Any letting agents that can help me?

[absolutelyknackeredcow]

Posting in chat for traffic.
We need to rent for six months (London) while our new house goes through substantial building works.
It's me, DH, two children and a cat.
Have tried to avoid going through letting agents to avoid fees and because they don't seem keen letting for six months (understandable).
Do most contracts have a six month break clause and am I doing myself a disservice telling them this up front ?
I don't want to be dishonest - and have tried posting on informal sites /Airbnb etc - but getting nowhere.
Any tips greatly appreciated ? Thanks

Not an estate agent but most 12 month contracts have a break clause at 6 months. The ones I’ve had state you have to give notice at 4 months though to leave at 6 months.

My 12 month contracts didn't have one. It's not guaranteed.

I’ve had some landlords offer 6 month tenancies for an increased rent PCM so not always a bad idea to be upfront if that would be an option

Have you tried Openrent? It allows you to speak to the landlords directly.

Tried open rent, tried forums
Saw a property today found it informally. It was grim and the woman wanted to stay 2 nights a fortnight

Fees are being abolished on the 1st of June this year!

Also nearly all contracts are 6 months so just tell them a good month before you move your moving out

Dont tell in advance but you don't to feel bad! the landlords purposely do six months so they can move you out quicker if they want to sell or whatever so sucks to them if you move after 6 months

@absolutelyknackeredcow

Ooh what do you mean about fees being abolished ?

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2019/01/letting-fees-to-be-banned-from-june/amp/

Estate agent can’t charge for referencing, credit checks, etc- the costs are given to the landlord. I believe they’ll just ask for a holding deposit and it’ll be taken off the amount you need to pay before moving in. If you don’t pass the checks they take the costs out of the holding deposit

Some of the fees landlords charge are being stopped.

It will be illegal from the 1st of June (so in a week) for ketting agents to charge fees anymore. Whoo hoo! Thats why a lot of them are saying 'half price fees' at the moment. The bastards are just reaching for anything extra they can squeeze before they are abolished

It's been a long time coming, but the government recently revealed when the ban on letting agent fees charged to tenants will come into force. From June 1 2019, letting agents will no longer be able to charge fees to set up or renew a tenancy for homes in the private rented sector

Quick google

ALL fees are being abolished, you just need a deposit and pass the checks so just go through an estate agent, gumtree is a minefield often of scams so watch out @absolutelyknackeredcow

Im actually jealous your looking to move now fees are going as I moved in March and had to pay over 500 pounds, such a joke

Oh my god thanks guys. This is a game changer

Will rents go up?

Maybe. It is likely to have an effect on the market but we aren't sure what yet.

Have you tried Airbnb to see if you can negotiate a six month stay.

Tenant fees are banned from next week, rent will likely rise a little and many landlords are now selling off portfolios due to the additional tax implications. Others are looking to self manage. Going to be an interesting few years to see what happens to housing stock and letting agents.

It’s not quite so sunny news for existing renters.

Let’s say you signed your contract on 15th June last year (and the contract said it costs £100 admin to renew the contract).

When you renew your contract on 15th June this year you still have to pay the £100, because that’s what was put in the original contract.

I flagged this with the estate agents (the old chestnut of ‘a contract can not override the law’) but apparently there is a special clause in the law to allow for this, for one calendar year.

Even if you signed a contract today and it had the ‘£100 admin charge to renew contract’ then on 24 May 2020 you would still have to pay the fee.

Yes I wondered if more would go to open rent

No properties on Airbnb nearby - very frustrating

When you renew your contract on 15th June this year you still have to pay the £100, because that’s what was put in the original contract

Tenants can always roll over to a periodic tenancy without signing or paying anything.

My tenants have standard ast contract. They can give notice at 6 months and notice is 2 months = 8 months.

Some one is going to be paying those fees - it’s not like the agents are doing it for free. The landlord pays. And the tenant pays the landlord.
Frankly as a landlady I’m more worried about getting tenants out. It’s the cat I think will give you more problems.