Question to all landlords using a letting agent

emmajayne1982

Hi all,

I am having huge problems with my letting agent paying my tenants rent to myself at a sensible time each month.

Looking back over my bank statements rents have been paid to me anywhere between the 15th of one month and the 5th of the next. This is causing me all sorts of problems financially.

Anyway, when speaking to them about it they simply say the the contract states they will pay the money to me once it's cleared their bank etc. But the tenant pays on the 12th of every month and so I can't understand the huge variation in when they may me.

I have been looking at changing agents but there is a clause in my contract I think they states when the tenant is found by them they can take a % of the rent whilst she is still living in the property.

I was wondering whether rents coming in at very different times each month was other peoples experience or whether this is not normal:rotfl:

Thanks so much in advance

BitterAndTwisted

If you're absolutely certain that your tenants are paying on time then either your agents are inefficient or just plain useless.

So, if your tenant remains renting your property for the next five years, even though you've sacked the agent, they still get their pound of flesh? I'd read that contract very closely indeed, so you when you can get shot of them

emmajayne1982

Thanks for your reply - useless is about the right words for them.
Yes, I have not been able to find the right paragraph in the contract that relates to this (because it's all so confusing!) but they have told me that as they found the tenant they have rights to 10% of her rent whist she is in the property...

emmajayne1982

Hi,
Could someone translate this legal speak for me - is this saying that I can give my tenant 2 months notice even if she is in the middle of her contract (2 months of a 6 month contract but she has been in the property for about 18 months in total):

Either party may terminate this agreement at the end of a
tenants period of occupancy, when the property is vacant,
subject to two months notice from the party wishing to
terminate. Termination can be given at any time during a
tenancy with vacant possession given once the tenancy
expires. Should termination be given during a rolling tenancy
(a month to month let) vacant possession will be given one
month after the tenant gives notice.

G_M

emmajayne1982 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply - useless is about the right words for them.
Yes, I have not been able to find the right paragraph in the contract that relates to this (because it's all so confusing!) but they have told me that as they found the tenant they have rights to 10% of her rent whist she is in the property...

I find this hard to believe.

Did you pay a tenant-find fee at the start, or have you ONLY paid the monthly management charge (if you paid a tenant-find fee, then you've already paid for finding the tenant and all they can charge now is for 'management'. If you sack them, they are not 'managing', so no more fee.

read yoru contract carefully. Look for a notice period to end the contract. Look for anything about this 10%. If you don't understand, post the wording here for us to comment on.

Even if there IS something like this in the contract I suspect it would be an unfair term so unenforcible.

You could always sack them, then see if they actually sue you (very unlikely) as opposed to just sending you some threatening letters. But sack them carefully!

1) be sure of the notice period and be ready to pay them their fee during this (typically 2 months)
2) talk to your tenants first so they understand what you are doing and why
3) decide first whether you will take over yourself or use another agent
4) if another agent, select one carefully before sacking the first.
5) Write to the tenant to confirm formally what you said in 2) above, telling them to start paying rent direct to you (or new agent) from X date, and who to contact with issues (repairs etc)
6) Start collecting rent direct before sacking the agent - this minimises the amount of your cash that they hold of yours at the time they get sacked (but remember you may need to pay them for 2 months whatever)
7) sack them in writing. Explain why. Give them the notice as per their contract. Ask them to send you, by x date, originals of all paperwork: tenant contract, tenant references, tenant correspondance (they are your agent, acting on your behalf so all this is YOUR paperwork) etc. Tell them to transfer the tenant's deposit scheme into your (or new agent's) name

If they turn nasty/demand ongoing fees (this is why you need to minimise the rent they hold), just refer to the notice period. Offer to pay them the 2 months (or whatever) fees once they have returned all documents/transferred deposit etc.

Do not be intimidated. These guys are your employees, acting on your behalf - that's what 'agent' means. The tenant is YOUR tenant, not the agnt's.

Nosht

If your agent was 1/2 decent then they would have included a 2 month notice as standard in the lease.

N.

diable

Tenants give notice to agent then tenants sign contract with you. Agent doesn't have to know.

G_M

Nosht wrote: »

If your agent was 1/2 decent then they would have included a 2 month notice as standard in the lease.

N.

???????????
What has the lease got to do with the relationship between the landlord and the agent?

And why does the lease need to include a 2 month notice period? If it's a fixed term, notice is not needed (except by the LL), and if it is Periodic, then notice is not required in the lease as it is laid down by statute.

emmajayne1982

Thank you G_M and all...

