landlord wants another 6 months rent up front!

bellabooski

Hi everyone
I'm asking this question on behalf of my brother.

He and his pregnant partner (baby now due at any moment) moved into a rented 2 bed flat almost 6 months ago.They paid a bond deposit and as my brother is self-employed he paid 6 months rent in advance as a goodwill gesture.They have an assured shorthold tenancy agreement.
They saw the landlord in town yesterday,he was all jolly and friendly asking how they both were,asking when baby was due etc.Then he dropped the bombshell and said as their 6 months was nearly up he wanted another 6 months rent IN ADVANCE! Around £3000!
Can he do this?? My brother and partner were expecting to pay the rent monthly in advance not 6 months in advance.
My brother's worried sick that they'll get thrown out for not paying 6 months in advance with a new baby due to arrive any moment.
Does anyone know where he stands?

Any advice or feedback would be very much appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Bella

DVardysShadow

They are on an AST. What does that say about rent? What is the rental period? Is the fixed term over? Or are they just 6 months into a 12 month tenancy?

As far as I can see, they are likely to be on a Statutory Periodic Tenancy, with the ability to give 1 month's notice. So 6 months rent up front would be inappropriate.

moromir

Are you sure you've got the whole story? "Self employed" and "payment upfront as a goodwill gesture" doesn't really add up to me.

Most referencing agencies want to see at least one year's worth of accounts before they'll consider passing him on the financial side of things, if the applicant can't do that the usual response is payment up front and/or a guarantor.

Unless your brother's financial situation has changed (warrenting rereferencing) then I would expect any renewal of a fixed term AST would be on the same basis.

Consider that the Landlord might have his hands tied if he has strict conditions on his mortgage or landlord's insurance, for example I had a Landlord who referenced through Letsure, who he also had Landlord's insurance with, he had to comply with their reference report terms or else it would have affected whether his insurance would cover him in future.

BitterAndTwisted

Is this tenancy in England & Wales or in Scotland?

G_M

If the LL wants a new 6 month contract signed and 6 months rent up front, your brother can either agree, or move to a periodic (monthly) tenancy with no fixed term or security.

The LL will then have the choice of accepting this new state of affairs, or giving your brother 2 months notice.

Impossible to 2nd guess which the LL would do.

(I've made certain assumptions: You're in Eng/Wales, it was an original 6 month term)

bellabooski

Hi all
Thankyou so much for all your replies and advice it is very much appreciated.
I should add that my brother's landlord has known him for years and knew he would be a good tenant so landlord accepted the bond plus 6 months rent instead of making brother put forward a guarantor or checking his books as the flat had been left empty for many months and he wanted a tenant in asap.
I think brother will have to stump up 6 months rent again or take the risk of being given 2 months notice.
Once again many thanks to you all for your help.
Bella

Geenie

bellabooski wrote: »

Hi all
Thankyou so much for all your replies and advice it is very much appreciated.
I should add that my brother's landlord has known him for years and knew he would be a good tenant so landlord accepted the bond plus 6 months rent instead of making brother put forward a guarantor or checking his books as the flat had been left empty for many months and he wanted a tenant in asap.
I think brother will have to stump up 6 months rent again or take the risk of being given 2 months notice.
Once again many thanks to you all for your help.
Bella

If the flat had been left empty for many months before your brother took it on.....then your brother has been doing the LL a favour not the other way around! A realty check and google of the law is needed here, not paying another 6 months rent up!

real1314

Geenie wrote: »

If the flat had been left empty for many months before your brother took it on.....then your brother has been doing the LL a favour not the other way around! A realty check and google of the law is needed here, not paying another 6 months rent up!

Either way he could always look for a compromise deal - 2 months in advance would be better for the Tenant than 6 months, or could go for 2 months paid now, then another 2 months in 1 months time (effectively 2 months in advance rolling) or any other mix that the LL and tenant can agree on.

Negotiation is the key in letting, there are many ways to find an agreement.

bellabooski

Thanks so much Geenie and 1314! Brother is going to try your suggestions to see if he can pay a lesser amount up front.
I'll keep you posted on the outcome.
kind regards
Bella