Letting Agent Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement and Initial Rent Charges

Kath422343

I am moving into a new rental property at the end of this month and have just received details of the contract and amounts we will be charged from the lettings agent. I disagree with the amount that they are proposing to charge us and also the dates on the tenancy agreement seem to be incorrect. We have agreed to collect the keys on Friday 28th April 2017. The tenancy agreement starts on the 28th April 2017 and ends on the 27th October 2017. The monthly rental amount is £850pcm. They have proposed an initial fee of £1045.62 which they say is to cover the 1st rent payment from 28th April until the 3rd June on the date we collect the keys. The following monthly rent payments of £850 will be taken by standing order on the 1st of each month from 1st June onwards. The letting agent has advised that if we should choose to vacate the property at the end of the 6 month term then we would vacate on 3rd November, but this is not written anywhere in the contract. There is a line in the contract which states The rent is paid per calendar month so the proportional rental is worked out on a daily rate as follows: the monthly rent times by 12 divided by 365
days (unless a leap year when it is 366 days) and then times by the days of the month you wish to calculate either at the start of the Tenancy
Agreement or at the end of the Tenancy Agreement when there is not a full month payable. I have asked the letting agent to explain how they have calculated the £1045.62 and they have said it is because there are 31 days in May, so we need to pay £850 for 28 April to 27 May plus 7 days for 28, 29, 30, 31 May and 1, 2, 3 June. I don't understand why we are being charged extra for the 7 days in May instead of the 6 days at the start of the contract from when we collect the keys? Also I am concerned that there is nothing in the contract to say that our rent payments will cover us up to the 3rd November - it says the tenancy ends on 27th October. I also don't understand why we aren't simply charged 3 days for 28,29,30 April, plus £850 for May, and then the following rent payments could be taken on the 1st June and then on the 1st of each month until 1st October to take us up to 31st October. The letting agents say that we need to send sll payments to them 3 days in advance of when they are due but I did not have to do this with my current rented property for the monthly rent. I have asked the letting agent to explain the calculation and told them I disagree but they are insisting it has been worked out correctly. Could you please give me some advice on this as to whether I can get the details in the contract changed before I sign it as I am unsure about the current contract and nervous about signing it.

G_M

Far too much irrelevant information. Forget what you've been told. Tell us

1) start date on the tenancy agreement
2) specified rent on the tenancy agreement
3) date specified on the tenancy agreement when 1st rent payment is due, and whether in advance or arrears
4) dates specified on the tenancy agreement when subsequent rent payment are due,
5) what other payments are specified on the TA eg deposit, and when due
6) any other charges (eg for credit vetting etc)

If you want the tenancy you will prety well have topay the initial amount demanded (or you won't get the keys!).
- get a receipt
- then calculate yourself when and how much is due the next payment, based on whether you've over or under paid rent etc based on the above questions (NOT based on some verbal demand).

Normally rent is payable monthly from the start - if rent is to be subsequently alighned with the 1st of the month (I never understand why), this should be clearly stated in the TA. If it isn't, ignore it.

Kath422343

1) start date on the tenancy agreement = 28th April 2017
2) specified rent on the tenancy agreement= £850 PCM
3) date specified on the tenancy agreement when 1st rent payment is due, and whether in advance or arrears: The tenancy agreement states PAYABLE: The rent is payable by standing order to the Landlord’s Agent in advance by
the following instalments:
The sum of £1045.62 (one thousand forty five pounds and sixty two pence) to be paid on the signing hereof in
respect of the twenty eighth day of April two thousand and seventeen to the third day of June two thousand and
seventeen and thereafter the sum of £850.00 (eight hundred and fifty pounds) to be paid on the fourth day of each
calendar month throughout the remaining term.

