Renewing an assured shorthold tenancy agreement!

chuffin_nora

We have been tenants of a property since 30th April 2010. Originally we signed a six month assured shorthold tenancy agreement. Once this came to an end we moved on to a month by month periodic notice agreement. Recently the letting agency during their regular inspection informed us that we were required to sign a new assured shorthold tenancy agreement and that it would cost us £35 in administration costs. According to the letting agents website they ensure all tenancy agreements are renewed every six months. They are unclear as to why this hasn't been the case with our rental. Although they have alluded to mistakes being made in their office.

After negotiation we have managed to get this fee waived in return for signing a new agreement, apparently at the request of the landlord. When we went to sign the new contract, it stated that the six months commenced on 30th April 2012, rather than today's date, which is more than 2 months later. When we queried this, the letting agent said that it had to be this date due to the landlord's insurance. Is this correct or should we suggest that the term begins on the date the contract is signed - or does this constitute a completely new contract and therefore probably a higher fee for both the landlord and ourselves? Having negotiated the waiving of the fee on this occasion, we are irritated to then discover we will be liable to sign another contract, and thus incur more fees, in less than 4 months time. When we had understand we wouldn't need to resign for 6 months.

A recent development is that the letting agent called my partner this morning explaining that they had spoken to the landlord regarding our reluctance to sign the contract and that the landlord now wishes to increase the rent. This has all transpired since Saturday. We have been the tenants of this property for over two years and have never missed a payment. Is it unreasonable to expect to engage the landlord in some dialogue prior to a rent increase. Or is it the letting agent influencing his decision making?

Unfortuantely for a number of reasons we are not in a position to consider finding an aleternative home. Are we entitled to get the landlord's telephone number form the agents and is it a good idea to contact him and explain the situation? We want to stay in the house, we have been good tenants but feel that due to several issues surrounding our dealings with the letting agency that they would be happy to see us removed from the property.

With reference to my first post: are the letting agents correct in backdating the new six month assured tenancy agreement to the 30th April due to the landlords letting insurance?

Any answers would be gratefully received.

BitterAndTwisted

You have choice: sign this back-dated fixed-term AST, insist on signing one with today's date or don't sign one at all. If you don't sign the landlord will have to issue you with a Section 13 Notice in order to increase the rent. Or they could decide to issue you with a Section 21 Notice and attempt to gain possession through the courts. You choose as it's your risk.

In my opinion, all this stuff about the landlord's insurance is a complete red-herring. They're just making !!!!!! up to compel you to sign.

chuffin_nora

Hey bitter & twisted thanks for the information. Pretty much as I thought really but can't help but feel aggrieved at the LA. Arrggghhhhhhhhhhhh

BitterAndTwisted

The agent has taken their eyes off the ball and now they're trying to put the thumb-screws on you in order to get a fee.

Ask them what possible benefit there could be for you to sign a retrospective AST when you're already on a periodic tenancy and have been since last October.

If it really was vital for the landlord to have you sign up for another fixed-term they would have been on the agent's case as long ago as last summer. No new signed AST equals no fee charged to the landlord