Renting a house - contract renewal fee?

impulce

We currently rent a house through an agency and every year our contract comes up for renewal. The agency charge us £50 + VAT every year to renew the contract, even though all it involves is printing and signing a new contract and changing the dates!

It says nothing in our contract about having to pay this fee, but we love the house and do not want to risk breaking any clauses and having to move out.

Are they legally able to charge this amount for doing nothing!?

BitterAndTwisted

Now you understand what the phrase "money for old rope" means.

If your landlord is happy for you to go onto a rolling periodic tenancy there is no need for a new fixed-term tenancy agreement. However, your landlord may be happier with the security of knowing you are legally tied for that fixed period, but if you don't ask you will never know

impulce

Thankyou for the response.
We would be too worried on a month to month basis if we had a rolling contract, and like the security of knowing we have another year of not holding our breaths, so will still be renewing the contract, but just wondered whether or not they could legally do this.

Colincbayley

impulce wrote: »

Thankyou for the response.
We would be too worried on a month to month basis if we had a rolling contract, and like the security of knowing we have another year of not holding our breaths, so will still be renewing the contract, but just wondered whether or not they could legally do this.

Legal - Yes
Fair - no

martynh99

We have rented the current property through an EA for the last 5 months and it was a 6 month initial contract.
Had a letter through the other day saying LL offering us a 12 month contract or we can write back saying what we would like - any renewal is £75+vat :mad: Surely all they need to do is a 1 pager saying extension to original contract ref:xxxx dated :dd/mm/yyyy runs from newdate to newenddate and get signatures off both parties.

Wouldn't mind so much but still not had a LL signed copy of the original and that cost me £75

Colincbayley

martynh99 wrote: »

We have rented the current property through an EA for the last 5 months and it was a 6 month initial contract.
Had a letter through the other day saying LL offering us a 12 month contract or we can write back saying what we would like - any renewal is £75+vat :mad: Surely all they need to do is a 1 pager saying extension to original contract ref:xxxx dated :dd/mm/yyyy runs from newdate to newenddate and get signatures off both parties.

Wouldn't mind so much but still not had a LL signed copy of the original and that cost me £75

They could issue a deed of variation to your original AST, but to be honest it is just as easy to print off a new AST.

Having run my own letting agents in the past, I can assure you it is really just a case of a couple of letters, perhaps a phone call, print an AST, bank the £75 quid. There is nothing to it.

( Should point out that I never used to charge such fees, because they are just a rip off. If any agent wanted to cover there costs then a tenner top whack if you ask me )