Advice on changing sharer in rental house

Legacy_user

Hello,
I am wondering if anyone can offer any advice. I currently rent a two bedroom house with 1 friend, but am relocating due to work. We are midway through the tenancy agreement but I have a replacement tenant as my friends partner is moving in. The rental agency was told about this mid May but failed to ask the landlord about the change of sharer until June.
They now say that due to the tenant fees act pushing the costs to the Landlord the Landlord would want a rent increase of £45pcm to change the sharer. I have a couple of questions:
1. Are we still not liable for the change of sharer fee (it is in our tenancy agreement there is a £390 fee for change of sharer) due to the fact that fees in existing contracts can still be charged until June 2020? The agents said that to charge us the change of tenant fee would be illegal now but I don’t think it would.
2. Would this class as a new tenancy or a change to the existing one?
It would obviously be preferable to pay the fee, rather than have the rent increase - I wondered if anyone had any advice.
Thanks!
Emily

G_M

Emily2295 wrote: »

Hello,
I am wondering if anyone can offer any advice. I currently rent a two bedroom house with 1 friend,
1) Whose name(s) on the tenancy agreement? Separate tenancies or one 'joint and several TA?
but am relocating due to work. We are midway through the tenancy agreement
2) start/end dates?

but I have a replacement tenant as my friends partner is moving in. The rental agency was told about this mid May but failed to ask the landlord about the change of sharer until June.
3) was this agreed with the agent? In writing?

They now say that due to the tenant fees act pushing the costs to the Landlord the Landlord would want a rent increase of £45pcm to change the sharer. I have a couple of questions:
1. Are we still not liable for the change of sharer fee (it is in our tenancy agreement there is a £390 fee for change of sharer) due to the fact that fees in existing contracts can still be charged until June 2020?
Yes, if it is in the original pre- June 1st TA.

The agents said that to charge us the change of tenant fee would be illegal now but I don’t think it would.
You are correct.

2. Would this class as a new tenancy or a change to the existing one?
Depends how it is done. See below.

It would obviously be preferable to pay the fee, rather than have the rent increase
Why doyou care? You are leaving so won't be paying the rent.......!

- I wondered if anyone had any advice.
Thanks!
Emily

Either

* the existing tenancy can be ended, the deposit returned to the named tenants (following a check-out inspection), and a new tenancy created in the new names with a new deposit taken and protected, or

* the existing tenancy can coninue but with a substitution of one name for another, via a Deed of Assignment (see example). The outgoing tenant's liabities are taken over by the incoming tenant.