Feeling pressured into paying tenancy renewal fees every 6 months

ToyIla

My partner and I moved in with one of his friends in 2014. The initial contract we signed was for 6 months, for me this seemed pretty normal, all my previous tenancies had been 6 months fixed then onto a rolling/unfixed contract after that ended. I've never had any trouble with this and assumed it would be the same again.

About a month from the end of our first 6 months we received a letter asking us to renew our 6 month contract with a £125 renewal fee. I was surprised by this as I'd never come across it before. As we're all shift workers, often on very different schedules, it took us a while to discuss whether we wanted to do this or not. In the mean time we'd received a reminder letter about the renewal, making us feel pressured into renewing if we wanted to stay. We wanted to stay, so we renewed.

Needless to say before each 6 month contract has run out we've received the same renewal notification. First by email, then by letter and this time they even texted when we hadn't gotten back to them right away. Each time they start asking earlier and earlier. And each time our renewal comes with a rent increase.

We probably wouldn't mind the £125 price tag as much (I don't think we'd ever completely like it) if we were on a 12 month contract. But feeling pressured into paying £125 every 6 months is a bit extortionate, on top of rent and other bills. It may be being divided between three of us, but we're all minimum wage workers and every penny counts.

On top of this and the steady rent increases, we're also feeling as though we're getting nothing in return. Since we moved in we've not had a working extractor fan in the kitchen and the bathroom one isn't suitable for a windowless bathroom. Both of these things have been reported on every inspection we've had, yet nothing's been done. When we had someone out to look at our cooker top (which was having temporary issues) he noted the old style we had, although not dangerous, should be replaced and he'd put in a request for it for us. Again nothing. Sure we get people out regularly to check our fire alarms are working and our gas fittings and what nots are safe/fit for purpose, but it does feel like we're being pressured into paying money and seeing nothing for it other than some paper work telling us our contract is almost exactly the same as it was except now you pay a lil more rent.

We've never had any direct contact with our landlord, so we don't know if he'd allow us to stay on indefinitely if we don't have the fixed contract, especially since we've always payed the fee in the past. It's a much riskier position to be in, especially since our current contract ends in January when none of us will have the funds to move on if we're asked to do so. We're really not sure what the best way to proceed from here is and most of the stuff I've found online about it talks from the landlords pov not the tenants. Any advice here would help.

Thanks.

Marvel1

In regards to the 6 monthly renewal fees, just ignore their request to make money out of you and you will automatically go onto the rolling/unfixed contract, the agents don't like it as no fee for them - well the fees are being scrapped - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5561770

In regards to the extractor fan, don't bother verbally telling them - leaves no trace you told them, pen and paper and keep a copy.

Pixie5740

You don't have to sign a ew contract every 6 months, you could do nothing and just let the tenancy become periodic. You can accept the rent increase without signing anything, you just start paying it.


The letting agency can't go spending money on repairs and improvements without the landlord's consent. You have both a hob and an extractor fan that work to some degree. You've mentioned them during inspections but have you put it in WRITING to the address for the serving of notices given in your tenancy agreement?

You can request the landlord's contact details from the letting agency? Under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 they must supply them within 21 days.

bowlhead99

Agreed with the comments above about putting your repairs request in writing to both landlord and agent.

For the tenancy, you have two choices. As others have said, if you don't want to sign a new agreement that gives you and the landlord the certainty of having a minimum term remaining, you can just choose not to sign it. It will just be rolling on month to month and either of you can give notice to end it as set out by the law.

You can't be forced to sign up for another six months, but you might want to, especially if you don't have any savings to help you go through a relocation that you don't want the costs and hassle of. Landlord can serve standard notice and bring in new tenants who give him the certainty of tenure and the price per month that he wants.

The fee from the agent is basically money for old rope. They would make more from that process than it cost them. So, no wonder they want to do it, and their landlord is happy to sign another six months so has probably asked them to get it done. But you don't need to do it if you don't want that six months of certainty. It is really up to you if you want to sign or not.

The landlord prefers someone who will sign for longer but doesn't want to change tenants and have periods of no rent, even if the agents are happy to go out and find new tenants and get paid for that. So if you have been ok reliable tenants and not trashed the place for two years, he will very likely be happy for the rent to keep rolling in month after month from you guys, and the agent trying to tell you that signing up to another contract is really important, is just sales talk.

As an aside, when agent-tenant fees are banned, it will not necessarily make things any better for tenants. The agents will look to renegotiate with landlords and say hey, we are doing this non-zero work twice a year and want to make money, which is why we are in this agency middleman business. Please pay us an extra £250 a year. Don't worry, you can just put the price up by £250 a year to be able to afford it.

The landlord will say ok, if the market will bear another £250 rent increase then great, let's charge an extra £250 a year, but I'm not paying you £250 because you know that some of it is money for old rope. Let's call it £100 a year and I'll take the extra £150 net income for myself. Or, I could just change agents to someone that is more competitive. But thanks for tipping me off that tenants in this area can now afford £250/year extra rent, especially as they are saving on application fees and renewal fees. We'll start with that new high rate on the next tenancy agreement we sign.

always_sunny

Pixie5740 wrote: »

You don't have to sign a ew contract every 6 months, you could do nothing and just let the tenancy become periodic. You can accept the rent increase without signing anything, you just start paying it.


