A landlord has won a Property Ombudsman complaint against a student letting agency after it was found to have signed a contract on his behalf and handed his property to a rent-to-rent company without his permission.
Kusal Ariyawansa, 50, from Manchester, owns a six-bedroom student house in multiple occupation (HMO) in Liverpool. A few years ago, he instructed lettings agency Student Haus, part of The Mistoria Group, to help manage the property.
But last August, Kusal, a financial adviser, said he realised he had not received an update about new students moving into the house and contacted Student Haus to ask what was happening.
Shorts
He then discovered the property had been handed to a third-party rent-to-rent company without his permission, in an arrangement that he says invalidated his insurance and left him exposed to significant risk.
