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unreasonable agent fees?

I'm currently renting a 2 bed flat with a friend on a 1 year tenancy which is due to finish in August.

My flatmate is will be moving out soon. I want to stay in the flat, but on my own.

We contacted the agent to ask about changing the contract reflect these changes and were told there would be a fee of £340! :eek: This would simply be to remove my flatmate from the contract (not to add anyone new to the tenancy).

Does this seem unreasonable? I wouldn't object to paying a small fee, but £340 seems like a lot of money to simply delete a name on a contract.
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Comments

  • oli_ro
    oli_ro Posts: 142 Forumite
    Of course its unreasonable and blatant rip-off for 2 mins of Word editing, but unfortunately welcome to the world of unregulated letting agency working practice. There have been worst.

    I don't know what can you do ? Try to haggle ? Was it mentioned in the contract ?
  • Daniel77
    Daniel77 Posts: 5 Forumite
    Do you have to change contract? Why not let LL worry about that !
  • Guest101
    Guest101 Posts: 15,764 Forumite
    By law the agent must now publish their fees. Did they explain why they needed to charge £349? Have you complained to the PRS?

    And finally contacted your ll to ask them to give you a new tenancy agreement.

    Just FYI if your friend leaves and gives notice, u must also leave or have an agreement setup. Speak to LL, not agent.
  • kat1311
    kat1311 Posts: 39 Forumite
    Guest101 wrote: »
    By law the agent must now publish their fees. Did they explain why they needed to charge £349? Have you complained to the PRS?

    And finally contacted your ll to ask them to give you a new tenancy agreement.

    Just FYI if your friend leaves and gives notice, u must also leave or have an agreement setup. Speak to LL, not agent.


    The fees are published on their website, so they are displaying them. They haven't given any justification for the price though, only that it is the standard fee for changing a tenant on the contract.

    Can I ask the LL to give me a new tenancy agreement directly? The property is fully managed by the agent, but I do have the LL's details. I was under the impression everything had to be done through the agent?

    Who are the PRS?
  • jjlandlord
    jjlandlord Posts: 5,099 Forumite
    They don't have to explain their fees. There is no ground for complaint.

    Certainly, what you ask is not a "2 minute job".
  • Guest101
    Guest101 Posts: 15,764 Forumite
    kat1311 wrote: »
    The fees are published on their website, so they are displaying them. They haven't given any justification for the price though, only that it is the standard fee for changing a tenant on the contract.

    Can I ask the LL to give me a new tenancy agreement directly? The property is fully managed by the agent, but I do have the LL's details. I was under the impression everything had to be done through the agent?

    Who are the PRS?

    Your contract is with the LL. Think of the agency as their personal assistant.

    Every agent must be with a redress scheme , again should be on their website, where you can complain.
  • oli_ro
    oli_ro Posts: 142 Forumite
    edited 30 May 2015 at 7:36PM
    jjlandlord wrote: »
    They don't have to explain their fees. There is no ground for complaint.

    Certainly, what you ask is not a "2 minute job".

    Can you please tell me what is involved in resolving such a request ?

    To put things in perspective, typical conveyancing fees are £800-£850, so I am interested what kind of work the LA needs to do to justify £340, on top of the admin fees that they(possibly) levied initially.
  • mrginge
    mrginge Posts: 4,843 Forumite
    oli_ro wrote: »
    Can you please tell me what is involved in resolving such a request ?

    To put things in perspective, typical conveyancing fees are £800-£850, so I am interested what kind of work the LA needs to do to justify £340, on top of the admin fees that they(possibly) levied initially.

    Perhaps the LA does £1 of actual work in relation to the contract, has £330 of other costs to cover and takes £9 profit.

    Or perhaps they do the £1 of actual work, have £20 of other costs to cover because they run their business from a shed in their back garden and takes £319 profit because the market rate is £340.
  • oli_ro
    oli_ro Posts: 142 Forumite
    Well, in my opinion this sector is in need of an "Uber"-like disruption.
  • Kynthia
    Kynthia Posts: 5,692 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Does it include credit checking you to confirm you can afford the place on your own, taking and protecting a new deposit for the new tenancy, a new check-in inventory, and a new contract? You wouldn't want to be suprised by extra costs later.
    Don't listen to me, I'm no expert!
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