The letting agency can't go spending money on repairs and improvements without the landlord's consent. You have both a hob and an extractor fan that work to some degree. You've mentioned them during inspections but have you put it in WRITING to the address for the serving of notices given in your tenancy agreement?

You can request the landlord's contact details from the letting agency? Under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 they must supply them within 21 days.

But if the OP refuses to sign a renewed AST, what would happen? They might get issued a S21 asking them to vacate the premises.
Some EA/LL do like this dance of AST every x months and the tenant can sign or leave, at least in places with competitive rental market. The tenant has no right to demand the AST to become periodic.

The fees will be banned have right now, today, tomorrow have they?

Pixie5740

always_sunny wrote: »

But if the OP refuses to sign a renewed AST, what would happen? They might get issued a S21 asking them to vacate the premises.
Some EA/LL do like this dance of AST every x months and the tenant can sign or leave, at least in places with competitive rental market. The tenant has no right to demand the AST to become periodic.

1) A Section 21 is just notice that the landlord might go to court to get an eviction order.

2) The letting agent cannot represent the landlord in court so the landlord would have to go themselves or hire a solicitor.

3) Would a landlord really want a void period, to pay tenant finder fees to a letting agent by evicting a decent tenant? That wouldn't make sense.

4) Yes the tenant has a right to a periodic tenancy. It will either be a Contractual Periodic Tenancy as set out in the current tenancy agreement or a Statutory Periodic Tenancy which is statutory law (the clue is in the name).

It's just an aggressive tactic used by letting agents and as long as their are tenants willing to bend over and take it letting agents will continue to do it.

always_sunny wrote: »

The fees will be banned have right now, today, tomorrow have they?

No the fees are still lawful and I never said otherwise. Whether fees are currently lawful or not has no bearing on whether or not the OP has to sign a new fixed term contract.

Fuzzyness

its just a cash cow for the agency as they charge both the tenant and the LL for the privelidge of a new agreement. as a LL i've instructed the agency i use not to renew my tenant's tenancy as i dont want to pay the charge.

you need to balance up the benefit of having the security of another 6 month tenancy against the ability of the LL to ask you to move out (within the prescribed times set out in your tenancy agreement).

always_sunny

Pixie5740 wrote: »

1) A Section 21 is just notice that the landlord might go to court to get an eviction order.

2) The letting agent cannot represent the landlord in court so the landlord would have to go themselves or hire a solicitor.

3) Would a landlord really want a void period, to pay tenant finder fees to a letting agent by evicting a decent tenant? That wouldn't make sense.

4) Yes the tenant has a right to a periodic tenancy. It will either be a Contractual Periodic Tenancy as set out in the current tenancy agreement or a Statutory Periodic Tenancy which is statutory law (the clue is in the name).

It's just an aggressive tactic used by letting agents and as long as their are tenants willing to bend over and take it letting agents will continue to do it.



No the fees are still lawful and I never said otherwise. Whether fees are currently lawful or not has no bearing on whether or not the OP has to sign a new fixed term contract.

This comes up very often and it seems like there are parallel worlds in the UK.
One world where the tenant has options, periodic tenancies, etc
Another world where for the tenant these options do not exist .

In London and in many densely populated centres, AST are mostly standard 12 and are renewed every 12 months. Periodic doesn't seem to exist as much.

S21 (you call it just a notice, fair enough) is the LL telling you to go. It can be delayed, etc but eventually you will go.

Show me what laws guarantees the tenant the right to demand a AST to roll into a periodic contract. They can ask (sure) but depending on the LL they may get a Yes or a No.
If it's a No, what happens? What laws will they use?

England, Wales is strongly pro-landlord. Tenants have very little rights.

marksoton

always_sunny wrote: »

This comes up very often and it seems like there are parallel worlds in the UK.
One world where the tenant has options, periodic tenancies, etc
Another world where for the tenant these options do not exist .

In London and in many densely populated centres, AST are mostly standard 12 and are renewed every 12 months. Periodic doesn't seem to exist as much.

S21 (you call it just a notice, fair enough) is the LL telling you to go. It can be delayed, etc but eventually you will go.

Show me what laws guarantees the tenant the right to demand a AST to roll into a periodic contract. They can ask (sure) but depending on the LL they may get a Yes or a No.
If it's a No, what happens? What laws will they use?

England, Wales is strongly pro-landlord. Tenants have very little rights.

They do. But as the evidence on this board proves they just don't know it.

Miss_Samantha

always_sunny wrote: »

In London and in many densely populated centres, AST are mostly standard 12 and are renewed every 12 months. Periodic doesn't seem to exist as much.

Not true at all unless you show us stats.

always_sunny wrote: »

England, Wales is strongly pro-landlord. Tenants have very little rights.

You must have missed the news over the past few years...

always_sunny

Miss_Samantha wrote: »

Not true at all unless you show us stats.

You must have missed the news over the past few years...

You must be one of those living the parallel world where the tenant has all these rights!