# Estate Agent has ceased trading. Does our contract still stand with the landlord?



## nayquo (May 10, 2018)

Hi all. 

We have been living in our rental accommodation for 2 months now. Our landlord speaks no English and we speak very very limited Spanish (we have just moved here), so our estate agent agreed for correspondence to go through him to make it easier for us all. 
We paid our rent to him and received a receipt each time. 
Yesterday, our landlord came round the house to tell us that the estate agent had withheld the rent from her for the last two months (we have evidence of paying and she is fine with that) and has ´run away´with the money. 
We have friends that can translate, so it won´t be a problem speaking with her. However, my question is this- what should we do in terms of our rental agreement that was set up by the estate agent? Obviously, we can´t get in contact with him. Does the contract still stand between us and the landlord? She is a reasonable lady and I have no reason to fear that we will be evicted, as they were just looking for a quiet couple to rent long term without hassle (which we are). I am just, of course, concerned about our right as tenants and our deposit. 

Any suggestions will be warmly appreciated!
Thanks in advance


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

nayquo said:


> Hi all.
> 
> We have been living in our rental accommodation for 2 months now. Our landlord speaks no English and we speak very very limited Spanish (we have just moved here), so our estate agent agreed for correspondence to go through him to make it easier for us all.
> We paid our rent to him and received a receipt each time.
> ...


Not a great start to your life in Spain eh?!


Firstly - who signed the contract?


Secondly - you need to go to the police & denounce the so-called agent.


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## nayquo (May 10, 2018)

It´s just a little hurdle I guess!

Myself and my partner signed as tenants and the landlord signed. I don´t believe the estate agent has any holding over it other than creating the contract.

Okay, thank you so much.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

nayquo said:


> It´s just a little hurdle I guess!
> 
> Myself and my partner signed as tenants and the landlord signed. I don´t believe the estate agent has any holding over it other than creating the contract.
> 
> Okay, thank you so much.


If the owner of the property signed, thn the contract stands.


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## Esmeralda Dizon (Jul 19, 2018)

xabiachica said:


> Not a great start to your life in Spain eh?!
> 
> 
> Firstly - who signed the contract?
> ...


What will they achieve for their time and efforts in going to the police & denounce the so-called agent?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Esmeralda Dizon said:


> What will they achieve for their time and efforts in going to the police & denounce the so-called agent?


The agent didn't pass the rent to the owners. 

So the owner & the OP should go to the police together to denounce her. It's a criminal matter, & the police need to be made aware of it, especially since in all likelihood they aren't the only landlord & tenants involved.


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## Esmeralda Dizon (Jul 19, 2018)

xabiachica said:


> The agent didn't pass the rent to the owners.
> 
> So the owner & the OP should go to the police together to denounce her. It's a criminal matter, & the police need to be made aware of it, especially since in all likelihood they aren't the only landlord & tenants involved.


Thank you for your kind explanation. I think this is a civil matter and not a criminal matter.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Esmeralda Dizon said:


> Thank you for your kind explanation. I think this is a civil matter and not a criminal matter.


It's theft.

Therefore a criminal matter.

Unfortunately it isn't unknown for this to happen, though I think rare.

There have been cases reported in the press of agents running many 1000s of euros of clients' money & going to jail.


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## cermignano (Feb 9, 2017)

Yes and they could just start up the same system all over the place. Please go to the police to denounce them


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## AngelEyes123 (Sep 9, 2018)

You will have to go to the police and ask if this is in fact a criminal matter or a civil matter. The law can differ from country to country. I doubt this would be a criminal matter in the UK, but of course we are in Spain. How do you know the agent has run away with the money? Maybe he has gone bankrupt, maybe died or in hospital or in police custody for something else. Plus the non payment of rent by the agent to the landlord is between them and not you. At this stage this is civil debt and not theft. It would only become theft if it was carried out on a grand scale and pre planned fraud. No one on this forum knows or has any evidence if that has occurred. Beware of Hilda Ogden advise and comments.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Contractually and legally it probably isn't so simple.

If the contract is between the OP and the landlord, why was the OP paying a third party?

How were the obligations of this third party regulated? I doubt very much that the OP was paying money to an estate agent without any kind of agreement in place. If that is the case and the agent has begun a process of bankruptcy, I wouldn't hold out much hope of recovering any of the money.

As far as the denuncia goes, I also doubt that it is a criminal offence, but there's no harm done by making a denuncia anyway. In fact if there is any insurance cover in place to cover the loss, the underwriter will probably not even accept a claim without a denuncia.


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## cermignano (Feb 9, 2017)

Also if it is a theft then police need to know as others may also be denouncing them or as I said before, they can go on doing it wherever if nobody reports them.
Denuncias were used all the time to snitch on neighbours during the old regime for very minor infractions and also trumped up baloney if you had fallen out


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