Letting agent keeps trying to charge me renewal fee!

paintpot

Ok, so what is the wording in the welcome letter regarding renewals and costs and did you sign this at all? Was the welcome letter given to you before or after you signed the tenancy agreement?

What I am trying to deduce is whether contractually there is anything to state that they will charge you £60 for a tenancy becoming periodic. If there isn't you don't have to pay irrespective of the change in agents. A contract cannot be varied unilaterally so even if the new agents charge £60, if you didn't agree to such terms they cannot enforce them.

monkeymaster

poppy10 wrote: »

Yes, No and Yes.


Contract does not mention renewal fees in any way, although in the welcome letter accompanying the contract it stated that there would be a renewal charge if I wanted to extend the tenancy agreement after the fixed term.

This is the term in the contract:

Ignore it. My LA agents tried to do the same thing. After an AST expires you automatically transfer onto a rolling contract whereby LL has to give you 2 months notice and you have to give 1 month. This is written in law and no T&C's the LA set out can alter this. If it's only in the welcome letter and not the contract you won't have even signed it anyway.

Incisor

poppy10 wrote: »

A complicating factor is that my original LA was taken over by a rival estate agent around 6 months ago, so they may have different contracts and procedures to my original LA.

They may, but there is no way that would apply to you. A contract is an agreement, remember, and there is no way you would have agreed with the new agent's standard contract.

guppy

paintpot wrote: »

What I am trying to deduce is whether contractually there is anything to state that they will charge you £60 for a tenancy becoming periodic.

You can't charge someone for something that happens automatically by law. Its like me charging you for not stealing your car!

Maybe they can ask for the money legally, but there is obligation to pay it.

poppy10_2

paintpot wrote: »

Ok, so what is the wording in the welcome letter regarding renewals and costs and did you sign this at all? Was the welcome letter given to you before or after you signed the tenancy agreement?

Actually, on checking, there as no such letter from my original LA. In fact, their welcome letter explicitly states that the AST will automatically become a periodic tenancy unless it is terminated by myself or the LL, and does not mention renewal fees at all. It also states that under such a periodic tenancy, I would be required to give one month's notice (not two).

I got mixed up with the letter I recieved from the new LA after they took over, which asked me to contact them before the AST term ended, to either hand in my notice or extend the lease, in which case the £60 fee would apply. I phoned them and said I didn't want to extend the lease or hand in my notice, just go on to a rolling contract. Now 5 months later, they have sent me the invoice for the" administrative fee for extension of contractual periodic tenancy."

I'm pretty sure now that I don't have to pay this, but I am concerned that they will start adding fees and late payment charges if I simply ignore the invoice, and I don't know the relevant legislation or legalese to quote if I want to challenge the invoice in writing.

tbs624

Poppy - I would simply write and thank them for their letter of (date) and say that the agreement has now become a Periodic Agreement, in line with the terms offered to you when your tenancy was originally arranged through LA no 1: that you have written confirmation that this is what would happen unless either party had terminated the contract and that the required notice periods are the standard ones of 1 month on the tenant's part , 2 months on the LLs.

Say that there as is no mention of a fee within either your contract or the accompanying letter, it must be an administrative error on their part and that you are therefore returning their invoice to them.Send a copy to the LL at whichever address you have for her/him. LLs don't want to lose good tenants and s/he will probably be totally unaware of what the LA is trying to do in her name.

If it's a largish LA it can either be that they are simply trying it on or that they simply lack the ability to check out each tenancy properly.

Many of these letters are simply software-generated on programmed dates and the staff are often incapable of altering their set up to discount any tenancies to which the generic rule may not apply. The office big boy or girl who signs it couldn't care less because most tenants will just think that they must pay anyway.

Quick call to Shelter to check it out? If you don't talk to them beforehand, then when you've sorted it out please consider taking the time to let Shelter know about your personal experience of LA admin fees (plus the Housing Minister Caroline Flint) because LAs practices over their fees need to be regulated: the private sector review is currently taking place so now is a good time to highlight this.

poppysarah

poppy10 wrote: »

But they say the charge is for going onto a periodic tenancy.

Also, I can't contact the LL directly, as the address on my contract is for a social club, rather than his home address.

I think he's on well dodgy ground asking for that. Your tenancy rolls into one if you do nothing so why should you pay.

For your peace of mind ring shelter and ask them.

You could also let the housing section (private rented) know that you're being harrassed.

You should have a proper address I think. Also ask shelter.

Seriously do not worry about this bit of paper.

barnaby-bear

poppysarah wrote: »

I think he's on well dodgy ground asking for that. Your tenancy rolls into one if you do nothing so why should you pay.

For your peace of mind ring shelter and ask them.

You could also let the housing section (private rented) know that you're being harrassed.

You should have a proper address I think. Also ask shelter.

Seriously do not worry about this bit of paper.

Unless he's the caretaker and lives there or owns it - his social club is not a servable address for court papers, LLs legally have to provide such a UK address....
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/landlord's_address.htm

oooh have you pointed out to the LA that rent isn't lawfully due.... :rotfl: Request his contact details in writing, if you don't do this and you have a problem it's hard to seek redress via the courts without a servable address....

Section 48 Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 - requires that the tenant must be given an address in England where notices can be served on the landlord ? the address does not have to be that of the landlord. Rent is not lawfully due until this is complied with.

barnaby-bear

poppy10 wrote: »

I'm pretty sure now that I don't have to pay this, but I am concerned that they will start adding fees and late payment charges if I simply ignore the invoice, and I don't know the relevant legislation or legalese to quote if I want to challenge the invoice in writing.

You are in the right - there is no new contract and no administration. The LA is employed by the LL if they want some money they can charge their client.

tbs624

poppysarah wrote: »

......You could also let the housing section (private rented) know that you're being harrassed......

Harrassed? ??

Being phoned to see if you want to continue a tenancy and then being sent an invoice from a LA really doesn't come under that heading.

If the LA sent two big ugly brutes round to "ask" for their money then you'd have a point, but from what the OP has said here I think you're being a tad melodramatic.