Letting agent fees query – 6 months management charge?

Hi Sam,

What is the exact wording in your contract?

Having been caught in a contract that continued whilst the tenant was in residence and the only way to remove the agent was to evict the tenant or wait for them to leave – I now check the small print very carefully!

Quite frankly there isn’t really anything to do on renewal as the tenancy can hold over. Only if the parties want a new agreement would there be one – if used to be very common when you could charge tenants, but now you can’t so the landlord has to pay. Most landlords choose not to pay so the agent ahs nothing to do. Unless the landlord is desperate for a new fixed term, the regime of holding over is fine.

BUT, as Neil said you need to check the contract that you signed; that is what will govern any payments due, not what other agents or landlords do.

Another way of looking at this situation is ‘Do you really want to self-manage’ with all the associated leaglities and hassel of tenants ringing you at silly O’colck to inform you the toilet is blocked especially if you don’t live locally.
Tony

You state “the said agency terms and conditions merely say if tenants stay on there would be a renewal fee”. All you can do is negotiate on the size of that fee. Is that stated anywhere? You can use what others do as an argument, but that point can just be dismissed by the other side.

The simple answer is ‘what does your contract with the agent say?’
When I started renting my property 9 years ago, the contract drawn up by the agent had just such a clause. I crossed it out and said “I’ll pay you to manage my property. I’m not going to pay you not to manage it. Do you still want my business?”

Are you sure this is not the case that your terms of business with the agent states that to give them notice to terminate your arrangement that you need to give 6 months notice?
I have heard this often about some of the corporate agencies who feel it’s okay to charge for a service they are not offering. They also do the same if the Landlord is not happy with the service they are getting.
These agents are exactly the reason the Tenant Fee Ban was introduced

Thanks for the replies all.

As it happens I did not ‘sign’ anything just merely agreed to them doing management.

And yes Peter the renewal fee is stated.

For avoidance of confusion I am talking I would be self managing when the current agent has not even signed a new tenancy/renewal (I could see where the fee would come about had that been the case)

Also I having looked at the tenancy there is no reference to this fee either.

Reply to the comment left by Sam B at 29/12/2021 – 12:29
I think there is confusion here because
(a) you have a terms of business with the agent that somewhere along the line they must have produced paperwork for and you agreed to the terms, whether this was in writing or verbally
(b) the tenancy agreement is between you and the tenant – nothing to do with who has signed in (i.e. your agent on your behalf)
This “6 month notice fee” that your agents want you to pay is for you to terminate their services in order to self manage, not to end the tenancy

Well I for sure would remember if they verbally stated that 6 month thing. There landlord fees section does not state this. I wager it was just the agency thinking I had the effrontery to self manage.
It takes two to tango or so I thought but didn’t stop them from deducting from the existing tenants rent rather than last tenants deposit for costs that I didn’t authorize in first place. And have not even forwarded what was left of the deposit despite tenancy ending 5 months ago.