Very high remarketing fees

canaldumidi

NortheastEA said:

MaryNB said:

NortheastEA said:

MaryNB said:

They can't charge the prospective tenant any fees in England, Wales and Scotland (not sure about NI). They can only ask for rent, security deposit and and a holding deposit.

This is not correct ! a landlord can charge for:

interest on unpaid rent 
lost keys or other security devices
variation of the contract at the tenants request
change of sharer at the tenants request 
early termination at the tenants request - specifically the cost of reletting the property as well as any rent until the start date of the replacement tenancy

This is a termination at the tenants request therefore a request for payment is allowed.

Those fees apply to tenants after the tenancy starts, not prospective tenants. There are no upfront fees allowed. 

The OP is an existing tenant

MaryNB was (I think) responding to coffeehound's post which has somewhat hijacked the thread. For the avoidance of doubt here is the guidance on what fees can be charged in Eng/Wales:

Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants (updated September 2020)

Keeper98

AdrianC said:

Yes, it's definitely reasonable.

Looking back, the last tenant-finding fees I paid were £420 inc vat in 2018, for a £550/mo rent flat. That fee covered all the costs in finding, vetting, referencing a replacement tenant - which, of course, the landlord would not have to do if you were not looking to leave during the fixed period of your tenancy.

You signed a fixed-period tenancy until a certain date in the future. You are legally liable for rent until then, unless the landlord chooses to agree to let you leave early. You can no more given notice than the landlord can give you notice during that fixed period. Once the tenancy becomes a rolling periodic, you - and they - can.

The landlord is offering to let you do that in return for you covering the costs directly incurred by your decision. That is eminently reasonable, and - frankly - the least you can expect.

The amount still seems outrageous to me, although that is probably due to the fact that I am not from the UK. These kinds of fees are unheard of in Germany (provided the tenant gives appropriate notice), but it seems clear to me now that I will still have to pay this. Not only that, I will also have to pay rent up until the next rent due date past the date of one month notice, so when I am not even living in the apartment anymore. 
I can't believe how tenants are being treated here, it's appalling.

user1977

Keeper98 said:

AdrianC said:

Yes, it's definitely reasonable.

Looking back, the last tenant-finding fees I paid were £420 inc vat in 2018, for a £550/mo rent flat. That fee covered all the costs in finding, vetting, referencing a replacement tenant - which, of course, the landlord would not have to do if you were not looking to leave during the fixed period of your tenancy.

You signed a fixed-period tenancy until a certain date in the future. You are legally liable for rent until then, unless the landlord chooses to agree to let you leave early. You can no more given notice than the landlord can give you notice during that fixed period. Once the tenancy becomes a rolling periodic, you - and they - can.

The landlord is offering to let you do that in return for you covering the costs directly incurred by your decision. That is eminently reasonable, and - frankly - the least you can expect.

The amount still seems outrageous to me, although that is probably due to the fact that I am not from the UK. These kinds of fees are unheard of in Germany (provided the tenant gives appropriate notice)

But this is a situation where there is no "appropriate notice". What happens in Germany if a tenant wants to leave earlier than they're contractually permitted to?

MaryNB

Keeper98 said:

AdrianC said:

Yes, it's definitely reasonable.

Looking back, the last tenant-finding fees I paid were £420 inc vat in 2018, for a £550/mo rent flat. That fee covered all the costs in finding, vetting, referencing a replacement tenant - which, of course, the landlord would not have to do if you were not looking to leave during the fixed period of your tenancy.

You signed a fixed-period tenancy until a certain date in the future. You are legally liable for rent until then, unless the landlord chooses to agree to let you leave early. You can no more given notice than the landlord can give you notice during that fixed period. Once the tenancy becomes a rolling periodic, you - and they - can.

The landlord is offering to let you do that in return for you covering the costs directly incurred by your decision. That is eminently reasonable, and - frankly - the least you can expect.

The amount still seems outrageous to me, although that is probably due to the fact that I am not from the UK. These kinds of fees are unheard of in Germany (provided the tenant gives appropriate notice), but it seems clear to me now that I will still have to pay this. Not only that, I will also have to pay rent up until the next rent due date past the date of one month notice, so when I am not even living in the apartment anymore. 
I can't believe how tenants are being treated here, it's appalling.

