Renewal of Tenancy - Agency Fees

chops05

I'm in need a bit of advice so I hope someone can point me in the right direction.

Me and my other half are coming to the end of our two year tenancy agreement. Our letting agents have written to us to ask if we want to stay in the property and we have agreed to stay for another 12 months. They have just sent us a sheet of A4 to sign and send back to them. It just gives basic details that we agree to carry the agreement for another 12 months and there is a space for us to sign and another space for the landlord to sign. They also want us to pay £70 in adminstration fees for the issue of this new 12 month tenancy agreement. We basically don't have the extra cash to pay and quite frankly I am shocked that they have asked us to pay this amount for a piece of paper!

So what I want to know is do we have pay this amount as I cannot see how it costs this amount of money for doing no work at all. I thought that this would be included in the fees that the landlord pays the letting agent to manage the property on his behalf?

Your advice will be greatly appreciated.

Doozergirl

If you don't sign, the tenancy will just hold over which means that you and the landlord just need to give the notice period detailed in the original agrement in order to end the tenancy.

The £70 provides you with an extra 12 months security, though if your landlord is willing to sign for a further 12 months, you have some reassuarance of their commitment to keeping you there.

The Letting Agent is entitled to their fee money for old rope, but there you go!

franklee

Some agents charge such fees or even higher to either or both of the landlord and tenant others don't charge. It's best to ask upfront. I've not yet had to pay such fees.

First thing to do is rummage through all the paperwork you were given at the start, did it mention this fee? If not then say you won't pay. If so then ask nicely for the fee to be waived. Remember that for a fully managed service the agent is getting something like 12% of the monthly rental every month. They won't want to lose that, if you are a reliable tenant then they will want that 12% income to continue with no effort on their part. So you have a good chance of getting this fee waived.
It is true that if you don't sign then you will go onto a periodic tenancy but be a little careful, do you want the security of another years occupancy? Does the landlord want the security of another years rental income? If so a periodic tenancy may not be for you or your landlord. Also you many have been served a S21 notice for possession at the start of the tenancy so you don't want to go on to a periodic tenancy with that in place so if you do go periodic get any S21 cancelled.

Remember a proven reliable tenant that wants to stay for another year is worth a lot to both the agent and the landlord, if they are any good they will make sure they keep you!

chops05

Thank you for your replies.:T

I have looked at my tenancy agreement and there is no mention of fees for renewing the tenancy agreement. We had to pay £150 for the original agreement to be made when we moved in but there is no section in the agreement about renewal of agreement fees.

I feel that we have been good tenants. Our rent has been paid on time every month and we have been more than accommodating when the LA wants to do their quarterly inspections.

I'm going to send the LA a letter and see what happens!

prudryden

I'm surprised that they are charging you for the contract. The LA's work for the LL. I know the LA's I use, charge me £120 each for the contracts, I am faily positive, but will check, that they don't charge the tenants.

Lorian

The landlord WILL be paying the fees to the agent. I think this £70 will be for the landlord's solicitor to redraft the tennancy agreement. as it was £150 for the first agreement £70 seems "reasonable" for the second to me.

IANAL.

littlemissmoney

Lorian wrote:

I think this £70 will be for the landlord's solicitor to redraft the tennancy agreement. as it was £150 for the first agreement £70 seems "reasonable" for the second to me.

solicitor's redraft!? It's a standard sheet and they change the date on last years from 2006 to 2007. Done. £80 please.

chops05, you may want to look at my thread about this called "Renewing Tenancy Agreement £70" (If I link to it are others then signed in as me?).

I gave up fighting yesterday and sent them the money. It makes me so mad :mad:

The main thing to check is were you issued with a S21 at the start of the tenancy? If not, do nothing, pay nothing

chops05

littlemissmoney wrote:

The main thing to check is were you issued with a S21 at the start of the tenancy? If not, do nothing, pay nothing

I'm sorry if I'm being a bit thick but what is an S21? When I moved in to the property all me and my other half signed was an assured shorthold tenancy agreement. We didn't get any other bits of paper only the inventory.

littlemissmoney wrote:

solicitor's redraft!? It's a standard sheet and they change the date on last years from 2006 to 2007. Done. £80 please.

My original agreement is 21 pages long! What the LA has sent for us to sign is one page. All it states is that we are basically bound by the terms contained in the original agreement that we signed 2 years ago and that we can stay in the property for another 12 months. There is a space for us to sign and a space for the LL to sign.

There is no mention of these fees in the original tenancy agreement.

I thought that the LL would be paying the LA to fully manage the property and that this should be included in the fees that the LL is paying. I feel that I pay more than enough rent already!!

MJMum

what is an S21?

It's the thingie that the landlord\agent serves on you to give you notice that they want to take back possession at the end of your tenancy. Typically, the agent will get you to sign it right at the start, when you sign the tenancy agreement, so that they won't miss the date when it needs to be served by. They may not have got you to sign one though, if the intention of your landlord always was to let you slide into a periodic agreement afterwards (which may have been the case with a 2 year tenancy - don't think I have ever seen one that long!)

littlemissmoney

chops05 wrote:

I'm sorry if I'm being a bit thick but what is an S21?

Check through all your paper work. It is probably a seperate peice of paper headed "Notice Requiring Possession Housing Act 1988 Section 21(1)(b)". It means that if you don't agree to the new fixed term the LL can apply to the court to get you out very easily at the end of your current agrreement. If you haven't been served with one, then hang tight and sign/pay nothing. The worst that can happen is your LL will issue you with a S21 given you at least 2 months notice to leave, but this is probably unlikely. Even if he did you could always swallow your pride and say you will sign the fixed term after all.

chops05

Think I must have been lucky with a two year tenancy then! lol!

Double checked my paperwork and I definitely have no piece of paper with S21 on it so it looks like I haven't been served with one.

I've sent the signed piece of paper/new tenancy agreement back today with a covering letter saying I'm not paying it and that there is no mention of this fee in the orignal tenancy agreement. I have also pointed out that we have been good tenants in the two years we have lived at the property as our rent is always paid on time and we have always made arrangements to be in attendance when they do their quarterly check. We shall see what their reply is!

Thanks for all your help. :rotfl: