Letting agent fees when renting

[anything I don't mind]

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.

He is a lawyer so knows how to setup contracts. I've rented through agent before. Once while sharing and once single room flat. The share we had to phone the agent for problems and they would contact the landlord. Nothing was ever fixed and took weeks to get a response. The other time through a agent I had to contact the landlord direct, the time it cost me £280. With pvt landlord he responds the same day and comes around and sorts it right away. I can see a private landlord could also be bad but I don't think an agent means you safe from problems either.

 

[muon]

He is a lawyer so knows how to setup contracts. I've rented through agent before. Once while sharing and once single room flat. The share we had to phone the agent for problems and they would contact the landlord. Nothing was ever fixed and took weeks to get a response. The other time through a agent I had to contact the landlord direct, the time it cost me £280. With pvt landlord he responds the same day and comes around and sorts it right away. I can see a private landlord could also be bad but I don't think an agent means you safe from problems either.

The landlord I was talking about was a solicitor that was just plain wrong. Adjudicator dismissed the £2,500 claim in a couple of pages. I almost burst out laughing.

£2,100 was for loss of rental income because I didn't renew a fixed term contract with a large increase in rent, claiming I had indicated I wanted to renew. The landlord had miscalculated RPI and I even pointed that out to them (apparently inflation was running at 8%).

All this happened 2 weeks from the end of the tenancy even though I had been asking what the landlord would like 2 months beforehand. I had made it clear every time I would not accept an increase in rent (I had overpaid imo in the first year). This was my indication that I wanted to renew, but I had a specific request.

Instead I just left on the last day after negotiations broke down. The landlord wouldn't release the deposit and so I had to wait 6 months. Fortunately I was in a good financial position and so it didn't have much of an impact. The rest was a massively exaggerated/unfair cleaning cost and damages claim.

Spoiler

 

[Guest2]

I have just found out that Flats in Leeds (who we used to rent our current property for around £130 total fees per tenant) has been taken over by Bridgfords who charge £300 per tenant.

Its going to feel like a massive kick in the teeth paying £600 in fees. This actually adds £50 a month to the rental cost over the year

 

[LeeUK]

I would much rather rent a council/HA property with no silly fees or deposit. Granted you'll properly have to lay you own carpets but least you are not feeding the parasites.

 

[Guest2]

Sounds like cutting your nose off to spite your face.

But yes, i don't like feeding the parasites. However I don't like sleeping with them either!

 

[benjii]

I'd imagine most councils have a queue for those sorts of properties anyway, with single mothers and the like going to the top.

 

[LeeUK]

I'd imagine most councils have a queue for those sorts of properties anyway, with single mothers and the like going to the top.

Most have a bidding system now where you can get a property pretty quickly. Also they'll see from your housing application what type of person you are and will house you in a nice area if you work and are not a doley bum.

Who said councils and housing associations aren't biased.

 

[Ilikeitblackplease]

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.

All contracts become 1 month rolling contracts, there is no need to resign and pay the fees.

 

[Dolph]

All contracts become 1 month rolling contracts, there is no need to resign and pay the fees.

Apart from if the owner/agency decides to issue you notice if you don't agree to another fixed term, of course, which is entirely within their right to do so.

 

[benjii]

Is it within a landlord/agency contract that the agency can do that? It's been my experience that they have to ask the landlord first and, fortunately for me, the landlord has always told them to do one.

 

[Skeeter]

Yeah the agency have zero powers, its all the landlord. But that doesn't stop them praying on a lack of knowledge and pretending they do and tricking people into resigning contracts.

To end a tenancy after the initial term and prevent it automatically becoming a periodic the landlord has to serve notice to the tenant with at least the minimum notice period left (at least one month).

So of you have less than 1 month of your initial term left and the agent starts talking about needing to resign and pay fees they are talking rubbish and trying to con you.

 

[LeeUK]

Surely if you have been a good tenant and always pay your rent on time then I can't see why they would kick you out just because you won't sign a new 6/12 month tenancy. Around here rental properties can sit empty for months between tenants, why would a landlord want to miss out on that rent by kicking someone out for simply not signing a new contract.

I agree the whole rental market needs proper regulation. I know someone who has been renting a property since 2005 on a periodic tenancy and now the landlord has but it up for sale with some property auction house. The dodgy auction company sent them a new 6 month AST tenancy template to sign from the date it was sent. Basically if they sign it they would lose all the rights they have had for the last 10 years.

 

[Skeeter]

Landlords don't want you to sign new contracts every 12 month, agents do, for the exact reason this thread is about, fees.

If everyone rented a house and stayed there for years on periodic contracts letting agents would go bust. They need people to regularly move or renew so they can squeeze the fees out of them.

 

[TheSkateyBird]

Got charged £110 for my 6 month contract. Thought it seemed steep for what they told me it was going towards /sigh.

 

[dneill2006]

I'm in the process of renting an apartment over here in NI, estate agent fees were only £60.

Estate agents over here only seem to charge £30-£60 from what I've seen while searching.

 

[Guest2]

I'm in the process of renting an apartment over here in NI, estate agent fees were only £60.

Estate agents over here only seem to charge £30-£60 from what I've seen while searching.

£30 - £60 fees Where are you renting? I expect if you were to rent somewhere that costs £500 PCM instead of £1500 PCM the fees would have to be a lot lower

 

[benjii]

£30 - £60 fees Where are you renting? I expect if you were to rent somewhere that costs £500 PCM instead of £1500 PCM the fees would have to be a lot lower

The fees at Yourmove for £500 PCM places are around £450+ (at least in Plymouth). It's absolutely ridiculous. I'm so glad we went private.

 

[Timber]

Landlords don't want you to sign new contracts every 12 month, agents do, for the exact reason this thread is about, fees.

If everyone rented a house and stayed there for years on periodic contracts letting agents would go bust. They need people to regularly move or renew so they can squeeze the fees out of them.

True, but estate agents won't go out of business. They make enough money charging landlords fees. This is just a relatively easy and simple way to generate additional revenue amd is probably more common now. Very similar to how videogame publishers have twigged how you withhold content and call it DLC.

 

[xGBHxPegasus]

I got quite lucky with my current landlord, he had been renting before and absolutely hated agencies and didn't want anything to do with them Saved me and him £300 odd.

My first rental was a massive pita, agency were a bunch of amateurs and made my ex and mum feel like criminals on the checkout (even though they did it themselves cause they scheduled the "3rd party" wrong). Hated them with a passion and its put me off even considering buying in my home town due to them having all the properties.

I think I'm in a pretty good position for my renewal next year, my landlord moved back to Italy and I haven't caused any issues (apart from when the water flow valve busted, although the plumber said someone had bodged it before and he was surprised it lasted that long!) so I think he will want to keep me instead of having to try find a new tenant which means he would have to come back or get an agency in.