Letting agents rant

Robbo66

Bluebell1000 said:

We spotted our EPC expires in just over a week when going through the paperwork.... that's the kind of thing we pay them to tell us about...*

EPC only needs to be current at the point of advertising so if the current tenant is staying put then that's fine. If however they decide to move on and you need to advertise then you need a new EPC

saajan_12

The two issues are really separate. 
1) Increasing rent - if you don't want this and the agent is not party to the tenancy agreement, then simply instruct YOUR agent as such. 

2) Increasing management fees - please quote any terms in your contract about raising fees and for terminating the contract. If the fees are fixed, then they are the ones trying to amend it. You should be able to insist on staying on the current terms or negotiate a termination that works for you, ie lets you leave with no penalty mid tenancy, as you're not the ones requesting to change the terms of your management contract.  But please quote to be sure. 

Black_Cat2

Robbo66 said:

Bluebell1000 said:

We spotted our EPC expires in just over a week when going through the paperwork.... that's the kind of thing we pay them to tell us about...*

EPC only needs to be current at the point of advertising so if the current tenant is staying put then that's fine. If however they decide to move on and you need to advertise then you need a new EPC

Would you mind clarifying this please?  If the EPC expires (I think EPC's are valid for 10 years) but you have original tenants (been already renting your property for 10 years) then you don't need to have a new one done?  It can just expire? 

I thought you had to have an EPC of E or above (by law) whether the tenants are existing or new?  This might be set to go to C if the rumours are correct.  I also thought you would need a new EPC on expiry regardless, otherwise why is there an expiry date at all?  Apologies, easily confused here 🥴

steampowered

I can't see how the letting agent can increase their fees without your consent. Surely their fee was agreed up front, and is a percentage of the rent. 

I would just tell the agent that I am not agreeing a fee increase. 

greatcrested

Black_Cat2 said:

Robbo66 said:

Bluebell1000 said:

We spotted our EPC expires in just over a week when going through the paperwork.... that's the kind of thing we pay them to tell us about...*

EPC only needs to be current at the point of advertising so if the current tenant is staying put then that's fine. If however they decide to move on and you need to advertise then you need a new EPC

Would you mind clarifying this please?  If the EPC expires (I think EPC's are valid for 10 years) but you have original tenants (been already renting your property for 10 years) then you don't need to have a new one done?  It can just expire? 

I thought you had to have an EPC of E or above (by law) whether the tenants are existing or new?  This might be set to go to C if the rumours are correct.  I also thought you would need a new EPC on expiry regardless, otherwise why is there an expiry date at all?  Apologies, easily confused here 🥴

Nope.

The Deregulation Act 2015  S39, is specified in Statutory Instrument 2015 No. 1646 which requires landlords to meet

requirements contained in— (a)regulation 6(5) of the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012(c) (requirement to provide an energy performance certificate to a tenant or buyer free of charge);

Regulation 6(5) says:

(5) The relevant person must ensure that a valid energy performance certificate has been given free of charge to the person who ultimately becomes the buyer or tenant.

Provided it was given to the tenant, whether its 10 year validity later expires is irrelevant.

The issue around EPCs of E and above is entirely separate - but without re-reading the thread my understanding is that that is not the issue here.

As for the rent/management charges:

* rent is for the LL to decide, and agent to imlement as per the LL's instructions.

* management fees are defined by the contract between LL & agent, which may or may not permit increases - in this case we have no information from the OP.

Post 9: Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?

Black_Cat2

Ty gc, yes probably not relevant to this thread.  Has got me thinking though.  If you had an EPC done 10 years ago and it was an F and now the law says it should be E or above for new and existing tenants then the OP would need to get a new EPC to meet the law requirement wouldn't they?  I find EPC's a bit confusing because they are a snapshot of a property at a particular time and over 10 years that rating may be much worse than when it was first done. 

greatcrested

Black_Cat2 said:

  If you had an EPC done 10 years ago and it was an F and now the law says it should be E or above for new and existing tenants then the OP would need to get a new EPC to meet the law requirement wouldn't they? ...

duckduckgo finds:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-private-rented-property-minimum-energy-efficiency-standard-landlord-guidance

Bluebell1000

Our contract doesn't mention any provision for fee increases. It doesn't state the fees either, but refers to the accompanying letter. The letter gives the agreed fees and again does not mention anything about potential for altering the fees.
I think they know they are on dodgy ground here as the original email they sent said they'd provide the new T&C and fees document for signing next time we changed tenants... which is the only point I can see mentioned in the contract where the terms can potentially be changed. It's a very nicely written, clear contract.
I had a reply via email saying they had received my instructions and they would call me that afternoon. Last week. Still waiting. I'll ring sometime this week if I get chance. 
Termination with a tenant in situ is also clear in the contract - £250 plus vat fee and 30 day notice if we wish to leave.

Bluebell1000

Black_Cat2 said:

Ty gc, yes probably not relevant to this thread.  Has got me thinking though.  If you had an EPC done 10 years ago and it was an F and now the law says it should be E or above for new and existing tenants then the OP would need to get a new EPC to meet the law requirement wouldn't they?  I find EPC's a bit confusing because they are a snapshot of a property at a particular time and over 10 years that rating may be much worse than when it was first done. 

For information, the EPC is a D but it will be interesting to see if we get a C next time as we've made a few improvements. 

greatcrested

Read

Post 9: Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?

Get rid of the agents, but before you do, read the post above and decide on your future management.

And contact your tenants.