Landlord wants to keep the holding fee to use as final month's rent, this was not previously agreed

badgermog

BobT36 said:

Simply confirm by e-mail that (unless you need it now) you agree the money to be used for your final month's rent, and your rent payments (for this tenancy period) will end on the month beforehand. 

I signed a 6-month tenancy, so are you saying I can pay him as he wants now and then my final rent payment will be 1st of Jan and the tenancy ends at end of Feb? I have a strong feeling that if I agree to live there after this, he will want the 'final month's rent' already paid to keep rolling on until the month before I actually leave, ie. he will want rent for Feb too.

badgermog

propertyrental said:

I agree with others - you've saved yourself paying (a month's rent?) as deposit, suck it up now. Pay rent monthly, avoid arrears, but don't be bullied into paying the last months rent. Do, however learn in advance how/when to end the tenancy properly.

When you say don't be forced into the last month's rent, its a 6-month TA, so you you mean don't pay for Feb? What do you mean how to end the tenancy properly, it seems straightforward enough to me if I go with his weird method... are you envisaging some particular problem?

BobT36

badgermog said:

BobT36 said:

You could argue that by paying him, you ARE paying the utility bills. 
However I'd prefer to pay & manage them myself tbh to ensure I'm not being ripped off... I doubt he'd be providing you with copies of the bills or a breakdown. 

No chance of rent review during the fixed period, it's completely open and non-specific. I got that ripped out of my own tenancy before signing, along with a clause about "no adhesives screws / nails" etc on the walls and got it replaced with a "make good" clause. Quite often landlords just use templates and it's up to you to negotiate. Unfortunately you didn't press him enough about getting to see it BEFORE you got there. 

So if a rent hike is proposed come Oct, I just refuse? Is this not encompassed in the obligation for the tenant to pay all bills associated with the rental? What are the statutory rights you speak of that might be in conflict here, can I find them in Housing Act 1988? Rent Act 1977? Or somewhere else? No problem searching legal documents if I know where to look.

BobT36 said:

Clearly a "make it up as goes along" landlord but it benefits you in this case. Do some research on proper rent review cases, (just in-case it's challenged) and also get absolute clarity on what's happening with all the bills. Whether you pay them via him or yourself is up to you but if the former, make sure you get some proper statements.

How to get clarity on the bills? If I ask for an amendment to the TA the LL will flat out refuse, I guarantee it. He has been pretty non-negotiable in general and clearly values some perceived right to amend the bills, I'm just anxious it might actually fly because I overlooked that bit on the TA.

"You could argue that by paying him, you ARE paying the utility bills." 

would that ever hold up?

Case studies / court transcripts are usually the best, unless it's clearly stated in law. 
One argument against such a "rent review" clause as you mentioned would be that something as vague as that would be an "unfair term", per the Consumer Contracts Regulations. 

Normally a "fair" rent review clause would clearly state: 
"When the rent increase will take place
How much notice you’ll receive 
How much the rent will increase"

You need to do a LOT of research, save some links and terms and law examples, just in-case you need to back yourself up. There's a few items about it here on a fact sheet, but course transcripts and actual law (especially around "unfair" contract terms) are better: 
https://www.nhas.org.uk/assets/docs/Rent_increases_assured_shorthold_tenancies_FACTSHEET_NHAS_1.pdf
I think it is the "Consumer Contracts Regulations" that would apply here. 

Regarding the bills, he can't have it both ways. As it's in the AST and perfectly normal to, you could just argue to pay them yourself. 

Remember the AST is valid as it's what you signed, UNLESS it conflicts with the law. As you AND HE agreed that YOU pay the bills in the AST, I can't see how he'd get away with insisting he paid them, as that term does not conflict with the law.. 

Inversely you signed that he can essentially up the rent whenever he wants due to the "rent review clause", however regarding THAT term, that would conflict with the law (unfair contract term etc.) therefore that one would NOT be valid.

Don't start arguments that aren't actually happening with the landlord, but do have some ammo ready (with referees) just in-case they start. Contracts must be fair and not unfairly benefit one side purely to the detriment of the other. 

deano2099

BobT36 said:

Regarding the bills, he can't have it both ways. As it's in the AST and perfectly normal to, you could just argue to pay them yourself. 

Remember the AST is valid as it's what you signed, UNLESS it conflicts with the law. As you AND HE agreed that YOU pay the bills in the AST, I can't see how he'd get away with insisting he paid them, as that term does not conflict with the law.. 

It's a HMO so I very much doubt the OP wants to be paying all the bills!
Honestly, I'd just speak to the other tenants? Is the landlord reasonable? Or does he try to nickel and dime them for every penny he can get?
Energy prices are expected to fall in October so there's no reasonable argument for increasing the rent on that basis. It's likely the landlord just lost money when prices spiked over the past years and is trying to avoid that situation again. Or it's not, and he's a nightmare, in which case the other tenants should be able to tell you.

And yes, for the deposit/holding fee, when you give you notice to eventually leave, just don't pay the last month's rent. Not at the end of the fixed term, just whenever you finally leave.

Honestly you need to make a decision: are you happy with the property (including a somewhat clueless landlord) and do you likely want to stay there more than six months? If you want out, if it's too much and you can't deal with the uncertainty, then yeah, push back, try and get things clarified, etc.

If you want to stay or are happy to wait and see then I'd just accept it. Have the fights with the landlord over a rent increase if he actually tries to do one in the next six months, rather than now. 

saajan_12

badgermog said:

deano2099 said:

Yeah while I can appreciate the frustration of this not being what you expected, you're extremely unlikely to find somewhere that doesn't want a security deposit. (Which is often around a month's rent). Certainly anything rented through an agency will have. I'd take this over that any day, as you're guaranteed to get it back without a fight.

It does sound like the landlord has no idea what he's doing, but he also doesn't appear to be trying to rip you off. (If you have gas appliances I'd make sure there's been a gas safety check done- legally required and also important for your safety).

I agree in general, and I would have been happy to pay a security deposit up front in addition to a refundable holding fee and the first month's rent upon moving in. That's not what was asked for though. It's not really about the money, its the principle. I don't want to send the message that this LL can just do as he pleases without regard to the laws around renting and tenants' rights, especially when there looks to be a (potentially illegal) rental hike on the horizon, and a situation where various terms and conditions from a completely separate document regarding house rules and responsibilities might be used as a tool to try and leverage fines or eviction.

Now that you've signed the agreement and addendum stating upfront money = final months rent, that is binding on you. You can't just do as you please now without regard to the agreements you've signed. You didn't have to sign that - badgering you for 30 min wouldn't be considered under distress, but now that you have, the 'principle' is on his side. 

Last month rent would reasonably be interpreted as the last in the whole tenancy - so if you stay in the property whether on a renewed contract or periodic, the rent would be due in Feb 2024 and the money upfront would be applied to your actual final month.

Regarding the rent hike, the clause you quote is too vague to really mean much. Just keep paying your agreed rent for the first 6 months and then react to any notices to change that thereafter. If you have any correspondence or mention in the agreement that all bills are included, then I'd argue the line saying bills are tenant's responsibility is contradictory or a typo. This is a minor term which you didn't notice at the time and directly contradicts the other comms, unlike the stuff about final months rent which was discussed just before signing.