Renewal Fees

Homeagain

My sister has received a letter from her letting agent to say that her landlord has offered her a further year's tenancy. Does she have to accept this or can she insist on a month to month tenancy? Furthermore the agent has advised her that should she accept the year's tenancy she will have to pay a 'renewal fee' of 98.00. She queried this saying that she has never paid this before (she has been at the property for 3 years now). The agents advised her that 'that was a mistake and she should have been charged every year' but that they would write off previous fees due.
Her question is does she have to pay this 98.00 as it was never charged to her previously? She apparently signed a fee agreement initially. If she were to go on a month to month basis does she then have to sign the agreement and pay this amount. The agents are telling her that a month to month agreement is not an option.
Thank you

booksurr

not exactly the first time your question has been asked !

You are of course correct that the agent is simply after fees (possibly from the LL as well as her) as they have to make money somehow, so her options are:

1. contact the LL and find out direct from them if they are happy to move to a Statutory Periodic Tenancy ("month to month" in your words). If they are she does nothing as it will automatically become an SPT if she is still in occupation one minute after the current tenancy ends.

2. if she cannot contact the LL for whatever reason she could refuse to sign a new tenancy, let it become a SPT and take a gamble that the LL (or the agent pressuring the LL) will not issue a S21 and start eviction proceedings

3. sign a new tenancy and pay the fees on the basis it gives her the security of a further fixed term period where she know she cannot be evicted (provided she pays her rent !)

4. as for fees, by your own admission, she signed a contract which set out a fee schedule, she is thus bound by the contract she signed. The fact she has not paid them before is irrelevant in terms of whether she is liable for them. It would be very wise however to get written confirmation that the agents are writing off uncollected fees to date, so they cannot suddenly "remember" them and chase at a future date.

itchyfeet123

I just had the same situation. The communication from the agent was very threatening, saying they'd advise the landlord to issue notice if I didn't renew. I asked for a discount on the fee; no dice. So I got in touch with the landlord and he was happy to go to a periodic tenancy.

The agent doesn't want your sister to do a month to month because it deprives them of £98. Renewal fees are extortion, really, especially as the landlord will already be paying them £££ for their "services". But choosing a periodic tenancy is between the tenant and the landlord; nothing the agent can do about it.

Homeagain

Thank you, it is pretty much as I thought. A kind of blackmail really.

G_M

Read:

* Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?