I paid an initial £150, this was for:
Initial Set Up Fee
‘the property showroom’ charge £150.00 plus VAT for initial
administrative costs, collation of tenancy agreements and other required documents and disbursements relating to the marketing and management of the Property.

Below is the section in the contract about notice period. The tenant signed a six month contract back in February so what I need to know id whether bearing this in mind I am able to serve them with 2 month's notice:

The following conditions will apply to the termination of this agreement.
• The Landlord appoints `the property showroom` from the date
of this agreement for a minimum period of 8 weeks.
Termination can be given by you in week 8 by giving written
notice to this effect, with no withdrawal charges. Should you
decide to terminate this agreement before week 8 there will
be a charge of £50.00 plus VAT.
• If a ready willing and able tenant makes an application to rent
the property in accordance with the Landlords instructions and
the Landlord subsequently withdraws the property,
irrespective of the reasons, the fees will be payable for the
term of the tenancy.
• Either party may terminate this agreement at the end of a
tenants period of occupancy, when the property is vacant,
subject to two months notice from the party wishing to
terminate. Termination can be given at any time during a
tenancy with vacant possession given once the tenancy
expires. Should termination be given during a rolling tenancy
(a month to month let) vacant possession will be given one
month after the tenant gives notice.
• If the ‘the property showroom’ considers that the Landlord is
in breach of any regulation relating to the Property (whether
statutory or not) or the Landlord is failing to comply with their
obligations, contained within the tenancy agreement, ‘the
property showroom’ may give you 7 days notice of termination

I have found another agent whom have a good reputation that I am going to use and they have been excellent so far. I believe that they are ready to go with being the managing agent just as soon as I have gievn my notice to the original ones. I gave my notice to the original ones on Monday and had a phone call from them yesterday saying did I know that because they found the tenant they are entitled to any rent that is collected from that tenant. The only part of the contract that I can see relates to this is below (although I am totally guessing here)

Letting Renewals
For any of the above letting services, tenancies negotiated for a further term after the first year or a fresh Tenancy of another property owned by you granted to the tenant or occupier, commission is payable to us at the rate of 12.5% for any subsequent years, of the total rent reserved under the terms of the Tenancy, whether or not negotiated by us.

Thank you all very much for your help with this

G_M

Should you
decide to terminate this agreement before week 8 there will
be a charge of £50.00 plus VAT.

Well, it's after week 8, so no £50 fee.

For any of the above letting services, tenancies negotiated for a further term after the first year or a fresh Tenancy of another property owned by you granted to the tenant or occupier, commission is payable to us at the rate of 12.5% for any subsequent years, of the total rent reserved under the terms of the Tenancy, whether or not negotiated by us.

This is almost certainly an unfair term and no court would enforce it. The agent will, of course, quote this to you and demand payment. You will refuse. They will threaten court action. You will ignore them. Eventually they will give up.

Do you have access to any legal resources to support you? Via your buildings insurance? Or your membership of a Landlord association?

Since you have already given the agent notice, GET TALKING TO YOUR TENANT NOW. Both face to face and then in writing. Switch rent payments NOW. The more rent your tenant pays the agent (which they will withold from you) th more YOU have to claim money back from THEM (rather than the other way round). Remember, ownership (in this case of cash) is 9/10ths of the law.

Your tenants may be confused (they often are) about who they owe money to. Often they think they have to pay the agent, since most (sometimes all) their contact has been with the agent. They therefore need to clearly understand that you are the landlord, the property they live in is yours, your name is on their tenancy agreement and the rent is owed TO YOU, not the agent.

Only you can evict them (ie for non payment of rent), not the agent.

If, after being fomally instructed, in writing, by you, to pay rent to you (or your new agent), they continue to pay their rent to the old agent, they will effectively be NOT PAYING RENT, so will be in arrears. They need to undersatnd this, so explain it clearly (but politely/friendly!).

m_13

We had useless agents. Once they sent us rent of 1p. They blamed a clerical error. We never got statements even though they claimed they were sending them. We had to continually ask for them to do our accounts. The final straw came when the tenant was unhappy that the toilet cistern was constantly overflowing into the toilet (and the flat is on a metre) but they never told us. We only found out when we were changing to new agents and the tenant told them!

We switched after one tenant had left. We told both agents that whoever found a tenant first would have our business. The new agents made an effort and got the business. We get paid regularly and statements arrive the same day via email. Any problems have been sorted out immediately and they have good tradespeople to fix problems.

Are they members of ARLA?

The difference between them? One good lettings agent who moved from the old agent to the new agent. As soon as he went, the service went downhill and we were happy to use him again at his new employer.