Letting Agency ripping us off

thakil

Hi, our Assured shorthold tenancy contract for 6 months is coming to an end in June, and we'd like to move to a rolling contract/ periodic tenancy. Now in previous flats our contract has explicitly had a clause allowing this, and we've just done it succesffuly in the past. Looking online, it seems like this will happen by default if we do nothing.

That said, our letting agency, the Home Agency, who have lied to us in the past, sent us a letter saying we had several options

1-To sign up to a new AST
2-To give notice and leave, but notice must be given at least a month in advance (so mid-may)
3-To move on to a periodic tenancy. They say that if we want to do that, we can move onto one for two months, for £60. Now first of all, I don't think they should be charging us for it, and second of all, it reads like they want us to pay that £60 every six months!

So, I'm currently thinking of writing them, telling them we wish to move to a periodic tenancy, but do not understand what they are charging £60 for. I'm pretty sure they'll fob us off with excuses though, and I wonder if I can literally just ignore them. We're happy to move out, and want to soon, but we want the protection of two months notice minimum. After the 6 months contract expires, could they evict us at any time? I don't think so, but am not an expert on contract law!

Werdnal

Write back, advising them that as a periodic tenancy automatically arises in law, the day after the fixed term ends, and as they do not need to make any modifications to the existing contract, or get you to sign to accept the SPT, they will not incur any costs for this, so cannot substantiate their proposed charge.

However, bear in mind that if you upset the agent, they could suggest the the LL (naive LLs often think agents are mythical godlike creatures of profess to know everything there is to know about tenancy law and believe everything they say), give you notice. That way they will get their fee by reletting to some other tenant and starting this immoral charging for a Statutory Right all over again.

You can ignore them and hope they will forget, but where money is concerned, LAs rarely let an opportunity to charge you go by! If you don't want to write to them, leave it and see if they chase you, then say "letter, what letter? We never received a letter?" and buy some time. However, I suspect they will be chasing your reply on an almost daily basis, so a letter to them may curb their enthusiasm! Are they ARLA members? You could report them.

If you have the LLs address, copy him with the letter, as no doubt they will be trying to enforce a charge on the LL too!

chris_m

To leave at the end of the fixed term you do not HAVE to give any notice at all, although it would be courteous.
If you stay one day beyond the fixed term, you automatically go onto a rolling tenancy with one month's notice required from you, two months from the landlord - both to be in line with the tenancy start date.

Simplest thing would be to ignore the agency as they either are trying to get money out of you (and possibly the landlord too) to "renew" something that doesn't need to be renewed or simply don't know what they are doing.

vacheron

Agree with the above. It's the letting agent trying to exploit a lack of knowledge by the tennant to extract a bit of extra cash for doing absolutely nothing while keeping themselves "in the contractual loop" for future comission.

In both the properties I briefly rented I just approached the landlords directly towards the end of the tennancy to confirm that they are happy to let the agreement run on. After 6 months they will know you well enough to make that decision themselves.