Flat rent up for renewal. Paying 6 months upfront

BigCraigJohn

In simple terms I pay my rent in 6 month upfront lumps as i'm self employed and unable to prove income to a point they will accept..... + old defaults etc. I have lived here since October 2010 however I was sharing till 2016 which was previously monthly due to housemate having full time work and good credit etc. In in fact I have lived here since 2010 with no issues other than a few days late but nothing more and we've had nothing much back. To be fair the place is very tired now and could do with decorating and updating but im fussed really. Ive paid 3 lots of 6 months already as well as 50% monthly for the previous 6 years.

A few weeks back I had another offer to renew for another 12 months, of course at a cost of £60. I dont actually mind this as there are literally no rentals around here so im sure they'd get someone in easy however theyve put the rent up £20 a month, again its not too bad as I think thats the first increase in 3 years and is relatively cheap for the areas.

My issue is that finding several grand in lumps can be difficult and tends to leave me screwed for a while after, I had to buy a car last month so cash-flow has really took a hit. I just wondered what you thought my chances might be of them changing the payment terms?. Quarterly would be far easier and from what I gather it would give the landlord time to evict me if need be. I dont want to give them any grounds for concern.

Any advice on how I should approach this would be appreciated.

Email received minus sensitive info:

As your current tenancy is due to be reviewed on ...Late April 2018 we are delighted to inform you that you landlord is offering you a further fixed term of 12 months at a rental of £@@@ payable in advance half-yearly for the term.

In order to secure your new fixed term tenancy term please call us on 00000000000. There will be a charge of £60.00 (inc VAT) required to cover the cost of this service which can be made via debit card.

We are also available should you need to discuss any changes to the proposed terms, our office hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 5.30pm.

Should you be intending to vacate your property at the end of the current tenancy term then please email confirmation of this to email address including details of your forwarding address.

es5595

Dear Agent,

Thanks for your delightful email.

I'm delighted to tell you that I'm content to remain on a rolling monthly tenancy.

I'd consider signing a new contract, only if it were to return to monthly rental payments as I feel after eight years I've provided sufficient evidence that I'll pay the rent and paying a 6 month whack at a time is causing a large dent in my ISA.

Delightful Regards,
BigCraigJohn

AdrianC

After eight years, they still insist on 6mo in advance? They're having a laugh...

But... What's your choice? If the alternative is an s21...

saajan_12

BigCraigJohn wrote: »

In simple terms I pay my rent in 6 month upfront lumps as i'm self employed and unable to prove income to a point they will accept..... + old defaults etc. I have lived here since October 2010 however I was sharing till 2016 which was previously monthly due to housemate having full time work and good credit etc. In in fact I have lived here since 2010 with no issues other than a few days late but nothing more and we've had nothing much back. To be fair the place is very tired now and could do with decorating and updating but im fussed really. - if you'd like it updated, you can ask the LL to do it / contribute to the cost / ask for permission to redecorate at your cost. They are under no obligation to though, and it then becomes your choice to stay or move out in line wiht your fixed term /
notice period. The no hassle continuity of rental is probably what makes you a good option than evicting / raising rent Ive paid 3 lots of 6 months already as well as 50% monthly for the previous 6 years.

A few weeks back I had another offer to renew for another 12 months, of course at a cost of £60. I dont actually mind this as there are literally no rentals around here so im sure they'd get someone in easy however theyve put the rent up £20 a month, again its not too bad as I think thats the first increase in 3 years and is relatively cheap for the areas.

My issue is that finding several grand in lumps can be difficult and tends to leave me screwed for a while after, - why? after the first 6monthly payment, surely you save the money you would pay each month for rent, and pay it all at the end of a 6 month period. I had to buy a car last month so cash-flow has really took a hit. - I understand if this may have been necessary, but only would be the case if you used money designated for the next lot of rent. I just wondered what you thought my chances might be of them changing the payment terms?. - you can certainly ask, likelihood of success depends on your relationship with LL/agent, how willing they are to take a void to get their way, and how the agreement is phrased (ie if you don't renew, would the rolling periodic contract be monthly or 6monthly) Quarterly would be far easier and from what I gather it would give the landlord time to evict me if need be. I dont want to give them any grounds for concern. - quarterly doesn't really give them time to evict before your rent runs out, to serve notice, wait for it to expire, apply to court, get a possession order, get bailiffs.. all in 4-8 months min.

Any advice on how I should approach this would be appreciated.

Email received minus sensitive info:

As your current tenancy is due to be reviewed on ...Late April 2018 we are delighted to inform you that you landlord is offering you a further fixed term of 12 months at a rental of £@@@ payable in advance half-yearly for the term.

In order to secure your new fixed term tenancy term please call us on 00000000000. There will be a charge of £60.00 (inc VAT) required to cover the cost of this service which can be made via debit card.

We are also available should you need to discuss any changes to the proposed terms, our office hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 5.30pm.

