Letting Agent Wants 6 Months Rent Again

darambah

I moved into this property in January and was pretty much forced to pay 6 months rent by the letting agent. I am self employed and my partner is a registered nurse. The agent claimed because i was the main person on the contract and was self employed we had to pay 6 months upfront. I pad 6 months up front but never received any actual confirmation of payment and they agent claimed they were too busy. Contract was later sent and on the contract it made mention of only 1 month payment and a monthly rolling contract. I can send a screen shot of the contract if need be. I have just been asked again to pay another 6 months which personally i do not want to for many reasons. I do have an accountant who could show evidence of funds etc but letting agent claimed that was not good because I was self employed. I smell so many rats. Please I need advice. Thanks

Comms69

darambah wrote: »

I moved into this property in January and was pretty much forced to pay 6 months rent by the letting agent. I am self employed and my partner is a registered nurse. The agent claimed because i was the main person on the contract and was self employed we had to pay 6 months upfront. I pad 6 months up front but never received any actual confirmation of payment and they agent claimed they were too busy. Contract was later sent and on the contract it made mention of only 1 month payment and a monthly rolling contract. I can send a screen shot of the contract if need be. I have just been asked again to pay another 6 months which personally i do not want to for many reasons. I do have an accountant who could show evidence of funds etc but letting agent claimed that was not good because I was self employed. I smell so many rats. Please I need advice. Thanks

Just don't pay it then? Just pay monthly.


Letting agents cant evict you, so it's largely irrelevant

AdrianC

You paid 6mo rent in January - that'd cover Jan-June. It's now May. So, yes, you are soon due to be paying again...

You can refuse to pay upfront, but the landlord can give you s21 notice.

need_an_answer

Its not the agent that decides who rents the property..its a decision for the LL.

What rats do you smell?

If the arrangement was initially agreed that you pay 6 months at a time and you now would like to negotiate the rent payment monthly then contact the LL to see if they are in agreement.

Was the contract you originally signed for a fixed term of 6 or 12 months?

It isn't uncommon for self employed people to be asked to pay 6 months in one go I infact have a tenant who does exactly that,and is possibly the flip side of you,i'd like them to pay monthly but actually they prefer to get the payment out 6 monthly simply as it helps them budget.

But each to their own....its the LL you need to speak to not the agent.

Housebuy12345

Yeah tell them no.

Annie35

If your contract says 6months in 1 go, when it rolls over it takes the same terms.... but you've said the terms are monthly so just confirm to the agents you'll pay according to the ast, monthly.

G_M

darambah wrote: »

......on the contract it made mention of only 1 month payment and a monthly rolling contract. I can send a screen shot of the contract if need be.

Either post a screenshot or quote here the exact wording on the contract especially:

What is the stated rent? eg £500 or £3000?
What is the stated payment period? eg monthly or 6 monthly?
What does it say happens after the fixed term/after 6 months (exact words please)?


For information,

* what was the exact tenancy start date?
* has the agent also asked for a renewal or admin fee?

darambah

Agreement
for letting a dwellinghouse
on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy under Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988
This Agreement is intended to create an Assured Shorthold Tenancy within Part 1 Chapter 11 of the Housing Act 1988 and the provisions for the recovery of possession by the Landlord in section 21 thereof apply accordingly save where the Landlord serves a notice under paragraph 2 of Schedule 2A to that Act.
This Agreement should not be used for a fixed term of more than three years; such an Agreement would need to be made by deed. Please consult with a solicitor if this is the case.
Date: Parties:
xxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxx
The Tenant
xxxxxxxxxxx
The dwelling house situated at:
xxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxx
Property:
Together with the fixtures furniture and effects therein ("the Fixtures Furniture and Effects") the Fixtures Furniture and Effects and more particularly specified in the inventory thereof signed by the parties.
Term: A Term certain of 6 months from and including Twenty Sixth day of January 2019
Rent: £1,300 per calendar month one thousand three hundred pounds
Payable: Deposit:
In advance by equal monthly payments on the Twenty Sixth day of the month with the first payment to be made on the date hereof
£1,500 received from ............... and ........... and protected by the government-approved Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme as detailed in Appendix A of this Agreement

G_M

Is this accurate? Seems wierd that the deposit is payable in monthly installments......

Term: A Term certain of 6 months from and including Twenty Sixth day of January 2019
Rent: £1,300 per calendar month one thousand three hundred pounds
Payable: Deposit:
In advance by equal monthly payments on the Twenty Sixth day of the month with the first payment to be made on the date hereof
£1,500 received from ............... and ...........

I suspect it says something more like:

Term: A Term certain of 6 months from and including Twenty Sixth day of January 2019
Rent: £1,300 per calendar month one thousand three hundred pounds by equal monthly payments on the Twenty Sixth day of the month with the first payment to be made on the date hereof

Deposit: Payable: In advance

£1,500 received from ............... and ...........

Either it's a cr*p contract or you're a cr*p quoter!!!!


Be that as it may, the critical part is:

Term: A Term certain of 6 months from and including Twenty Sixth day of January 2019
Rent: £1,300 per calendar month one thousand three hundred pounds

So when your fixed term ends, on 25th July, you move to a monthly periodic tenancy an must pay £1300 each month on the 26th of the month. You will then be complying with the contract.


More here:
* Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

darambah

That is what the contract is meant to be. But even though the agent told me by word of mouth that I was to be paying 6 monthly. But contract they drafted and sent didn’t not indicate I had paid 6 months already and now they sent me another mail saying I need to pay 6months in advance as a new contract is to be signed which also includes 50£. That’s the reason I feel like the house agent might be doing this to make things difficult for us and also collect the money and subsequently not paying the landlord the whole lot.

G_M

darambah wrote: »

That is what the contract is meant to be.
ignore what it is meant to be - what matters is what it says.

But even though the agent told me by word of mouth that I was to be paying 6 monthly.
ignore what the agent told you - what matters is what the contract says.
But contract they drafted and sent didn’t not indicate I had paid 6 months already
was it signed by the landlord or agent? So you can either
1) accept the original contract they sent you by signing/returning it, and then paying monthly +the security of 6 months fixed term (but at a cost of £50?) or
2) ignore that contract and move to a periodic tenancy, paying monthly, but without the security of 6 months fixed term (and save the £50)

and now they sent me another mail saying I need to pay 6months in advance as a new contract is to be signed which also includes 50£.

so either ignore the email and do 1) or 2) above, or

3) sign new contract and pay 6 months in advance - up to you!

.

what does the landlord say? Have you asked him?