Renewing Tenancy Agreement £70

Gold_Shogun

prudryden wrote:

As your original agreement has now expired and you have not issued (as yet) a renewal agreement, the original agreement continues as a periodic tenancy on the same terms as the original agreement. (Quoted from Bob) He may be around shortly.

Hi Pru,
He is indeed, and you are absolutely correct !!! :beer:

I have never used an online AST contract, so can't advise.

I have never never used one of these myself, as TBH, I wouldn't personally trust them to protect MY needs as the Landlord.
Even if you use the NLA's tenancy agreement (OR any other 3rd party created agreement) ... I would still advise that YOU the landlord **should** go over it with a fine toothcomb and add/delete/nodify clauses to suit YOU ...

It is obviously something of a pain to do the first time, but bear in mind that once you have done this, you then have a Tenancy Agreement which YOU own, and which YOU can re-use over & over at NO additional or future cost or payments to Agencies, etc ... That WILL save YOU many hundreds of £££££ or more over the years. :cool: ... I STRONGLY Agree with Clutton's views & advice in this thread.

I've fine tuned mine for my family & myself over many, many years, and it now seems just about bulletproof as no brief or court has been able to find a loophole in it for nigh on 20 years ... I even once successfully screwed a Rip-Off LA for a £4000 license fee (under threat of suing for copyright) when I found the little sod had "acquired & copied as their own" one of my agreements via an old ex-tenant of mine.


Cheers
Bob

Gold_Shogun

italia wrote:

renewal agreement ... £90+vat fee.!

Naughty little Shysters

I can't find anything in the AST i have about a periodic monthly tenancy commencing after the AST ends, or anything about notice AT all.

It doesn't actually NEED to explicitly state these, as they are "Statutory Requirements" (Although I personally prefer to state them so as to avoid "bleating" by tenants "claiming it's unfair" as they didn't know).

I think the LA just set a fixed term up so i have to pay them to renew or have a rolling periodic afterwards. i am really confused.

See Prudryden's post ... IF you want to continue on the same terms as the original agreement, you need simply do nothing, & pay nobody for supposed "renewal".

i dont know if the contract i have is any good for rollover periodic as there is no mention of notice.

If no specific "Notice Period" is stated in the Original Agreement, then the "Statutory Minimum Notice Period" of 2 months applies.

Cheers
Bob

italia

thanks goldshogun you are a star! i think i'll leave it as periodic of now and join the nla and learn as much as i can.
thanks
Helen

Sybarite

I'm sort of in a similar position as the original poster with a slight variation.

My LL changed the letting agent last year & I've been in the property for 4 yrs. The new firm are very money grabbing; I've gone from being charged nothing for a contract renewal to £60 for a new 12 month renewal document. Old rope=money I'm afraid & there doesn't seem to be any way around it - we all know it's just a money making exercise.

With the original agent the AST became a periodic one after the initial 12 months lapsed & there were no problems. The new agent will not under any circumstances let this happen & claim this is the LL's decision (even though this has now occurred once again with the new agents, my contract should have been renewed in July but they've been so crap at sending out & amending the mistakes in the new contract, I'm now effectively in a periodic agreement) the annual £60 from my block alone makes them approx 1k PA.

The new LA aren't overt about their increase in charges either. Example; my original agreement & negotiation of rent included a utility bill, my new agreement explicitly states that the bill now has to paid by me & I've received a backdated invoice for past usage only after I signed my last agreement - this change wasn't made overt & is essentially an unofficial rent increase. Argument and proof from the first agent that this bill was always inclusive has cut no ice - I feel I have to pay from now on as notice has been given, but am not going to pay the backdated bill on principle.

The terms in the ASH agreement subtly change each time it's issued & each time they're to my disadvantage, EG. the LL has just decided (but not given any notification to tenants) that he will no longer service the security systems in the building, something i only found out by accident. When I queried this I was referred to the new contract (which I've yet to sign) which now technically states it isn't the LL's responsibility to service any appliance that uses a utility supplied to the building - only that he has to maintain the supply of those utilities - so basically all the domestic appliances are no longer technically the LL's responsibility if he chooses not to service them. Loads of new terms regarding the annual professional steam cleaning of all soft furnishings with bills to be available for inspection, all stainless steel to be left 'spotless' on termination etc etc.

The LA has also attempted to increase the rent by the rate of inflation 2x in the same year - to which i laughed and emailed that this was unenforceable.

I am obviously dissatisfied with the situation. I've paid my rent consistently on time for 4 years, have been helpful to the agent & polite in my dealings with them. I now feel that I need to be as money grabbing as they are in my dealings with them & formal with my communications as I've started receiving terse one line emails from the agent after pointing out my dissatisfaction at the new charges and T&Cs. Their basic message is 'if you don't like it naff off'.

I have to stay put for the next few months & then would like to move out, I'm just sick of the constant unresolved maintenance problems, the attempt to leech extra cash & the attitude - I am, after all, a customer, something that seems to have been forgotten somewhere along the line.

I don't think I'm going to see the bulk of my deposit back - I simply don't trust the agent to act fairly - however 'independent' they claim the final inspection I have to pay for will be.

