Overpaying rent

Olinda99

They also do not have a legal basis to take the time and effort return the overpayment - they could just easily credit it to the rental account.

user1977

MobileSaver said:

horsewithnoname said:

Robin9 said:

There will be bookkeeping/accountancy/bank costs so I think £20 is justified

£20 to make a couple of clicks? Extortion more like!

It's not just a "couple of clicks" is it. Firstly the LL may employ an agent, bookkeeper or accountant to handle the financials, do you think they provide their services for free?

Regardless of who does it, someone has to spend time checking that the rent has actually been paid twice, authorise a refund and make the necessary adjustments in the accounts to satisfy HMRC, double check they'll be refunding the payment to the correct bank account and then physically action the transfer.

Plus of course the time spent arguing about the charge with the tenant...

Bowey123

I do not think £20 is extortionate or unreasonable.  It was tenants mistake.  Landlord is entitled to be refunded for his time.  Charge is fair.
That said, I am a landlord and I would not make the charge.  I would just do it.

macman

Is this an LL fee, or an LA fee? I suspect the latter.

sourpuss2021

davemorton said:

sourpuss2021 said:

george4064 said:

If you are able to manage without, why don't you just not make the next monthly rent payment and restart as normal afterwards?

Would save you £20 and can't see why the landlord wouldn't agree with that approach.

Will the landlord be paying interest?  If not why should he be allowed to profit from OP's mistake?

If the rent is say £800 a month, that's £5.73 that the landlord would be making by keeping it in a 2.8% savings account for a month.   (Such accounts can be opened instantly).

Besides, I doubt LL's actual costs in sending the money back will amount to any more than a few pence.  How long does it take him to make an online transfer, not long I'd wager!

Not saying this is wrong, but can you explain it please (in simple terms please), as I would have thought it would be just under £2 for a months interest on £800

I'm sorry but what with all my overheads, I charge a £20 fee if you want me to do my sums again .

propertyrental

macman said:

Is this an LL fee, or an LA fee? I suspect the latter.

I imagine it's a fee charged by whoever is managing the letting and collecting the rent.

Whether it's legal and/or justified is not affected by who is charging it. 

TripleH

steampowered said:

TripleH said:

I don't  think the fee is excessive or unreasonable (and don't think a court would disagree). However if a one off error I wouldn't charge for it.

Nothing to do with whether the fee is "excessive" or "unreasonable".

The point is whether the landlord has a legal or contractual basis to charge a fee here. They do not.

Genuinely I don't know the answer, but what is the appropriate rule stating they cannot charge a fee? I know there are rules on some fees but assumed this would fall outside such scope.

_Penny_Dreadful

TripleH said:

steampowered said:

TripleH said:

I don't  think the fee is excessive or unreasonable (and don't think a court would disagree). However if a one off error I wouldn't charge for it.

Nothing to do with whether the fee is "excessive" or "unreasonable".

The point is whether the landlord has a legal or contractual basis to charge a fee here. They do not.

Genuinely I don't know the answer, but what is the appropriate rule stating they cannot charge a fee? I know there are rules on some fees but assumed this would fall outside such scope.

This type of admin fee is not listed in Schedule 1 of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 and is therefore not a permitted payment.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/4/schedule/1/enacted

MobileSaver

_Penny_Dreadful said:

TripleH said:

steampowered said:

TripleH said:

I don't  think the fee is excessive or unreasonable (and don't think a court would disagree). However if a one off error I wouldn't charge for it.

Nothing to do with whether the fee is "excessive" or "unreasonable".

The point is whether the landlord has a legal or contractual basis to charge a fee here. They do not.

Genuinely I don't know the answer, but what is the appropriate rule stating they cannot charge a fee? I know there are rules on some fees but assumed this would fall outside such scope.

This type of admin fee is not listed in Schedule 1 of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 and is therefore not a permitted payment.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/4/schedule/1/enacted

However, my reading of the Act is that permitted and prohibited payments only apply when the landlord "requires the person to do any of those things in consideration of the grant, renewal, continuance, variation, assignment, novation or termination of such a tenancy".

Refunding an overpayment would not appear to apply to any of those things and so an admin fee would appear to be perfectly legal if contractually agreed in the tenancy agreement.

_Penny_Dreadful

MobileSaver said:

_Penny_Dreadful said:

TripleH said:

steampowered said:

TripleH said:

I don't  think the fee is excessive or unreasonable (and don't think a court would disagree). However if a one off error I wouldn't charge for it.

Nothing to do with whether the fee is "excessive" or "unreasonable".

The point is whether the landlord has a legal or contractual basis to charge a fee here. They do not.

Genuinely I don't know the answer, but what is the appropriate rule stating they cannot charge a fee? I know there are rules on some fees but assumed this would fall outside such scope.

This type of admin fee is not listed in Schedule 1 of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 and is therefore not a permitted payment.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/4/schedule/1/enacted

However, my reading of the Act is that permitted and prohibited payments only apply when the landlord "requires the person to do any of those things in consideration of the grant, renewal, continuance, variation, assignment, novation or termination of such a tenancy".

Refunding an overpayment would not appear to apply to any of those things and so an admin fee would appear to be perfectly legal if contractually agreed in the tenancy agreement.

The Act applies to all fees in connection with an AST in England.

Page 61 of the guidance for tenants gives examples of fees that are not allowed and I'd say that this fee for the return of the overpaid rent is in line with those examples.  Of course the landlord doesn't have to repay the rent but as a landlord myself I think he is being a tight git asking for a fee in the first place.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/922900/Tenant_Fees_Act_-_Tenant_Guidance.pdf