You are in a different situation to most tenants because you are ending a contract early. The law does not allow for tenants to end the contract during the fixed term without a break clause or agreement with the landlord, nor can the landlord issue an S21 (or equivalent notice) that expires during the fixed term. Giving an appropriate notice to quit applies to the periodic tenancies and break clauses. Giving notice does not apply to the fixed term if there is no a break clause because you have signed up for that fixed term as a minimum. 

Since the Tenant Fees Act 2019 tenants don't have to pay any fees relating to remarketing. However, you are in a different situation because you are negotiating an early exit from a legally binding contract. You can only leave with agreement from your landlord so it can only be done on their terms. You can refuse to agree but they can then reject your request and you will be liable for rent and bills until the end of your fixed term. 

When accepting a surrender of the tenancy, landlords often state they will not end the tenancy until a new tenant is found so having to pay beyond "one month notice" may be a better situation than having to wait for them to find a new tenant, if that ends up taking months. There's not that much incentive if you will be covering the rent until they do find a replacement and the new tenancy starts.

When the notice period does apply, having it line up with tenancy dates is the most common form of notice in the UK. In most cases it's not a month's notice, it's notice equivalent to one rental period. If your tenancy starts on the 1st of a month, you pay rent on the 1st of each month and you give notice on the 3rd of a later month, the rental period to which the notice applies is from the 1st of the following month. 

saajan_12

Keeper98 said:

Hi everyone,

I am aware that it is legal for lettings agents to ask for remarketing fees when ending a tenancy earlier than originally agreed on. 

Still, I am shocked by the amount requested by my lettings agent: is £450 in any way reasonable? This is not mentioned in the tenancy agreement at all.

Also, the lettings agents strongly suggested that they don't HAVE to allow me to move out before the originally agreed on tenancy period ends (despite giving one month notice). Is this true? 

Thanks in advance

Sounds perfectly reasonable. 
They already did the work to find you, and now have a binding contract to sit back and receive rent for 12+ months (as long as they maintain the property).  You want to change that unilatterally, causing the LL / agent to have to redo
* viewings 10 hrs
* referencing 1 hr to review + £20x2 people
* contract negotiating, arrange signing1hr
* protect deposit 0.5 hrs
* check out £75 fee
* negotiating deposit return, finding costs, arranging contractors, refreshing property 2.5 hrs
* check in / inventory £85 fee

-------- All in
* 15 hrs x £20ph = £300
* fees (based on Openrent) = 20x2 + 75 + 85 = £200
* VAT @ 20% = £100
-------- £ 600

Those are minimums if the property is easy to let, so your £450 sounds cheap! 

Keeper98 said:

AdrianC said:

Yes, it's definitely reasonable.

Looking back, the last tenant-finding fees I paid were £420 inc vat in 2018, for a £550/mo rent flat. That fee covered all the costs in finding, vetting, referencing a replacement tenant - which, of course, the landlord would not have to do if you were not looking to leave during the fixed period of your tenancy.

You signed a fixed-period tenancy until a certain date in the future. You are legally liable for rent until then, unless the landlord chooses to agree to let you leave early. You can no more given notice than the landlord can give you notice during that fixed period. Once the tenancy becomes a rolling periodic, you - and they - can.

The landlord is offering to let you do that in return for you covering the costs directly incurred by your decision. That is eminently reasonable, and - frankly - the least you can expect.

The amount still seems outrageous to me, although that is probably due to the fact that I am not from the UK. These kinds of fees are unheard of in Germany (provided the tenant gives appropriate notice), but it seems clear to me now that I will still have to pay this. Not only that, I will also have to pay rent up until the next rent due date past the date of one month notice, so when I am not even living in the apartment anymore. 
I can't believe how tenants are being treated here, it's appalling.

The point is appropriate notice is the rest of your fixed term, ie several months. You are not giving appropriate notice, but rather changing the deal - tbh its outrageous you expect to change the deal without making the LL whole. I can't believe how you expect to treat your LL. 

Keeper98

saajan_12 said:

Keeper98 said:

Hi everyone,

I am aware that it is legal for lettings agents to ask for remarketing fees when ending a tenancy earlier than originally agreed on. 

Still, I am shocked by the amount requested by my lettings agent: is £450 in any way reasonable? This is not mentioned in the tenancy agreement at all.

