Letting agent increased fees by 50%

ashe

martindow wrote: »

?? Covfefe??

Originally Posted by Comms69 View Post
Like I say the only outcome is eviction - not many landlords evict ayungbtenants

I think he plays for Arsenal.

martinlewisjunior

Update, the landlord uses two agents for the property. We're asking the question around can we use the other agent.

bowlhead99

You mention that any prospective new tenant is put off by the fees. However if your ex housemate still wants to live there without the hassle of moving, he will find the place more attractive to let out if he volunteers to pay some of the admin fee himself, reducing the cost to his friendly new housemate.

It doesn't make the fee go away but it stops the fee being a barrier to potential flatmates who might be nice to live with if they didn't turn down the opportunities due to high fees.

Also, in terms of it being a potential barrier to new tenants - presumably the new housemate would be expecting to live there for a year or more. The old price for an extra tenant was £220 and you paid it. The new price is £330 which over a year is less than a tenner a month, compared to what it was. Over more than a year, even less. There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding to live in a small flat with a stranger (or even a friend) as a long term living arrangement. If the arrangement seems workable because the person likes the flat and the housemate, a change of cost of under £10 a month is likely not going to be the thing that decides it for them.

Finally, you mention about subletting and the fact that you agreed "Not to assign, sublet, otherwise part with possession of the Property or let any other person live at the Property without the prior written consent of the Landlord or the Landlord's Agent which cannot be unreasonably withheld and must be given within a reasonable time." A way to read this is to disregard all the punctuation and note that it says you can't sublet it wthout prior written consent - but this consent can't be unreasonably withheld. So you could sublet it unless the landlord as a reasonable person has a justifiable reason why you must not.

If you are not increasing the total occupancy of the house (because you'll move out to let the new person in) and you are not introducing anyone undesirable (background check and references) and you are still on the contract paying the rent (hoping to collect money from your subtenant or your ex-flatmate's lodger, whatever you call it) and you have been a reliable tenant so far, maybe he will let you sublet it out (and not unreasonably withhold permission for that). Of course, then you are still on the tenancy agreement yourself rather than being off the hook, which is what you want really. So just a thought.

The idea of two agents is interesting - I wonder if the other agent incurs more costs for the landlord or if they are as good / reactive to any maintenance issues that come up etc. Sometimes it can be 'better the devil you know'.

Comms69

martindow wrote: »

?? Covfefe??

ashe wrote: »

I think he plays for Arsenal.

Paying* tenants. Sorry

martinlewisjunior

Thanks for the recommendations, however the fees are a rip off and the landlord agreed. They rang up and convinced the letting agent to drop the fees to their original price to when we moved in. Yes it's not as great as no fees, but a saving of £110, totally worth it! :money:

My housemate is also considering paying half the now dropped fees for whoever moves in.

Thanks all