Being charged for tenancy renewal!

libbyyyyy

I have lived in my property for 3 months, never met the landlord/lady - I dont even know their gender let alone their name! He/she was supposed to come and give us an inventory, and to see the new kitchen that was fitted, but hasnt.
We are being asked to pay £120 pounds!!!! to renew our tenancy - it is a shorthold tenancy.
I have read online that it can be changed to a 'periodic' tenancy, but I have also read about a 6 month fee... so I'm unsure if I'm being conned!

mrginge

Don't renew it then.
It will change to a periodic tenancy automatically.

benjus

Presumably you're renting through an agency then?

Are you in England/Wales?

It's a good idea to find out who your landlord is and where they live. Do you have a written tenancy agreement (or section 47/48 notice), containing an address for the service of notices? If not, you don't legally have to pay any rent. It doesn't have to be the landlord's actual address - it could be c/o the agent, for example.

However, if you're paying rent to someone other than the landlord, they MUST reveal the identity and address of the landlord when presented with a written request for this information ( http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/70 )

3 months is a very short fixed term. A section 21 notice to end the tenancy won't be valid in the first 6 months of a tenancy, so if you refuse to pay the renewal fee there's not much they can do in the short term.

libbyyyyy

Sorry I forgot to mention, the tenancy will end in June so it will be a 6 month tenancy. I do live in the UK.
I do have a written tenancy agreement and I have read it, and it does not state whether there are fees to the tenancy renewal.
Thanks for the help

benjus

libbyyyyy wrote: »

Sorry I forgot to mention, the tenancy will end in June so it will be a 6 month tenancy. I do live in the UK.
I do have a written tenancy agreement and I have read it, and it does not state whether there are fees to the tenancy renewal.
Thanks for the help

Which part of the UK though? Laws are different.

Who do you pay the rent to? Who gave you the keys when you moved in? Did the landlord sign the tenancy agreement?

I would suggest contacting the landlord directly and agreeing to move onto a periodic tenancy when the fixed term ends. If there's a letting agent involved, they are just insisting on the renewal as an easy way to line their pockets. In this case the landlord probably won't benefit from the renewal, so shouldn't mind if you want to go onto a periodic tenancy.

G_M

If England/Wales, read:

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?)

No inventory is more an issue for the LL than the tenant.

Your LL's name should be on the tenancy agreement, as should an address "for the serving of notices". If not, you do not have to pay rent. (Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 S48)


You can also ask in writing whoever you pay rent to for the LL's actual address:

1 Disclosure of landlord’s identity.

(1)If the tenant of premises occupied as a dwelling makes a written request for the landlord’s name and address to—

(a)any person who demands, or the last person who received, rent payable under the tenancy, or

(b)any other person for the time being acting as agent for the landlord, in relation to the tenancy,

that person shall supply the tenant with a written statement of the landlord’s name and address within the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which he receives the request.

(2)A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with subsection (1) commits a summary offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

Landlord & Tenant Act 1985