4) dates specified on the tenancy agreement when subsequent rent payment are due, - see above
5) what other payments are specified on the TA eg deposit, and when due
A security deposit of £950.00 (nine hundred and fifty pounds) has been paid by the Tenant on or before the signing
of this Tenancy Agreement. The Landlord (either by himself or by his Agent) shall arrange for the Deposit to be
protected by a Government licensed tenancy deposit scheme of his choice until the end of the Tenancy Agreement
and to be returned or allocated between the parties without interest as detailed in Clauses 5.1 to 5.13

6) any other charges (eg for credit vetting etc)
Full list of charges:Rent Due: 28/04/17 to 03/06/17 £ 1,045.62
Security Deposit £ 950.00
Agreement Fees Due (VAT charged at 20%) £ 300.00
Reference Fees Due (VAT charged at 20%) £ 150.00
Administration Fee (VAT charged at 20%) £ 100.00
Inventory Check-In (VAT charged at 20%) £ 100.00

G_M

Bl**dy h*ll! Talk about a convoluted contract!

Much depends whether the LL/agent are willing to amend this. It is common for agents to be unwilling to do so
* extra work
* don't care attitude [take it or leave it]
* over-blown self-importance [we know best]
* desire to align rent payment dates with, for example, mortgage payment dates

However given that you want to simplify, they may agree - worth asking. The difficulty is if they won't agree, then you'll have 2 choices:

* sign, pay what they initially want, and then argue over future payments when the time comes, or
* walk away

My suggestion would be to offer:
* initial payment on 28th April of £850 covering 28/4/17 - 27/5/17
* subsequent payments of £850 on 28th each month
* final payment on 28/9/17 covering 28/9/17 - 27/10/17

In each case, the date represents the 'due date' ie the date when it should reach the LL/agent's account. Up to you to either pay cash on the day, send a cheque 7 working days in advance, or arrange same day Faster Paymemts.

Agreement Fees Due (VAT charged at 20%) £ 300.00
Reference Fees Due (VAT charged at 20%) £ 150.00
Administration Fee (VAT charged at 20%) £ 100.00
Inventory Check-In (VAT charged at 20%) £ 100.00

which is why Eng/Wales needs some Scottish-style leglislation to control or ban these fees!

* which ombudsman shceme does the agent belong to?
* is the landlord also paying for reference fees? and Inventory check-in?


* The Property Ombudsman code of practice does not permit double charging........

Kath422343

Thanks G_M!

The only problem with paying the rent on the 28th of each month is that my salary is paid at the end of the month, so ideally I need the rent payments to be taken on the 1st of each month...

I've been having some other issues too - the agents called me yesterday to say we could no longer sign and collect the keys on 28th April as originally agreed, because the LL had agreed to let the previous tenants stay on an extra month. So I called the LL (slightly panicked as I need to vacate my current rental property by the end of April!) and he told me that the property is currently empty, but the previous tenants are refusing the agents access to the property because of a dispute between them.

The LL has since spoken to the previous tenants and managed to sort out the issue (he didn't go into details as to what the issue was) and now the agent is saying we can collect the keys as originally planned on the 28th April. It's just so frustrating and wrong that I am having to resolve this myself whilst paying extortionate fees to the agents, who couldn't care less about me and whether I have a place to live or bother to try and resolve any issues on my behalf!

I haven't signed yet but am unfortunately in a position where I don't have much choice.

Anyway - rant over! But thanks so much for the free advice, it's been a massive help

saajan_12

Kath422343 wrote: »

The only problem with paying the rent on the 28th of each month is that my salary is paid at the end of the month, so ideally I need the rent payments to be taken on the 1st of each month...

Ahh so was the payment date of 1st at your request? Sounds like
* You want payment date to be 1st of month
* LL wants rent paid 3 days in advance of each period
==> Tenancy periods must start on 4th of each month

So the first full month should be 4May - 3June and you should pay pro-rata for the first 6 days (28Apr-3May)

However if your dispute is only really over ~£28 it may be not worth the hassle / extra reference fees etc if you choose to walk away.

As for the end date, it should definitely state 3rd of a month as you are expected to pay for 6/7 days + entire months.