Also, the lettings agents strongly suggested that they don't HAVE to allow me to move out before the originally agreed on tenancy period ends (despite giving one month notice). Is this true? 

Thanks in advance

Sounds perfectly reasonable. 
They already did the work to find you, and now have a binding contract to sit back and receive rent for 12+ months (as long as they maintain the property).  You want to change that unilatterally, causing the LL / agent to have to redo
* viewings 10 hrs
* referencing 1 hr to review + £20x2 people
* contract negotiating, arrange signing1hr
* protect deposit 0.5 hrs
* check out £75 fee
* negotiating deposit return, finding costs, arranging contractors, refreshing property 2.5 hrs
* check in / inventory £85 fee

-------- All in
* 15 hrs x £20ph = £300
* fees (based on Openrent) = 20x2 + 75 + 85 = £200
* VAT @ 20% = £100
-------- £ 600

Those are minimums if the property is easy to let, so your £450 sounds cheap! 

Keeper98 said:

AdrianC said:

Yes, it's definitely reasonable.

Looking back, the last tenant-finding fees I paid were £420 inc vat in 2018, for a £550/mo rent flat. That fee covered all the costs in finding, vetting, referencing a replacement tenant - which, of course, the landlord would not have to do if you were not looking to leave during the fixed period of your tenancy.

You signed a fixed-period tenancy until a certain date in the future. You are legally liable for rent until then, unless the landlord chooses to agree to let you leave early. You can no more given notice than the landlord can give you notice during that fixed period. Once the tenancy becomes a rolling periodic, you - and they - can.

The landlord is offering to let you do that in return for you covering the costs directly incurred by your decision. That is eminently reasonable, and - frankly - the least you can expect.

The amount still seems outrageous to me, although that is probably due to the fact that I am not from the UK. These kinds of fees are unheard of in Germany (provided the tenant gives appropriate notice), but it seems clear to me now that I will still have to pay this. Not only that, I will also have to pay rent up until the next rent due date past the date of one month notice, so when I am not even living in the apartment anymore. 
I can't believe how tenants are being treated here, it's appalling.

The point is appropriate notice is the rest of your fixed term, ie several months. You are not giving appropriate notice, but rather changing the deal - tbh its outrageous you expect to change the deal without making the LL whole. I can't believe how you expect to treat your LL. 

You are right, the here common one month notice (which we also gave, that was what the contract demanded) is not enough for a landlord to rearrange, and that would warrant this fee. The outrageous part is that there is no agreed on option to give early notice and avoid this scenario altogether. In the UK, it seems that moving out early before the end of the fixed term is only possible with a huge financial penalty to the tenant, by default accommodating the landlord's needs over that of a tenant. 

Keeper98

user1977 said:

Keeper98 said:

AdrianC said:

Yes, it's definitely reasonable.

Looking back, the last tenant-finding fees I paid were £420 inc vat in 2018, for a £550/mo rent flat. That fee covered all the costs in finding, vetting, referencing a replacement tenant - which, of course, the landlord would not have to do if you were not looking to leave during the fixed period of your tenancy.

You signed a fixed-period tenancy until a certain date in the future. You are legally liable for rent until then, unless the landlord chooses to agree to let you leave early. You can no more given notice than the landlord can give you notice during that fixed period. Once the tenancy becomes a rolling periodic, you - and they - can.

The landlord is offering to let you do that in return for you covering the costs directly incurred by your decision. That is eminently reasonable, and - frankly - the least you can expect.

The amount still seems outrageous to me, although that is probably due to the fact that I am not from the UK. These kinds of fees are unheard of in Germany (provided the tenant gives appropriate notice)

But this is a situation where there is no "appropriate notice". What happens in Germany if a tenant wants to leave earlier than they're contractually permitted to?

In Germany, there is no tenancy agreement that can force you to stay in a place against your will. It contains an agreed on  "appropriate notice", usually around three months, which is more than enough time for a landlord to find new tenants. So wanting to leave a property is never considered a breach of contract and a tenant is under no circumstance financially punished for doing so. Because if this was the case, then people who are poor would be forced to stay in a place they don't want to be in, just to avoid inconveniencing a landlord. 

deannagone

But you have to pay one month's rent in notice (if you align your notice to a period end date) and what sounds like less than another month's rent in fees.  This is less than the 3 months notice you'd have to give in Germany, so surely its not such a bad deal?

saajan_12

Keeper98 said:

saajan_12 said:

Keeper98 said:

Hi everyone,

I am aware that it is legal for lettings agents to ask for remarketing fees when ending a tenancy earlier than originally agreed on. 

