Fair/Lawful end of tenancy

iliko

I am due to renew my 12 month tenancy contract and noticed rather unpleasant trap may be it is not but decided to check with fellow MSEs. AFAIK some contracts have break clause saying you can give a two month notice after say 6 month of tenancy. Although my contract have such a line which I will paste later it also says it is up to landlord to agree or not to accept the end of the tenancy. Is it fair at all? Is there a legislation which talks about end of tenancy standards the agencies should follow?

Here is a paragraph from my contract:

7. End of tenancy
If the Tenant does not wish to remain in the Property then two month's prior notice to quit MUST be given in writing to the
Landlord or Agent
(7.1) To return the Property and Contents at the end of the tenancy in the same clean state or condition as they were at the
commencement of the tenancy
(7.2) To leave the Contents at the end of the tenancy in approximately the same places in which they were positioned at the
commencement of the tenancy
(7.3) To return the keys of the Property to the Agent on the agreed termination date, or the end of the tenancy (whichever is sooner).
The Tenant also agrees to pay for any reasonable charges incurred by the Agent in securing the Property against re-entry where keys
are not returned
(7.4) The Agent/Member must tell the tenant within 10 working days of the end of the tenancy if they propose to make any deductions
from the Deposit.
(7.5) If there is no dispute the Member/Agent will keep or repay the Deposit, according to the agreed deductions and the conditions of
the tenancy agreement. Payment of the Deposit or any balance of it will be made within 10 working days of the Landlord and the
Tenant agreeing the allocation of the Deposit.
(7.6) The Tenant should try to inform the Member/Agent in writing if the Tenant intends to dispute any of the deductions regarded by
the Landlord or the Agent as due from the deposit within 20 working days after the termination or earlier ending of the Tenancy and
the Tenant vacating the Property. The period may not be reduced to less than 14 days. The Independent Case Examiner (“ICE”) may
regard failure to comply with the time limit as a breach of the rules of TDS and if the ICE is later asked to resolve any dispute may
refuse to adjudicate in the matter.
(7.7) If, after 10 working days following notification of a dispute to the Agent/Member and reasonable attempts having been made in
that time to resolve any differences of opinion, there remains an unresolved dispute between the Landlord and the Tenant over the
allocation of the Deposit the dispute will be submitted to the ICE for adjudication. All parties agree to co-operate with the adjudication.
(7.8) The statutory rights of the Landlord and the Tenant to take legal action through the County Court remain unaffected by clauses
7.6 & 7.7 above.
(7.9) In the event that the Tenant seeks to terminate prior to the end of the agreement, it will be entirely at the Landlords discretion.
Should an agreement to terminate be mutually agreed the Tenant will attract an Administration Fee of £250.00
(7.10) Upon renewal of the contract the Tenant is liable for immediate payment of an Administration Fee of £50.00

I think the bits highlighted in red contradicts to each other.
I called the agency and they replied saying the first red bit is to protect me in case I have been redundant/separated and not able to continue to pay the rent. Should not it be written there and then?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Lokolo

Is there a reason why you want to sign this contract and pay £50 renewal fee when you could go periodic tenancy now?

However, as for the contradiction, I can see both sides. I think the wording should be "In the event the Tenant wishes to end the tenancy prior to the end of the agreement.." instead, rather than "seeks to terminate", as it kind of implies you could give 2 months notice in 10 months time and you are "seeking" to terminate before 12 months and could get the £250 fine

Tjrw1985

1 months notice is legally binding anyway.

Regardless of what it says in the tenancy

Mr_Moo_2

If you're in a fixed term then you have no right to end the tenancy early, so 7.9 sounds OK, the admin fees sounds like another letting agent cash cow.

If you leave at the end of the fixed tenancy term you don't have to give notice at all, although common sense and courtesy says that you will keep your LL informed of your intentions.

Sounds like the Agency is just trying to generate some fee income. Try speaking direct to the LL to see what he'll be happy with - rolloing onto a periodic tenancy may suit you both fine. Or it may not, but ckeck if poss with the LL as opposed to their Agent.

thesaint

Tjrw1985 wrote: »

1 months notice is legally binding anyway.

Regardless of what it says in the tenancy

Not within the fixed term.

G_M

I do not see a Break Clause.

If the Tenant does not wish to remain in the Property then two month's prior notice to quit MUST be given in writing to the
Landlord or Agent

I believe this is intended to apply after the Fixed term has ended and the tenancy has become Periodic.

However Statute law over-rules this clause (you must give one Tenancy Period notice), so it is unenforcible. More here.

It may also be intended to require the tenant to give this notice prior to the end of the Fixed Term. Again, the law over-rules this: no notice is required.

LLs/agents often include unenforcible terms in contracts hoping (often correctly!) that their tenants will just assume they can be held to these terms.

In the event that the Tenant seeks to terminate prior to the end of the agreement, it will be entirely at the Landlords discretion.
Should an agreement to terminate be mutually agreed the Tenant will attract an Administration Fee of £250.00

This is a fairly standard description of the terms under which a LL will accept an Early Surrender.

Ending/Renewing an AST (what happens when the Fixed Term ends?)(What is a Periodic Tenancy?)(How can a LL remove a tenant?)(How can a tenant end a tenancy?)

iliko

Due to absence of any regulations I will have to stick to rolling 6 month contract.
When I initially signed up contract with them they said they do not have renewal fee but changed it on the second year :-(

iliko

G_M wrote: »

I do not see a Break Clause.
[/COLOR]However Statute law over-rules this clause (you must give one Tenancy Period notice), so it is unenforcible. More here.

Thanks, but does not the same Statute law say: "Unless there’s a break clause in your tenancy agreement, your landlord can insist you pay rent until the end of the tenancy." which contradicts to what you say.

Lokolo

iliko wrote: »

Due to absence of any regulations I will have to stick to rolling 6 month contract.
When I initially signed up contract with them they said they do not have renewal fee but changed it on the second year :-(

I don't understand your bolded sentence. But it doesn't matter, you can refuse to sign the contract and go on periodic tenancy without paying the £50 fee every 6 months.

donfanatico

"If you're in a fixed term then you have no right to end the tenancy early, so 7.9 sounds OK"

LEt me get this straight as it might also apply to me - so if it a fixed agreement for 12 months and the clause says may give 2 months notice no earlier than 6 months doesnt that mean I can give notice at month 4 and leave at the end of month 6 regardless of whether the landlord agrees or not without any financial implication to me?

iliko

donfanatico wrote: »

"If you're in a fixed term then you have no right to end the tenancy early, so 7.9 sounds OK"

LEt me get this straight as it might also apply to me - so if it a fixed agreement for 12 months and the clause says may give 2 months notice no earlier than 6 months doesnt that mean I can give notice at month 4 and leave at the end of month 6 regardless of whether the landlord agrees or not without any financial implication to me?

After reading the link provided by G_M (Ending/Renewing an AST) and understood that you can not end the FT (i.e. 6 or 12 month contract) earlier except landlords agrees to it (and pay £250 relisting fee). So for me as neither landlord or agency agree to Statutory Periodic Tenancy (SPT) I have to choose 6 month contract in case I am going to buy a property.