Landlord charging 'handover fee' for moving out?

michael24_2

Hi there

I am moving out of a shared house. We have a joint tenancy agreement. We all signed an eight month contract with Stonehouse Properties in Leeds that ended in July 2011. The contract made no reference to what would happen after the eight month period and we have never signed anything else since initially moving in. We seem to have moved onto a rolling contract with a months notice required to leave.

I asked the letting agency what I need to do to move out and they informed me that I needed to find someone else to fill my room, otherwise everyone living here would need to give notice and move out. This seems to be within the law for a joint tenancy. Therefore I advertised and found someone who is moving in. The letting agent are charging them all the usual moving in admin fee rip-offs that we have all come to expect from letting agents.

However, Stonehouse Properties has now informed me that I will have a £75.00 'handover fee' deducted from my deposit.

I'm going to tell them I'm not going to pay this, as they can't just make up charges for no reason (although my experience of letting through them seems to indicate that this is their usual behaviour) and they are already charging the new tenant an admin fee (to cover the high cost of having someone come into their office and sign a piece of paper I suppose). However, I imagine they will kick up a fuss and make this difficult for me, potentially withholding the sum from my deposit without my permission.

I would really appreciate any suggestions from MSE readers on anything that might help me avoid paying this unfair charge. Any laws they are breaking or anything I should know as a tenant. My experience of trying to get Landlords to behave like reasonable human beings is that it can be like extracting blood from a stone. So ammunition that I can use to help argue my case would be very useful.

Thanks!

Michael
Leeds

BitterAndTwisted

The check-out fee seems quite reasonable to me. If you left dirt and damage in the room it would be completely unfair for the incoming tenant to be charged for your damage at the end of the tenancy.

michael24_2

There is no dirt or damage! The fee isn't for any repairs or anything to be done to the house. I'm not moving out of some student hovel or bedsit and leaving them with a mess, the new tenant is moving into a nice house with my friends (I'm moving out to go live with my partner) and taking a spotless room in a spotless house.

It's just an admin fee being charged because I have found a new tenant to take my place (a new tenant who is being charged an admin fee to move in!)

BitterAndTwisted

It doesn't matter whether there is any dirt or damage currently: the charge is to check whether there is or not.

You have a choice: either continue to meet your contractual obligations or pay this modest fee to be released from it. The landlord is under absolutely no obligation to release you from the contract you co-signed.

Yorkie1

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

It doesn't matter whether there is any dirt or damage currently: the charge is to check whether there is or not.

You have a choice: either continue to meet your contractual obligations or pay this modest fee to be released from it. The landlord is under absolutely no obligation to release you from the contract you co-signed.

As the OP says he is now on a periodic contract, assuming proper notice has been given, surely he is now lawfully entitled to leave?

Also, surely any fee should only be payable if proper notice of it was given at the start of the contract?

If the contract is silent as to this fee, what is the lawful basis

michael24_2

aha, to check for dirt or damage? I forgot to add, the other tenants will need to sign something saying they are happy for the landlord to give my entire deposit back. They will sign this because a) they are my friends and b) there is no dirt or damage!

Regarding my contract, there is nothing about this handover fee in my contract. The contract incidentally which was to cover a tenancy from Dec 2010 to July 2011. I am moving out after this and have found someone to take over my room. I don't think I'm being unreasonable in my objection to this silly fee.

clutton_2

if there is nothing in the agreement challenge it..... and dont take offence at this... but tenants very very rarely read tenancy agreements thoroughly....

dancingfairy

What should happen is that technically your old contract ends (between all the joint tenants) and a new one is drawn up between the new tenants. The old deposit should be retrieved, kept for the tenants remaining and re-registered along with that of the new tenant. Your deposit should be returned to you.
Normally contracts work in that the landlord pays one set of fees - ie check in or check out and the tenants pay the other - do check carefully what it says in the contract. Given that there is only one of you actually moving out it seems that this charge may well fall to you but do check.
Obviously given what I've said about the deposit being re-done and a check out inventory being done etc it is only fair that the tenants take on a share of the costs.
df

vax2002

Just write and give notice that you are leaving, that the condition of the property has been recorded with high resolution photo-graphical evidence and any refusal to return the deposit will result in immediate legal action via the small claims courts.
And if they refuse..DO SO

dancingfairy

It all depends on the exact nature of the contact though - which you need to check very carefully.
df

G_M

Yorkie1 wrote: »

As the OP says he is now on a periodic contract, assuming proper notice has been given, surely he is now lawfully entitled to leave?

Also, surely any fee should only be payable if proper notice of it was given at the start of the contract?

If the contract is silent as to this fee, what is the lawful basis

In this case the joint tenants do not seem to want the tenancy to end. Only one wishes to leave.

What should happen is that a Deed of Variation should be drawn up (and witnessed) between the LL, new joint tenant, and all old tenants, such that the incoming tenant's name replaces the outgoing tenant's name on the existing (Periodic) tenancy.

It is reasonable to charge a fee for this, however the outgoing tenant should ensure that his liabilities for the onging tenancy are genuinely ended (via the Deed) and that his share of the deposit is returned by the landlord. An informal arrangement whereby the incoming tenant hands his depsot share to the outgoing tenant is not acceptable - though common.

The alternative is for the current tenancy to end and a completely new one be started with a new Fixed term in the names of the new tenants.