How much can a landlord charge for set up fees?

davidmcn

jodystanton said:

@Comms69 @Lokolo He has said if we go onto a rolling contract he is increasing the rent by £40 a month

Which he can't do. Either he's clueless or he thinks you are.

jodystanton

we're worried after those three months, we still won't be back to work as normal and we won't have our house we were originally going to buy, so we won't have a home. Our peace of mind is that if we sign the 12 months, at least we have a safe home. I suppose even if we sign the 12 months, he could still evict us if he decided to change his mind, just because we have signed a contract, is that correct? 

jodystanton

@davidmcn sorry why can't he increase the rent? our contract runs out on the 15th of May, a week on Friday, therefore once the contract finishes, it states in our contract he is allowed to increase the rent on the anniversary of each rolling year

davidmcn

jodystanton said:

 I suppose even if we sign the 12 months, he could still evict us if he decided to change his mind, just because we have signed a contract, is that correct? 

"Changing his mind" isn't a legitimate ground for eviction, no.

Comms69

jodystanton said:

@Comms69 @Lokolo He has said if we go onto a rolling contract he is increasing the rent by £40 a months, when we had already emailed him to say we are having issues paying our rent as it is. If he sends us a section 21 he can very much get us out of the flat, fair enough he has to give us 3 months notice, but he can still evict us, it just may take a little longer. 

So refuse the increase?
A s.21 notice doesnt end a tenancy. Only you or a court can do that.

it's 3 months notice + waiting for a court slot - which will be 12 weeks (normall it's 6-9 weeks) - then 14-28 days for the court order, then 1-2 months for bailiffs. That's quite a while...

steampowered

If you sign a 12 month contract with no break clause, both you and the landlord are bound in for 12 months.

That means the landlord can't evict you without your agreement; and you can't stop paying rent without the landlord's agreement, until the 12 months are up.

If that suits you, confirm in writing whether any further fees are payable, and then sign up to it. If it doesn't suit you, simply say you are not prepared to commit for 12 months at time and therefore won't be signing up to a 12 month extension.

Simply politely say "no" to the rent increase. It isn't reasonable for the landlord to be asking for a rent increase at a time when rents are decreasing due to the economic circumstances. If the landlord wants to serve a s21 notice to evict you after the expiry of your fixed term he can do so, that then gives you a few months to leave, unless he does that no further action is required.

jodystanton

thank you for your replies @steampowered & @Comms69. In an email we received from the estate agent she said Your landlord has confirmed he is happy to renew for a further 12 months with no break clause at the current rent. Should you want to move before the 12 months of the fixed term you would need to proceed with a deed of surrender, the fees you would be liable for are as follows and these would cover the marketing costs for your landlord". I read this with the intention that he wouldn't have to give agreement for us to leave the contract early, we would just have to pay fee's of £800+ and not pay any outstanding months rent in advance that we wasn't occupying the property? is this correct?

Comms69

jodystanton said:

thank you for your replies @steampowered & @Comms69. In an email we received from the estate agent she said Your landlord has confirmed he is happy to renew for a further 12 months with no break clause at the current rent. Should you want to move before the 12 months of the fixed term you would need to proceed with a deed of surrender, the fees you would be liable for are as follows and these would cover the marketing costs for your landlord". I read this with the intention that he wouldn't have to give agreement for us to leave the contract early, we would just have to pay fee's of £800+ and not pay any outstanding months rent in advance that we wasn't occupying the property? is this correct?

No, those fees are in addition to rent (and council tax)

jodystanton

@Comms69 so we would have to pay those £800+ fee's, including the rest of the months outstanding rent and bills? 

Comms69

jodystanton said:

@Comms69 so we would have to pay those £800+ fee's, including the rest of the months outstanding rent and bills? 

That is generally how it works yes. 

I really see no upside to the fixed term. But it's up to you and how confrontational you are