Paying for a new 12 month contract?

hayley11

My mum has just told me that a friend of hers has been sent a letter saying because she has lived in her house (private landlord) 12 months, she has to pay £80 to "roll over" to a new 12 month contract?

Can anybody shed any light on this? The letter has come from an estate agent not directly from the LL.

Thanks

rocket09

I dont think this is right we certinly did not pay this after 12 months.

Nixer

Some letting agents try to do this - it will be in her original contract somewhere that if a new contract is signed after the current one ends an admin fee of X is due.

You don't have to sign a new contract unless the landlord is insistent (and chances are he or she won't because he or she will get stung for a fee too). If no new one is signed you go into periodic tenancy, landlord must give 2 months notice to leave, tenants one. So I'd either ignore or tell them to get lost.

Nixer

BTW does anyone know whether landlord and tenant can come to a private agreement about signing a new one? I know it would be against the contract with the agency but how would they find out? Or is there a way for the landlord to bin the agency? We are in periodic and our fee is £90 - now I would quite like some security of tenure but £90 for a year is a bit steep.

BitterAndTwisted

Some landlords prefer the comfort of knowing they will be receiving the rent for another 12-month period Your mum should contact the landlord directly and ask if they will be happy for her to go on to a rolling periodic tenancy. Don't ask, don't get

BitterAndTwisted

Nixer the letting agent only acts on the landlrods behalf so if the LL is happy for the tenant to go on to a rolling periodic tenancy then the agents have no say.