related way, had the agents had acted properly in entering into a contract with the landlord when they knew or ought to have know that the landlord’s representations were not accurate? Hmm, not sure where that would go, and it is too late now to think about it…