I wouldn't pay it!
Letting agent fees when renting
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I wouldn't pay it!
Even the people who do buy property to live in treat it like an investment these days rather than a home to live in.
Just bundled into your rent, instead!
Yes but, the landlord has the ability to pick an agent which minimises fees. Finally introducing competition.
The letting agent may not be able to add £300 to the fees landlords pay to compensate. So rent won't actually rise by as much.
Of course not. They aren't going to get rid of a good tenant for £95.
It will cost them much more effort to find a new one plus the time the property will be empty.
Soldato
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I'm guessing this is only really necessary if you want to legally bind them into letting you carry on living there for another year, otherwise it probably just means you and the owner can give notice to vacate the premises.
IANAL though!
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Soldato
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Disgraceful tbh,
I paid 50 quid fee for our place in central leeds.
I paid 50 quid fee for our place in central leeds.
Soldato
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All normal. If you can get an Agent which charges halfway decent fees think yourself lucky. I think we paid £120 per person all in when we moved in a month or 2 ago. Some were several hundred per person.
Letting agents are parasites, but their poor behaviour is a symptom of the wider problems in the housing market caused by a lack of supply.
Having just spent 8 months renting between home ownership, I really feel sorry for the people stuck in the system.
Having just spent 8 months renting between home ownership, I really feel sorry for the people stuck in the system.
Soldato
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2 people you should never trust. Estate agents and recruitment agents.
How does this work exactly? Our 12 month contract ended and he basically offered 12 month again or leave. He did this ~2 weeks before the end of the contract so we didn't have much choice (never gonna find somewhere in 2 weeks) but now we're stuck here for another 12 months
.I hate renting.
How does this work exactly? Our 12 month contract ended and he basically offered 12 month again or leave. He did this ~2 weeks before the end of the contract so we didn't have much choice (never gonna find somewhere in 2 weeks) but now we're stuck here for another 12 months
I hate renting.
Your landlord is perfectly entitled to give you notice if you do not agree to extend the contract, but you are not legally required to renew your contract once it expires as it simply becomes a periodic tenancy agreement instead. If it's the estate agents that have stated renew or get out, they have broken the law in denying a tenants right to the choice of a periodic contract, by threatening you with eviction they have no right to authorise in the first place (only the landlord can issue proceedings to evict a tenant).
If you find a place using an agency the agency is getting a fee one way or another.
Either you are paying them a fee or the landlord is.
There is unlikely to be anything you can do about it since the landlord had an agreement with the agency before you turned up regarding how the fees are paid.
Either you are paying them a fee or the landlord is.
There is unlikely to be anything you can do about it since the landlord had an agreement with the agency before you turned up regarding how the fees are paid.
Had some letting agents wanting to charge up to £500 in fee's, unsurprisingly they didn't get our business.
Avg seems to be about £150 - £250 which is still far too much for a basic credit check and phoning up your previous landlord.
Had one agent try to charge a fee for us to leave which was just ridiculous and yes they always make you feel like you have to pay a renewal fee. One even tried to charge us £90 for the privilege of switching to a periodic tenancy, that letter went straight in the bin.
Letting market is crying out for proper regulation, the problems are only going to get worse with ever increasing demand.
Avg seems to be about £150 - £250 which is still far too much for a basic credit check and phoning up your previous landlord.
Had one agent try to charge a fee for us to leave which was just ridiculous and yes they always make you feel like you have to pay a renewal fee. One even tried to charge us £90 for the privilege of switching to a periodic tenancy, that letter went straight in the bin.
Letting market is crying out for proper regulation, the problems are only going to get worse with ever increasing demand.
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Remember my London renting days *shudders*. Just had a great experience with a Wellington (NZ) agent. As I really needed a place fast, I rented off the photos. He rung me up and offered to drive to the property and video it for me. Then he also informed me that the price of renting has dropped that day by a substantial amount. He could've lied as I was happy to pay the original price. Got my video within the hour, he done my reference checks the same afternoon (no charge - then again, why would there be), drew up the contract and best of all, no letting fee. They make their money off the rent. Which, for the price I'm paying, can't be more than 10-20 a week
How does this work exactly? Our 12 month contract ended and he basically offered 12 month again or leave. He did this ~2 weeks before the end of the contract so we didn't have much choice (never gonna find somewhere in 2 weeks) but now we're stuck here for another 12 months
I hate renting.