To this end what happens if I stop my final months rent & say 'take my deposit in lieu'? I know that the LA is going to screw me for the utility I'm refusing to pay (incidentially the previous agent also advised me not to pay this) I don't want to behave in this way, I know that I'm going to lose a few hundred pounds if I take this course of action, but it seems more sensible than risking the bulk of a 6 weeks deposit.
I've also just discovered that a friend who used the same agent has had 2/3 of their deposit retained & are understandably very sore about it - it's been kept for the usual fabricated reasons - professional cleaning at 1k a day was necessary etc. This has sort of cemented by decision, but I would like to know the implications before I without my final months rent.

Advise appreciated & sorry to high-jack the thread slightly.

clutton_2

if you read EagerLearners thread on Help Re Deposit being withheld - you will see what she has gone thru. i am a landlady, and i rarely recommend withholding the last months rent, but, landlords like these are giving the industry a really bad name. I would read the OFT unfair terms and conditions of contract for a start, and see if any of the new terms and conditions which have been imposed on you, are indeed unfair. I would also go to CAB and/or Shelter taking your #Tenancy agreement with you.

But, bottom line, these big boys can bully folks legally and my best long term advice would be to move out sooner rather than later and then hoefully you dont get too stressed about it - i doubt you will win against them, and it will leave you feeling very bitter if you stay and fight. i know that sounds defeatist, but, if you can't win - move on

best of luck

Sybarite

Thanks for the advise - I'm genuinely shocked at the underhand methods, as I thought (perhaps naively) that a well known agency dealing with a client who up until now has given them no hassle (me) would want to retain the account & ensure 100% occupancy.

I'm a young professional & wouldn't dream of treating my clients in this way - but the agency rep I deal with seems angry that I've actually bothered to read the contract & question it rather than just blithely sign and return it.

One of my neighbours has far more serious problems with water leaking through their light fittings, they've waited 3 months for something to be done with no result - they're so tired of the constant chasing they're simply giving up & buying asap.

I asked for advise about canceling the final standing order as this was what one of the previous tenants did, again for a leak left unfixed for months. I just wanted to know if there are any ramifications I should be aware of?

Aside from my particular concerns, it seems that the whole rental process is very unfairly weighted in favour of the LA/LL - the LA seems to have a vested interest in cycling through tenants every 6 months if possible as they gain more arrangement/contract fees & there's the possibility of retaining a % of the deposit for spurious expenses/damages - 'professional cleaning' seems to be the most common euphemism for 'we'll take your deposit thanks'. This is exactly what's happened in my block, people move in, things don't work properly & nothing gets fixed/major problems are simply ignored, people move out & the cycle begins again.

Is this the embryonic start of old fashioned landlordism that people are supposed to be protected from by letting legislation? My LA has basically said 'vote with you feet' but relies of the fact that the hassle & expense of moving out means most 'customers' resistance is eventually worn down & for the short term they stay put - exactly as I have to.

clutton_2

how sad that is - my view as a landlady is that i want tenants to stay for years and years - far less work for me - and they look after my property very well as they see it as their long term home, and so do i.

But there are unscupulous landlords/ladies and agents - it sounds like you have a bad one.

Each council has a private housing officer, and they can investigate complaints on your behalf. Water in a light socket is downright dangerous and landlords are bound by a Duty of Care and various Health and Safety at work Acts. to keep their tenants safe. They are not above the law.

if you with-hold your last months rent they could take you to court - but if you have a large deposit in their possession, they probably wont bother to do that, but you will never get your deposit back - and of course no reference for when you move on.

But, you sound unhappy - is it worth the fight ? - just a thought .....

Sybarite

Thanks for the advise re the housing officer - i may give them a ring and see what they have to say.

The short answer is that you're right, I'll have to grin and bear it for a few months. I'm going to be out of pocket either way, organizing a new flat/contract/moving or paying the creeping charges of the current shysters.

If I contact the housing officer I know that the LL will serve notice - as I've stated he & the LA seem to prefer professional foreign nationals they can take advantage of & cycle through to their further advantage. The LA has basically said do you want us to serve notice then after I've expressed my concerns?

I thought I'd left some of these practices behind with my days renting student accommodation.

clutton_2

even if they give you notice you do not have to leave. you CANNOT be made to leave without a court order and that takes time probably several months.

So, since your current AST has expired, dont sign another one, they can't make you, let it go into a periodic status, then you need only give one months notice if you then find somewhere else to move to.

But whatever you do, continue to pay the rent at the rate agreed in the last AST you signed.

Sounds like you've got some real jobs-worths working for the agency.

clutton_2

An AST is not written in stone - it is a set of a clauses which both sides agree to. If, as you sign, you do not wish to agree to a particular clause, cross it out, initial it, ask the agent to do the same - if you have reached the point of signing an AST and "commission" bells are ringing in their ears, they may just sign - once two lots of initials are against a crossing out, it is out of the agreement.

the OFT is only "guidance " and to my knowledge not all of their recomendations have been tested in the courts.