lease transfer, help needed please!

lisakay_2

My sister has been in a rented property for coming up to a year, with a 2yr lease through a letting agent.
the landlord has decided to get rid of the agent and manage the property himself, which he says makes the lease/contract invalid.

he has now told my sister that she needs to take over upkeep of the house and boiler, inc boiler insurance or he will increase the rent, with no notice period.

Does anyone know if he is allowed to do this? it doesn't seem right or fair to me!!

any help, info or advice would be gratefully recieved, many thanks, lisa x

G_M

Your landlord is wrong.

Assuming
1) the property is in Eng/Wales
2) the tenancy agreement is still in its 2 year fixed term (start date? End date?) it is a binding contract between the landlord and the tenant.

The agent is just someone the LL chose to pay to do certain things on his behalf. He can sack 'his' agent at any time, but that does not affect his contract with your sister. He might also have an annual boiler service contract with British Gas. He could cancel that arrangement at any time but it would not affect his contract with your sister!

He can only alter the contract /tenancy agreement/lease (same thing) :
1) if she agrees - she should not agree unless she is completely happy with whatever new one he offers
2) the fixed term ends, he offers a new fixed term on new terms - again she should not agree or sign unless she is completely happy with whatever new one he offers. The alternative is she signs nothing, stays, continues to pay rent, and automatically moves to a Statutory Periodic monthly Tenancy based on the original tenancy
3) the fixed term ends, he serves notice, he gets a court order, he evicts her and she leaves, then she signs a new tenancy (why would she..?)
4) there is a 'break clause' written into the 2 year tenancy - is there? Check. This might allow him to end the tenancy early. but again, he'd need a court order to enforce it. And if he wants her to stay, albeit on new terms, it's just not worth it to him.

To sum up, the important advice for your sister is

1) sign nothing
2) do not move out
3) do not be intimidated or pressered into doing anything
4) do not believe the landlord
5) stay put
6) continue to pay rent as before (but see 7a below)
7) if he wants her to pay rent differently (ie direct to him)
a) get the instruction in writing
b) pay by cheque/bank transfer (so there is proof of payment) or if by cash GET RECEIPTS
c) make sure she's given, in writing, an address for the landlord for the serving of notices. She may already have this on her tenancy agreement (which as explained is still valid) but it may be c/o the agent. If so she'll need a new one. Without one (in writing), she does not need to pay rent at all. See Landlord & Tenant Act 1985

Final questions:
1) does she have a copy of her tenancy agreement signed by the LL?
2) is herDeposits protected (check the 3 schemes direct)

lisakay_2

just clicking thanks doesn't cut it, thank you so much for the information you posted. I'll check on the last two questions in the morning, but in the meantime, well.....Thanks!!!!:T

G_M

lisakay wrote: »

just clicking thanks doesn't cut it, thank you so much for the information you posted. I'll check on the last two questions in the morning, but in the meantime, well.....Thanks!!!!:T

Think nothing of it. Assuming you work and pay tax, you've been keeping me alive for 5 years via the NHS. Least I can do.....!