Still, I am shocked by the amount requested by my lettings agent: is £450 in any way reasonable? This is not mentioned in the tenancy agreement at all.

Also, the lettings agents strongly suggested that they don't HAVE to allow me to move out before the originally agreed on tenancy period ends (despite giving one month notice). Is this true? 

Thanks in advance

Sounds perfectly reasonable. 
They already did the work to find you, and now have a binding contract to sit back and receive rent for 12+ months (as long as they maintain the property).  You want to change that unilatterally, causing the LL / agent to have to redo
* viewings 10 hrs
* referencing 1 hr to review + £20x2 people
* contract negotiating, arrange signing1hr
* protect deposit 0.5 hrs
* check out £75 fee
* negotiating deposit return, finding costs, arranging contractors, refreshing property 2.5 hrs
* check in / inventory £85 fee

-------- All in
* 15 hrs x £20ph = £300
* fees (based on Openrent) = 20x2 + 75 + 85 = £200
* VAT @ 20% = £100
-------- £ 600

Those are minimums if the property is easy to let, so your £450 sounds cheap! 

Keeper98 said:

AdrianC said:

Yes, it's definitely reasonable.

Looking back, the last tenant-finding fees I paid were £420 inc vat in 2018, for a £550/mo rent flat. That fee covered all the costs in finding, vetting, referencing a replacement tenant - which, of course, the landlord would not have to do if you were not looking to leave during the fixed period of your tenancy.

You signed a fixed-period tenancy until a certain date in the future. You are legally liable for rent until then, unless the landlord chooses to agree to let you leave early. You can no more given notice than the landlord can give you notice during that fixed period. Once the tenancy becomes a rolling periodic, you - and they - can.

The landlord is offering to let you do that in return for you covering the costs directly incurred by your decision. That is eminently reasonable, and - frankly - the least you can expect.

The amount still seems outrageous to me, although that is probably due to the fact that I am not from the UK. These kinds of fees are unheard of in Germany (provided the tenant gives appropriate notice), but it seems clear to me now that I will still have to pay this. Not only that, I will also have to pay rent up until the next rent due date past the date of one month notice, so when I am not even living in the apartment anymore. 
I can't believe how tenants are being treated here, it's appalling.

The point is appropriate notice is the rest of your fixed term, ie several months. You are not giving appropriate notice, but rather changing the deal - tbh its outrageous you expect to change the deal without making the LL whole. I can't believe how you expect to treat your LL. 

You are right, the here common one month notice (which we also gave, that was what the contract demanded) is not enough for a landlord to rearrange, and that would warrant this fee. The outrageous part is that there is no agreed on option to give early notice and avoid this scenario altogether. In the UK, it seems that moving out early before the end of the fixed term is only possible with a huge financial penalty to the tenant, by default accommodating the landlord's needs over that of a tenant. 

Please quote where the contract demanded 1 month notice. You're likely reading another part of the contract applicable at / after the end of the fixed term. 

There is an option, if you agree a break clause or a contractual periodic tenancy or an AirBnB, etc etc. But if you freely sign a contract promising you'll pay for 12 months, and then want to go back on your word, then yes there is, and should be a penalty. [Otherwise why would short term rentals exist, why not just rent a house for a year, give notice the next day and only stay 1 month but at the price of a longer term tenancy]. 

Its not about accommodating a LL's needs, its abiding by what you signed up to. 

Robbo66

You are right, the here common one month notice (which we also gave, that was what the contract demanded) is not enough for a landlord to rearrange, and that would warrant this fee. The outrageous part is that there is no agreed on option to give early notice and avoid this scenario altogether. In the UK, it seems that moving out early before the end of the fixed term is only possible with a huge financial penalty to the tenant, by default accommodating the landlord's needs over that of a tenant. 

No different to ending a mobile phone contract mid term, you signed a fixed term contract for £XYZ and now want to end it early and there is a financial penalty for doing so. No different to any fixed term contract where there is a monthly cost.