Letting agent charges

ljcash

Hi
can anyone tell me what letting agents can charge for , I’m coming up to signing a new years contract (I’ve been here for 7 years) and I think I’m right in saying I shouldn’t be charged anything for new agreement . I also want some of my deposit back (I paid 3k - as I didn’t have a guarantor and my rent is £875 a month now) can anyone advise me on what I should get and also if I do get some of my deposit back are they allowed to charge me a fee of putting it in a rent deposit scheme - thanks in advance 

MaryNB

No upfront fees. The only thing they can charge upfront is a refundable holding deposit, which obviously does not apply to you. They cannot charge you for putting money in a deposit protection scheme. They cannot charge for providing you with a tenancy agreement. They cannot charge for admin.

They can charge for replacing lost keys (fee is capped). Change of sharer and other agreed changes to the contract are generally capped at £50. If they go above £50 they need to be able to justify it but regs make it clear it can only be above £50 in exceptional circumstances. They can also charge a fee if the rent is late - has to be 14 days late and the amount extra they can charge is capped at 3% above Bank of England's interest rate.

As a renter with a horrible agency, I found the document "Tenant Fees Act 2019: Guidance for tenants" on the gov.uk website really helpful.

greatcrested

Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants (updated July 2019)

MaryNB

Regarding the issue over the deposit amount, the Act limits it to 5 weeks' rent (as long as annual rent <£50k). Even if the tenancy is renewed at the same property, as long as the new contract is after the 1st of June 2019 (which in your case it will be) the cap applies. Therefore they will need to refund you anything above 5 weeks' rent at the time of renewal. See page 40 of the document linked above. 

ljcash

Thank you so much 

ljcash

I just looked at page 40 and maybe I’ve read it wrong but it says if I ask for some of my deposit the landlord/agent doesn’t have to give it back to me ?

greatcrested

ljcash said:

I just looked at page 40 and maybe I’ve read it wrong but it says if I ask for some of my deposit the landlord/agent doesn’t have to give it back to me ?

From 1 June 2019, the cap applies to fixed term contracts which are renewed for another fixed term – even if this is at the same property – as they will be a new applicable tenancy. Landlords and letting agents will be required at this point to repay the amount of the deposit held which is over the five (or, where appropriate, six) week cap. If the landlord or agent does not do this, you should ask them to return the payment.

So either the LL automaticaly refunds the amount of the deposit over the cap, or if he does not, you ask him to.

Of course it does not specifically say this, but if he still fails to refund, then you take enforcement action as per page 7.

You may have been confused by the para lower down on page 40:

Q. If I paid a tenancy deposit which exceeds the cap before 1 June 2019, can I ask my landlord or agent to re-pay the amount of the deposit above the cap?

No. Landlords and letting agents are not obliged to immediately refund part of a tenancy deposit that is above the cap but was paid before 1 June 2019. If you signed a tenancy agreement before 1 June 2019 (and your tenancy is continuing or is a statutory periodic agreement) then you will be bound by the terms of that contractuntil it is either renewed or terminated.

but this does not apply to you - it applies to ongoing tenancies that started before June 2019. As soon as a new tenancy is created ie a renewal of a fixed term, the earlier para applies.

MaryNB

If you signed a contract before the 1st of June 2019 you cannot automatically ask for a refund of the excess until the contract is renewed or terminated. So, for example, if you signed a contract in May 2019, signed no renewal contract after the initial fixed term (e.g. 6 months), stayed at the property and, therefore, continued automatically on a periodic tenancy, you cannot just ask for the excess back any time after the of 1st of June 2019. However, since you are renewing the contract, you can now ask for the excess back.

yksi

If we are talking about an AST, they can only charge a reasonable administration fee for a new lease if significant changes are made to that lease, like adding someone to it. As an existing tenant you do not need to sign a new lease nor pay for one. You have the right to move onto a periodic lease automatically and for free. Be aware that this would mean they only have to give you 2 periods of notice to leave (usually two months) and you, on the other hand, only need to give one period of notice (usually one month). Most tenants like signing a new lease instead because it gives them security for another year.

If they sign a new lease with you, they can only keep 5 months' worth of deposit and must return the rest to you. However, you mention you didn't have a guarantor, which leads me to suspect you were unable to prove you had the income to cover the rent; in most cases, an agent is going to get wise and tell you that for a new agreement you will need to pass their referencing checks (shouldn't be a problem now if you have a permanent job paying more than 30x the rent). Just something to keep in mind if you would still have problems with the proof.

Something that maybe someone else can answer, does the change of the held deposit amount count as a significant change to the lease? Because at that point they might be entitled to charge the admin fee

ljcash

Thank you all

ljcash

yksi said:

If we are talking about an AST, they can only charge a reasonable administration fee for a new lease if significant changes are made to that lease, like adding someone to it. As an existing tenant you do not need to sign a new lease nor pay for one. You have the right to move onto a periodic lease automatically and for free. Be aware that this would mean they only have to give you 2 periods of notice to leave (usually two months) and you, on the other hand, only need to give one period of notice (usually one month). Most tenants like signing a new lease instead because it gives them security for another year.

If they sign a new lease with you, they can only keep 5 months' worth of deposit and must return the rest to you. However, you mention you didn't have a guarantor, which leads me to suspect you were unable to prove you had the income to cover the rent; in most cases, an agent is going to get wise and tell you that for a new agreement you will need to pass their referencing checks (shouldn't be a problem now if you have a permanent job paying more than 30x the rent). Just something to keep in mind if you would still have problems with the proof.

Something that maybe someone else can answer, does the change of the held deposit amount count as a significant change to the lease? Because at that point they might be entitled to charge the admin fee

Do you mean 5 weeks deposit ....not 5 months ?