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I am about to move out of my shared flat of six years to move in with my girlfriend. Landlords agency has always been really good with us about changing tenants, and we have done this one by one since 2008!
I've asked to move out and been told a £240 name change fee will be paid by me, they have brought new rules in about changes to tenants. No mention of this to us until now.
We renewed our tenancy in January and I found they put in a new rule into a new contract stating a £240 fee will be paid when changing tenants. We just thought it was a standard renewal, we're on first name terms with the people there and it all felt quite perfunctory, the only changes was a £10 increase in rent. We've been renewing same contract for a decade.
The landlord asked us to renew the tenancy, and we agreed, not knowing the contract was different, we assumed it was the same as the old one maintained since 2008.
Do we have recourse to suggest we were mislead?
P.S. new laws don't apply to this old tenancy.
I've asked to move out and been told a £240 name change fee will be paid by me, they have brought new rules in about changes to tenants. No mention of this to us until now.
We renewed our tenancy in January and I found they put in a new rule into a new contract stating a £240 fee will be paid when changing tenants. We just thought it was a standard renewal, we're on first name terms with the people there and it all felt quite perfunctory, the only changes was a £10 increase in rent. We've been renewing same contract for a decade.
The landlord asked us to renew the tenancy, and we agreed, not knowing the contract was different, we assumed it was the same as the old one maintained since 2008.
Do we have recourse to suggest we were mislead?
P.S. new laws don't apply to this old tenancy.
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Comments
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I am about to move out of my shared flat of six years to move in with my girlfriend. Landlords agency has always been really good with us about changing tenants, and we have done this one by one since 2008!
I've asked to move out and been told a £240 name change fee will be paid by me, they have brought new rules in about changes to tenants. No mention of this to us until now.
We renewed our tenancy in January and I found they put in a new rule into a new contract stating a £240 fee will be paid when changing tenants. We just thought it was a standard renewal, we're on first name terms with the people there and it all felt quite perfunctory, the only changes was a £10 increase in rent. We've been renewing same contract for a decade.
The landlord asked us to renew the tenancy, and we agreed, not knowing the contract was different, we assumed it was the same as the old one maintained since 2008.
Do we have recourse to suggest we were mislead?
P.S. new laws don't apply to this old tenancy.
I believe its a new tenancy, if it was the old tenancy then you would be on a rolling contract so no need to change the name you would just hand your notice in and terminate the contract... They cant have their cake and eat it0 -
No.Soundgirlrocks wrote: »I believe its a new tenancy, if it was the old tenancy then you would be on a rolling contract so no need to change the name you would just hand your notice in and terminate the contract... They cant have their cake and eat it
A new tenancy was signed in Jan 2019 (ie pre-june 2019) which included the fee.
The fee can therefore be charged up till June 2020.
They are not having their cake and eaing it - OP agreed to the fee, and it is the OP who is requesing permission for this change of tenancy. The LL/agent could simply refuse o make the change an hold the OP to his contract (of 6? 12? months).
Errrr...this seems contradictory. This was 'mentioned' in the contract you (should have read and) signed in January.I've asked to move out and been told a £240 name change fee will be paid by me, they have brought new rules in about changes to tenants. No mention of this to us until now.
We renewed our tenancy in January and I found they put in a new rule into a new contract stating a £240 fee will be paid when changing tenants.0 -
So you signed a new tenancy agreement without reading it then?
I can't see what recourse you have.0 -
Ok so there's some confusion here, a renewal, is when you sign up for the same contract as before, just extending the period of time.
The management services approached us to renew the contract, we agreed, we asked what was different and they mentioned a rent raise of £10 per week. Ok, so they got us to sign a contract and we did not compare it to the last contract because: We trusted they represented the contract honorably, we had no reason to believe it had been changed.
If a tenant substitution is requested, it will be granted at the landlord’s discretion. You will also need to meet the following criteria:
Here are the other rules they have brought in at their discretion:
All tenants must be in the property for a minimum of 6 months.
