How Accurate Are Estate Agents Adverts?

I’ve rented loads. Pretty much every single year since I was 18 I’ve rented a different house or flat, and this year is no different. This weekend I’ll be moving from my town-based terrace house, to a flat in a pleasant village about 10 miles away. The experience this time has not been a pleasant one – mainly because of problems with the estate agent’s advertising.

(Yes, I used an estate agent. I didn’t want to, but the flat I liked was only available through them )

The flat was advertised as furnished or unfurnished, ‘landlord is flexible’, so when I went to view the property I explained I had all my own furniture and would require it unfurnished. The agent said that was absolutely fine, and I made an offer.

Almost a week (!) later the agent came back and said the landlord would actually prefer to leave the flat furnished. In fact, they wouldn’t remove any furniture at all.

So, why was it advertised as unfurnished?

My own tale of woe isn’t the only one. I was reading today about the plight of a Londoner trying to rent a flat through an agent. The rent was advertised as £435/month, and they got as far as putting a deposit down before the agents called back and said the landlord actually wanted £450/month, and they’d just put the wrong number on the advert.

Now, I’m not sure how legal that situation is, but the fact is that estate agents appear to say whatever they must to get a tenant signed up. I wonder just how many adverts don’t actually tell you what the landlord’s terms really are. Of course, introducing a middleman can be like Chinese Whispers anyway, so can you really trust your agent to tell you the truth?