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Tenancy change following bereavement
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The following is interesting.
From the Government website“The Renters’ Rights Act will change laws about renting and this guidance has been published to help private rented sector landlords and letting agents prepare. The new rules will apply on or after 1 May 2026
Your tenants will need to ask you in writing if they want to keep a pet. They’ll need to include a description of the pet they wish to keep in their request.If your tenant keeps a pet without your permission, they may be breaking the terms of the tenancy agreement.
If your tenant requests to keep a pet, you will not be able to refuse without a fair reason. You’ll need to consider each request on a case by case basis.
Once your tenant has asked for a pet, you will have 28 days to respond in writing. If you do not respond within 28 days, they will be able to apply to the court.
The court may enforce the rules if they believe you’re not meeting your obligations as a landlord.”
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I pay by standing order and the new contract (which I haven't signed, didn't go into the estate agents office and have heard nothing from them since) sets the rent at the same rate for six months. I'm waiting to see if the SO goes out as scheduled on Monday.
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In our case there was a permission to have a cat in the contract we signed when we moved in in 2015.
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TL:DR - Standing Order = Client instructs Bank to send money to payee, payee cannot alter that instruction.
- Direct Debit = Payee makes a request for payment each month and Bank, with Client's permission, pays payee.
The Standing Order will go out on Monday as usual. Standing Orders are an instruction from the account holder (Client) to the Bank and only you (Client) can alter or cancel it although the Bank can cancel it if there are insufficient funds or the account isn't being operated in accordance with the Bank's conditions. The payee of the Standing Order, in this case the letting agent, cannot cancel, alter or make any amendments to a Standing Order because they are not the Bank's Client for the paying account. Standing Orders are very flexible from the Client's perspective and give them complete control which is reassuring for some people. A Standing Order can be open ended or set for a specific period, say, to end with a final payment on 15th March 2027. If they are set for a specific period, the Client would need to renew the instruction to the Bank if they want payments to continue. Standing Orders tend to be used to pay regular amounts to smaller organisations because they cost the payee nothing and the onus is always on the Client to ensure there are funds in place to cover the payment.
Direct Debits operate differently. They are an agreement between the Client and the payee and are governed by the Direct Debit Guarantee scheme which gives the Client certain protections including that they must be notified in writing of any change to the Direct Debit such as payment date (excluding non-banking days like weekends and Bank Holidays) or payment amounts. Direct Debits tend to be open ended so when the Client sets it up, it continues until and unless it's cancelled by the Client or the payee cancels it at their end and stops requesting payment. An example would be that I set up a Direct Debit for Council Tax when I moved into my home 18 years ago. While there have been changes to my circumstances and of course changes to the amount I pay, I have never had to set up a new Direct Debit, the original agreement still stands that the Council will, after notifying me in writing (Council bills) make requests for payment each month. Direct Debits tend to be operated by larger organisations such as Councils, utility and insurance companies because they are expensive systems to run and maintain. It's always wise, if you pay by Direct Debit and decide to switch provider, to make sure you cancel the original Direct Debit instruction to your Bank.
It's unlikely that the letting agent will return your payment because they are expecting the rent to be paid. In six months if you don't amend your Standing Order instruction the amount they receive will be less than they expect, and it's likely they'll be in touch to chase the shortfall. At that point, it is of course possible that they'll report the 'arrears' to the credit reference agencies, though how likely that is, I can't speculate.
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Thank you. Yes, this is what happens. If say my internet charges go up they notify me of the advance it then comes out automatically as a direct debit. If my rent rises I have to amend the standing order myself. I'll still check Monday just to make sure it's gone through as usual.
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That’s what gives you a very strong case keeping your cat. 😺😺😺
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Just to chip in
Sometimes letting agencies supply contracts that are standard and it is entirely possible your landlady knows nothing about the cat being forbidden
One contract I saw forbade the changing of energy supplier which is unenforceable if the tenant pays the bills direct according to Ofcom but failed to oblige the tenant to have chimneys swept before lighting a fire in the open fire which had not been used for years
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All sorted now. New tenancy agreement cancelled. Carry on as before. Thanks to all here for your solid and very helpful advice.
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Oh that's good to know. Take care of yourself OP.
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