A Dunfermline property lawyer has stepped in to help landlords left high and dry by troubled letting firm Clear Lets.
Michael Maloco, a senior partner at Maloco and Associates, is representing 36 landlords who have been left out of pocket after the Kirkcaldy firm shut up shop earlier this month with no forwarding address.
Mr Maloco has pledged to do all he can to help landlords recover money owed to them.
He said: “The reason I got involved is I didn’t think it was right to take on new landlord clients without offering some advice and support for what Clear Lets had put them through.”
The Courier reported recently that one woman from Kirkcaldy had not received payment from Clear Lets for more than four months, while Dunfermline tenant Sharon Elliot paid the company £4,500 for six months’ rent when she moved in to her home in November, but her landlord had not received any payments since December.
Another landlord contacted The Courier to say he had received an email from a former Clear Lets employee telling him the company stopped trading because of “serious cash flow problems.”
The email said staff had been issued with their P45s in January and were informed the portfolio had been sold to an Edinburgh company.
This website has also received numerous comments from tenants who say they have been left hundreds of pounds out of pocket.
Because of the huge volume of complaints, Fife Police has opened an inquiry into the matter and has taken statements from those affected.
The Courier understands the Clear Lets office, based in Whytescauseway, was a franchise of the Clear Group owned by Tahar Ali. Mr Ali cannot be contacted, but the Companies House website states Clear Lets Ltd has “dissolved”.
Mr Maloco said: “We are keen to ensure no stone is left unturned so we can establish whether or not there is any prospect of success for the landlords affected.
“As a businessman I appreciate that sometimes businesses can fail, and if there were genuine reasons given for this then I would offer my sympathies, but the way these landlords have been treated is unacceptable.
“Not only have rental payments gone missing, but deposits too. The law requires letting agencies to keep deposits in separate accounts, but it appears this has not been done.
“If Clear Lets were trading while knowing they were insolvent they have opened themselves up to personal claims as under the Insolvency Act you cannot do this.
“At the very least their clients should have been paid the deposits, but they have not, which means they will have to find that deposit and pay it back to their tenants themselves.”
Mr Maloco urged any concerned landlords who have lost money to Clear Lets to get in touch with him.
“Any aggrieved landlord is welcome to get in touch with me directly on 01383 629726 and we will do all we can to help. We would also urge landlords to ensure their tenants cancel all direct debits with Clear Lets if they have not already done so.”
Mr Maloco said he hopes to have concluded his investigations in the next few days.