letting agent contacted me, advice?

stringer_bell

Hi All,

So I'm new to renting, didn't have a guarentor so I paid 6 months rent in advance as act of good faith. the tenancy ends on 24th December. Letting agency contacted me asking if I would like another 6 month tenancy..

1/ Would it be rude to ask for a discount for paying 6 months again?
2/ I don't have a guarentor, however I paid 6 months at start. Surely this is enough for me to now switch to monthly rent?
3/ I'm pretty sure the letting agent want me to pay the 6 months again soon, surely I shouldn't need to pay 6 months tenancy from december 24th, 2 months before end? They asked me to pay their admin fee in an email, so I presume thats what they meant

This is all new to me, so not sure what is the norm

SCOYA

Most letting agents will invoice you for an extension/renewal of tenancy, that's the 'money for old rope' admin fee.

You can ask to go to monthly rental payments, however, as you've already paid six months in advance that will probably be what the landlord and agency are expecting at the point of renewal. However, that should be due when the extension commences ie: 24 December, I don't believe you should be paying it two months prior to the end of the tenancy.

jamie11

Look at your tenancy agreement, does it specify you can pay monthly?

The agent wants more fees from you, you can move to a statutory periodic tenancy when the agreement runs out, exactly the same terms as before except for the terms of notice which are laid down by statute.

jamie11

SCOYA wrote: »

I don't believe you should be paying it two months prior to the end of the tenancy.

They're asking now so they will have time to put a S21 in the post if the tenant refuses to play ball, I wonder if the landlord knows? (They would charge the landlord as well)

A sharp practise and very very common.

Armorica

http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/London%20Rental%20Standard%20-%20May%202014_1.pdf is a voluntary agreement in London. It might be a useful read to see what is 'good practice' (not necessarily the same as common!)

stator

Write a letter to them stating clearly that you want the tenancy to become a periodic tenancy and that you wish to pay your rent monthly in advance.
Don't phone them because it's easier for them to lie/mislead you over the phone.
Unfortunately with most rental agencies you end up playing a bluffing game and you can't know whether they are going to end the tenancy and evict you or not. Most of the time they just want fees but wouldn't be willing to evict you.
If you had to move, how much of a hassle would it be to you?

jjlandlord

The issue is that, depending on how the payment of the 6 month rent in advance was setup, legally the periodic tenancy may require the same 6 month rent payments in advance and may have 6 month periods.

ali_hire

It sounds to me like they are trying protect their client, the landlord.

As part of the reference process an agent should be confirming your financial credibility by checking that you have sufficient income to cover your living costs as well as the rent (gross income of 30x monthly rent is normal).

Presumably you paid six months in advance because there was some difficulty in confirming you met this criteria (you mentioned that the other option would have been a guarantor).

In their eyes nothing's changed. Just because you paid the rent in advance doesn't necessarily mean you now have the regular income to pay monthly going forward.

If you came to me asking to extend your agreement I would offer you three options;

1. Pay in advance again, before the beginning of the 5th month so that a notice can be issued if necessary.

2. Allow you to pay monthly if references can be obtained confirming you have the income to meet the normal criteria.

3. If neither of the above are doable and you still want to stay I would chat with my landlord client and see if he is willing to let you stay and pay monthly regardless. His decision would largely be based on my comments about your performance as a tenant (IE. Have you looked after the place, do you seem like a genuine person, etc?)

If option 3 was agreed I wouldn't offer you a fixed term though. Not until some history of good, regular payments was seen.

chanz4

letting agents trying it on, go rolling

stringer_bell

stator wrote: »

Write a letter to them stating clearly that you want the tenancy to become a periodic tenancy and that you wish to pay your rent monthly in advance.
Don't phone them because it's easier for them to lie/mislead you over the phone.
Unfortunately with most rental agencies you end up playing a bluffing game and you can't know whether they are going to end the tenancy and evict you or not. Most of the time they just want fees but wouldn't be willing to evict you.
If you had to move, how much of a hassle would it be to you?

it would be a big hassle, plus I quite like it here

stringer_bell

ali_hire wrote: »

It sounds to me like they are trying protect their client, the landlord.

As part of the reference process an agent should be confirming your financial credibility by checking that you have sufficient income to cover your living costs as well as the rent (gross income of 30x monthly rent is normal).

Presumably you paid six months in advance because there was some difficulty in confirming you met this criteria (you mentioned that the other option would have been a guarantor).

In their eyes nothing's changed. Just because you paid the rent in advance doesn't necessarily mean you now have the regular income to pay monthly going forward.

If you came to me asking to extend your agreement I would offer you three options;

1. Pay in advance again, before the beginning of the 5th month so that a notice can be issued if necessary.

2. Allow you to pay monthly if references can be obtained confirming you have the income to meet the normal criteria.

3. If neither of the above are doable and you still want to stay I would chat with my landlord client and see if he is willing to let you stay and pay monthly regardless. His decision would largely be based on my comments about your performance as a tenant (IE. Have you looked after the place, do you seem like a genuine person, etc?)

If option 3 was agreed I wouldn't offer you a fixed term though. Not until some history of good, regular payments was seen.

I shown then tax statements in advance showing I was good for money, I really don't mind paying 6 months again.. it's paying it 2 months before end of end of tenancy, thats almost like paying 8 months