Admin Fees for renewing rental of flat

morticia1955 · 12 January 2011 at 3:56PM

Hi there...I hope someone can help me with this please.
I have been renting this flat for six months which is the minimum term. My rent is paid monthly by Direct Debit so is always paid and on time. I paid one month in advance and a £450 deposit plus £160 admin fees. My deposit is held with a Deposit company.
I got a phone call at work yesterday asking me to go to the office of Mark Nicholas Lettings to renew my contract. I was told there will be a fee of £40 for this. I was not told about this charge at the out-set and it is not in the T&C's.
I told them I am not wanting to pay this (or can afford) to pay this as they are not doing anything new for me. I am an exemplary tenant the flat is kept clean and tidy and my rent is paid.
After all my outgoings are paid I barely have enough to get by on and this charge is money I have not got.
I rang just now to say I have been looking into this charge and if I stay on in the property on a periodic 'let' I am not renewing a contract so I won't have to have them 'print out' another agreement. oh my word...the manager literally started screaming at me down the phone I was gobsmacked for want of a better word! She said we can charge 'what we like'....and asked if I am leaving the property I said no...I am waiting to be housed and I don't know when that will be but if i sign for another six months then get re-housed i will lose my deposit...she then shouted down the phone 'if you are refusing to pay this I will take this out of your deposit then'....
I advised her i will speak directly to my LL and she said they have an agreement with him that they can charge renewal fees if they want to.
I told her that her customer service skills were appalling as she was really screaming down the phone to me now..I hung up as I refuse to take this kind of abuse.
Can anyone tell me what my rights are? Do I have to leave now? Can I speak to the LL and ask to pay him directly? Or can I carry on paying my rent by DDebit and hope they don't kick me out until I get re-housed? So many questions I know, but this has really threw me...!!
I mentioned this website to her and she said 'I don't care what Martin Lewis has said on the bl***y telly we can charge this if we want'....I hadn't even mentioned the TV just that I was going to get advice from here....
Thank you in advance of any help.x

N79 · 12 January 2011 at 4:02PM

Clearly we don't have much of a fearsome reputation amongst the letting agents of this world ....... yet!

As you are aware, if you do nothing then a periodic tenancy will arise. In such a case they are unable to levy a charge (they can try but will have no means to enforce it) and your tenancy will continue on a month by month basis (assuming you pay rent monthly). Of course, this means that your LL can issue you with 2 months notice to leave.

Will they? If what you say about being a good T is true then it is unlikely that a rational LL would chose to evict over allowing a periodic tenancy to arise unless the agent accidentally on purpose mis-advises them in their quest for fees. To counter this, it would be a good idea to write to your LL explaining that you wish to stay on a periodic basis (and you can also complain about the agent). If you don't have the LL's address then you should write a letter to the agents asking them to provide the name and address of your LL as required under S1 of the LL and T act 1985. They have 21 days to provide the address and will presumably remind them that you mean business.

Is that enough reassurance?

CloudCuckooLand · 12 January 2011 at 4:05PM

Worth asking the deposit company what they would do if faced with the LA trying to take costs out of deposit upon departure ?

N79 · 12 January 2011 at 4:08PM

CloudCuckooLand wrote: »

Worth asking the deposit company what they would do if faced with the LA trying to take costs out of deposit upon departure ?

Unless they are totally incompetent then they will not allow charges which are not outlined in the tenancy agreement nor costs incurred in the management of the property other than those arising from a T's breach of contract.

A court would probably disallow a fee for a statutory periodic tenancy even if it does appear in the agreement (as an unfair term) but this would obviously depend on the mood of the judge!

morticia1955 · 12 January 2011 at 4:17PM

Wow..how quick was your reply...I am still shaking from her screaming at me! Thank you.

I am 55 and live on my own..I work long hours to pay my way and the flat is kept really clean and tidy the LA could inspect anytime it would not bother me.
What has bothered me is the way she screamed at me over the phone..I am so glad I didn't drive to their office now!!
I have my LL address on my agreement and as they live in Birmingham which is 80 miles from here, I am pretty sure they would rather have me in their flat than the last tenant who 'did a bunk' as the LA kindly informed me..probably breaking some law telling me that.....
Can she take her admin fee from my deposit when i do leave? I will need every penny of that to pay for moving. If she does that she will have got her money wouldn't she, although this is more about the charge for literally allowing me to keep on doing what I'm doing now? I feel a bit vulnerable now...maybe I should have just paid it but as with everyone else money is tight and I don't feel paying out £40 for admin that doesn't even include a new agreement is justified. I would have been driving to their offices as well which is quite a way off. I would have been ok about this had she not 'taken off' on the phone.
I work in customer services and I would have been walked out of my call centre if I spoke to a customer like that.

morticia1955 · 12 January 2011 at 4:21PM

Thanks for the replies folks.
I did tell her the further fees were never mentioned at the start of my contract and she said 'thats because we didn't know how long you were going to be in the flat for'....
However, surely this should have still been mentioned as I did say quite honestly I needed to rent until I am housed by the council or housing associations and that I had no idea how long it would be.

CloudCuckooLand · 12 January 2011 at 4:22PM

As N79 has confirmed my thought that the deposit company should not release anything unjustified from your deposit, I would ring the deposit scheme and ask if they can put that in writing/email...then send it to the LA and LL, as your understanding of the situation.

N79 · 12 January 2011 at 4:22PM

morticia1955 wrote: »

Can she take her admin fee from my deposit when i do leave?

If it is not mentioned in the tenancy agreement then, in a word, no (although there is nothing to stop her from trying, of course).

If there is a charge mentioned in the tenancy agreement for allowing a periodic tenancy to arise then matters are less clear cut but my opinion is that even with a charge in the agreement the answer is still no (as outlined above).

tomitma · 12 January 2011 at 4:30PM

The LA isnt allowed to to take this money from your deposit.

Besides you paying for the renewal, the landlord also has to pay a fee, I would think that he Landlord would far prefer to let the tenancy carry on, by becoming a rolling tenancy, rather than his having to pay a fee every 6 months as well as you.

morticia1955 · 12 January 2011 at 4:33PM

Hi Folks..

Just rang the Deposit Protection Scheme...they were so helpful.
The guy I spoke to told me the deposit will only be released after I have been notified of the amount in this case it is £450 and LA can't take any of it without my consent. If they try to do so, I can put the £40 into 'dispute' and an independant judiciary body will look at the reasons for the LA wanting this money from me..he said if my tenancy is out of the fixed term (is it) then a periodic tenancy means no further contract needs to be signed. So, no fees due as the LL is already shelling out for their 'services'..x

bazzaboo · 12 January 2011 at 6:45PM

Been in exactly the same situation as you. I called the LL and we agreed that I will stay on a periodic tenancy.
My LA were even craftier though and served me a S21 without even telling the LL then wrote to me that they're happy to renew for another 6 mths, just sign here and send a hefty fee. And if I don't sign and pay the S21 will be enforced and I would have to get out end of fixed term.

Admin Fees for renewing rental of flat

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