Assured Shorthold Tennancy for 7 Years length?

pippamannequin

Hi, Ive just picked up a copy of my new tennancy agreement to bring home and read before i sign it.
It is as stated above for a period of 7 years.
Can anyone tell me please what are the implications of this length, i know it was given to me to give me a sense of security, but Im sure I read somewhere something about a 7 year term means Im pretty much responsible for things I would normally expect the landlord to be responsible for, repairs etc. Id just like a little more clarity if anyone knows!! Thankyou.

Evee2000

I don't believe a period in excess of 6 months is valid in law. I would double check

pippamannequin

Really? Can anyone else shed some light on this at all? EEK!

BobProperty

Evee2000 wrote: »

I don't believe a period in excess of 6 months is valid in law. I would double check

What??? You can't evict a tenant on an AST within 6 months of starting an AST unless they have breached the tenancy.
Is this a Council or Housing Association tenancy? There's something about long tenancy agreements or agreements for over £25,000 (is it?) that makes them different in some ways, but never having had to deal with these situations I'd have to look up the details.

pippamannequin

Im letting a brand new property from a private landlord. They wanted somebody long term and I need security, no length was actually mentioned until i saw the agreement today and it says 7 years for the length of term and on the front it says assured shorthold tenancy. Many thanks

Evee2000

Okay, may have been mistaken (but I've definitely seen it somewhere and its gonna do my head in now!) However, found this article which might help you:

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/residential_tenancies.htm

poppy10_2

Can you post the exact wording that mentions the 7 years?

carolt

I'd ask the landlord why they chose 7 years - there may be a perfectly good explanation. The only reference I can find in the above mentioned document is this:

Long Tenancies or Leases
Residential landlords are mainly concerned with letting on short tenancies (up to 7 years) but if they let out flats they may themselves have bought a long lease on the flat - usually up to 99 years.

So this suggests 7 years is the crossover point for a short to a long lease. But what implications this would have for you as a tenant, and which side (short or long lease) 7 years exactly stands, I can't help you with.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along in a moment....

Lavendyr

According to our AST, an AST may be used for a tenancy with a maximum period of 3 years (before becoming periodic) - beyond that it cannot be valid and an agreement must be drawn up by deed. Definitely check this out further though.

moneysavinmonkey

Evee2000 wrote: »

I don't believe a period in excess of 6 months is valid in law. I would double check

what !!
my next AST is 12 months - at my request - are you saying this isn't valid?

silvercar

If the total rental over the whole tenancy length hits the stamp duty thresholds the tenant has to pay stamp duty on it. So on a 7 year lease if the rent exceeds £1488 a month, you would have to pay stamp duty.

One of the benefits of renting is the ability to easily move out. If you sign a 7 year tenancy with no break clause, you are committing for a long time. What will you do if the landlord is slow to address problems etc? What happens if your circumstances change and you want to move on?

Please tell me you are not being asked for a years rent in advance? I would suspect that the landlord is then offering anything to get some money off you. Also check that the landlord either doesn't have a mortgage or has the lenders permission to let for so long. Most lenders get twitchy on anything beyond 12 months.