If they are genuinely willing to tell you to leave then you have no choice. However, they have no good reason to do this. An existing tenant is in a very strong position.
Firstly they need to have given you appropriate section 21 notice before the end of you fixed term. 2 weeks is not even close to enough.
If they haven't then it will automatically go into a rolling tenancy (periodic). They would then need to serve appropriate notice from which you will have to leave. If they wish to increase your rent as part of the switch to a periodic tenancy, they again need to serve you appropriate section 13 notice. Until then the rent is the same. If you want to play ball, you can overlook the lack of notice if the increase is reasonable and just appease them, especially as I'm sure you expected an increase in rent.
If they have done everything correctly, you are willing to accept the increase in rent, and they are saying they would like you to sign a new fixed term or leave (as per their notice) then they are bluffing in my opinion. If they are simply annoyed at not getting the £50-£100 in renewal fees it is an even greater bluff as that is not an instruction from the landlord. The landlord will be annoyed at them, for costing them far more money over £50-100.
They would have to find a new tenant which will cost them in resources and the house will remain empty. Even if they would like someone tied in to a 12 months contract, they may as well wait until you leave rather than having to hunt for someone right now. There is no difference.
I'm renting at the moment in a property managed by a major letting agency for 2.5+ years now. They are probably taking 15% of the rent for doing nothing. When it comes to fees, they waive everything I ask them to. After all, they are getting 15% of the rent for doing very little. Their rent increases have been in line with inflation which has been very low recently.
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Yeah basically if you or the landlord do nothing your tenancy automatically becomes a periodic. For it to end either party will have to give the proper notice (2 weeks from the end is too late as the notice would have been at least 1 month).
The idea that after the term your tenancy ends and you must moce out or sign another is wrong. Attempts to force or trick you into it by letting agents is a con to extract money and I'm pretty sure its also illegal.
Basically, once your in a house ignore everything the letting agent sends you that isn't related to terms you agreed to (access for inspections etc). Your contract is with the landlord, not the agent.
(Disclaimer: obviously, check your contract to make sure you havent waived this right, but I seriously doubt any agent would draft contracts like it because it would involve you opting out of elements if the Housing Act)
The idea that after the term your tenancy ends and you must moce out or sign another is wrong. Attempts to force or trick you into it by letting agents is a con to extract money and I'm pretty sure its also illegal.
Basically, once your in a house ignore everything the letting agent sends you that isn't related to terms you agreed to (access for inspections etc). Your contract is with the landlord, not the agent.
(Disclaimer: obviously, check your contract to make sure you havent waived this right, but I seriously doubt any agent would draft contracts like it because it would involve you opting out of elements if the Housing Act)
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You cannot waive these rights.
It is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy and must always comply.
It also cannot fall foul of Unfair Contract Terms Act.
Permabanned
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My previous flat I was charged £280 for nothing. My current place wad great it was direct with the landlord. These days with internet property sites I don't see why we even need estate agents. You can download a blank rental contract from a quick google search and the deposit has to be put into a gov scheme even if its not through agent. What do they even do. I understand from a landlord perspective if they have many properties it can help out. But in my opinion the landlord should pay the agent not the tenant. Crazy.
In my limited experience though, amateur landlords haven't a clue about the regulations and often break them. The lack of professionalism can be very annoying.
I agree on the latter point though. It should be covered by the agent/landlord and incorporated into the rent if they want.
Then any prospective tenant can do proper comparisons and there is competition in driving those fees down.
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You'll often find that an agent charges both the landlord and the tenant.
So in that case you'd need an agent to draw up a contract not covered by the Housing Act, so jot an AST. Given most agents can't count to 5 I doubt any are brave enough to take that legal mountain on
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The general lack of knowledge of tenants rights in this country is quite worrying. I've had to learn about it having been repeatedly screwed over, and I've come to the conclusion that the entire letting agent market is built upon collective ignorance. If every tenant suddenly learnt all their rights letting agents would all go out of business over night.
So in that case you'd need an agent to draw up a contract not covered by the Housing Act, so jot an AST. Given most agents can't count to 5 I doubt any are brave enough to take that legal mountain on
.The general lack of knowledge of tenants rights in this country is quite worrying. I've had to learn about it having been repeatedly screwed over, and I've come to the conclusion that the entire letting agent market is built upon collective ignorance. If every tenant suddenly learnt all their rights letting agents would all go out of business over night.