Should you be intending to vacate your property at the end of the current tenancy term then please email confirmation of this to email address including details of your forwarding address.- It might be polite but you don't HAVE to give notice to vacate by the end of the fixed term, nor provide forwarding address.

Two options
1) If you want the security of a fixed term, try negotiating with the LL / agent for any/all of the below
- change frequency of payments, based on your payment history
- remove £60 charge
- remove rent increase

2) Otherwise, go onto rolling periodic tenancy - check your latest contract if it mentions what happens after the fixed term for the terms of a Contractual Periodic Tenancy; if nothing mentioned you'll automatically roll into a Statutory Periodic Tenancy.
- Note while the LL is able to evict you, it would take 2 months notice + going to court so all in 5+ months, and they are unlikely to as the LL loses out in having a void etc.

G_M

es5595 wrote: »

Dear Agent,

Thanks for your delightful email.

I'm delighted to tell you that I'm content to remain on a rolling monthly tenancy.

It appears the OP would move to a 6-monthly periodic tenancy, not a 'rolling monthly tenancy'.

Any change in payment terms (ie from 6 monthly to monthly) would have to be by negotiation and agreement, irrespective of whether signing a new fixed term or moving to a periodic tenancy.

BigCraigJohn

Thanks for your input.

The 8 year thing is a bit of a grey area as when we originally moved in, in 2010 we were with a great small local agent who were genuinely great. In about 2014 they sold to another agent who have a well known larger company above them. In simple terms I have dealt with about 10 different people plotted all over the place, the people that take the money are 120 miles away.

I will be honest these are nowhere near as good, we previously had stringent inspections. Something worrying for the landlord, in 2016 when they transferred it to my name there was no inventory taken. He was supposed to be coming but after me waiting in all day nobody turned up and subsequently he said he wouldnt be able to do it. They did do an inspection october 2017 which was the first since 2014 at which point they did take some photos but I cant see how that could ever stand up as any sort of indication of how it was when I signed up and as my housemate already had their deposit back and I paid again I dont see where that would leave things.


I know that logically I would have the 6 months aside but self employment never works that way + if I had the spare cash to have savings I probably wouldn't be renting. Saying this my credit history is now clean, its just all a bit tight right nowand i'd still need to prove £22k profit a year which I cant even if I earn it. Cash is great but hard to prove. If I need to find 5 grand by the end of next month I will but its a hell of a hit.

G_M

BigCraigJohn wrote: »

Thanks for your input.

The 8 year thing is a bit of a grey area as when we originally moved in, in 2010 we were with a great small local agent who were genuinely great. In about 2014 they sold to another agent who have a well known larger company above them. In simple terms I have dealt with about 10 different people plotted all over the place, the people that take the money are 120 miles away.
All irrelevant. What matters is your contract, which is with the landlord, not his agent.

I will be honest these are nowhere near as good, we previously had stringent inspections. Something worrying for the landlord, in 2016 when they transferred it to my name there was no inventory taken. He was supposed to be coming but after me waiting in all day nobody turned up and subsequently he said he wouldnt be able to do it.
Without an inventory the LL will have diffficulty making any deductions from your deposit. Silly landlord!

They did do an inspection october 2017 which was the first since 2014 at which point they did take some photos but I cant see how that could ever stand up as any sort of indication of how it was when I signed up and as my housemate already had their deposit back and I paid again I dont see where that would leave things.
All irrelevant.

I know that logically I would have the 6 months aside but self employment never works that way + if I had the spare cash to have savings I probably wouldn't be renting. Saying this my credit history is now clean, its just all a bit tight right nowand i'd still need to prove £22k profit a year which I cant even if I earn it. Cash is great but hard to prove. If I need to find 5 grand by the end of next month I will but its a hell of a hit.

1) what date did your (current) tenancy start?
2) what exactly does the contract say about payment? Please quote.

BigCraigJohn

G_M wrote: »

1) what date did your (current) tenancy start?

twentieth of April 2017


2) what exactly does the contract say about payment? Please quote.

Will PM you

BigCraigJohn

I bit the bullet and gave them a call. Bloke was actually really pleasant and helpful.
I basically said i'd be happy to renew and pay + the agree to the new terms if he could change the tenancy to 3 monthly, pointed out how long ive been here with nothing spent.
He suggested I ask to pay monthly which is even better so he's going to speak to the landlord and come back in a week.

My cynical side tells me the landlord probably doesnt even know that i'm paying in 6 months and is still receiving payment monthly and that the agents will just see this is as grounds to draw up a new agreement at my expense but who knows?, will see what comes of it all. Somewhere along the lines someone is earning 5 months worth of rent interest out of me....

Can I just ask though. When I signed the original agreement and went through all the checks etc I had to deal with landlord hub. I passed everything but being able to prove income and nothing has changed hence the 6 months in advance. Is that likely to affect anything or is it effectively at the agents discretion? I suspect its insurance related?

G_M

It is all up to the landlord.

When we suggested you 'ask', we meant 'ask the landlord'!

The landlord employs the agent so the agent has to do whatever the landlord instructs, not the other way round.