There must be at least 6 months remaining on the current contract.
Maximum of 2 substitutions per tenancy.
This will not be considered if there is a history of late payments/arrears.
The 2-week minimum time frame from finding a tenant to completing the paperwork.
I've already been told by a lawyer misrepresentation could have occurred0 -
I've already been told by a lawyer misrepresentation could have occurred
that may well be the case that the lawyer comes to that conclusion on the information you have provided them with.
Did they also tell you how much it may cost you in their fee structure to employ them to resolve this issue for you?
You need to be aware that the law regarding the charging of tenant fees changed on 1st june this year,and as I read your post you have had the charges set out in the agreement so the agency is still able to request that additional fee until 31st may 2020.
If your lawyer and yourself think differently then that's between you to decide if you will pay the lawyer to dispute your case...
But both sides of this are likely to come at a cost...its just which is the lesserin S 38 T 2 F 50
out S 36 T 9 F 24 FF 4
2017-32 2018 -33 2019 -21 2020 -5 2021 -4 20220 -
Please let us know the outcome once you and the lawyer have pursued this.Ok so there's some confusion here, a renewal, is when you sign up for the same contract as before, just extending the period of time.
The management services approached us to renew the contract, we agreed, we asked what was different and they mentioned a rent raise of £10 per week. Ok, so they got us to sign a contract and we did not compare it to the last contract because: We trusted they represented the contract honorably, we had no reason to believe it had been changed.
If a tenant substitution is requested, it will be granted at the landlord’s discretion. You will also need to meet the following criteria:
Here are the other rules they have brought in at their discretion:
All tenants must be in the property for a minimum of 6 months.
There must be at least 6 months remaining on the current contract.
Maximum of 2 substitutions per tenancy.
This will not be considered if there is a history of late payments/arrears.
The 2-week minimum time frame from finding a tenant to completing the paperwork.
I've already been told by a lawyer misrepresentation could have occurred
We are all amateurs here, doing our best with the limited knowledge we have, so any learning process is useful.
And of course with the Act being so new there is also a learning curve with regard to its implemetation.0 -
Ok so there's some confusion here, a renewal, is when you sign up for the same contract as before, just extending the period of time. - a renewal has no legal meaning. It's whatever terms are agreed
The management services approached us to renew the contract, we agreed, we asked what was different and they mentioned a rent raise of £10 per week. - learn to read things before you sign them Ok, so they got us to sign a contract and we did not compare it to the last contract because: We trusted they represented the contract honorably, we had no reason to believe it had been changed. - Who's fault is that?
If a tenant substitution is requested, it will be granted at the landlord’s discretion. You will also need to meet the following criteria:
Here are the other rules they have brought in at their discretion:
All tenants must be in the property for a minimum of 6 months.
There must be at least 6 months remaining on the current contract.
Maximum of 2 substitutions per tenancy.
This will not be considered if there is a history of late payments/arrears.
The 2-week minimum time frame from finding a tenant to completing the paperwork.
I've already been told by a lawyer misrepresentation could have occurred
Yes a solicitor may well say that. Just like one might say "a murder could have occurred", "but didn't"
However if you're willing to pay for legal advice - at £200+ an hour, then £240 to end the tenancy seems small fry0 -
I've already been told by a lawyer misrepresentation could have occurred
And you are checking the advice given to you by a lawyer on a public form where you cannot ascertain what background or qualifications the respondents have? Personally, I would go with trusting the lawyer.
You problem will be that challenging this may cost you more than the £240 fee you are being asked to pay.0 -
we asked what was different and they mentioned a rent raise of £10 per week.
I've already been told by a lawyer misrepresentation could have occurred
Given what you have said, it probably did occur. But how on earth would you prove it. You'd need them to have put in writing that nothing else had changed (Even then it would be hard to actually win as you had the opportunity to read the contract.)
If not the agent will just turn round and either completely deny having said that or say "we mentioned the increase in rent and advised the tenant to thoroughly read before signing"0
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