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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

£125 to review my contract on my flat?! What the fuck?!

74 replies

RestingFuckFace · 05/03/2015 11:37

Is this real?!

Ive lived in many properties, but never had this.

My agency just called me, said Ive lived here a year, do I want to renew for 6 or 12 months? I said 6. He said thats fine but I will have to pay the fee twice in a year.

What fee?

£125.

What for a piece of paper and black ink?

Yes, that's correct. Hmm

I told them Id get the paper and black ink. He said I was paying for a lawyer.

WHAT?! What are they on about, is this correct? I don't remember anything about this in my contract, but I supposed I must have fucking missed it. Im going to look after DC's lunch.

OP posts:
Legslabelle · 05/03/2015 13:05

The renewal fees should be set out in any terms of business you signed with the agency when you registered to become a tenant through them, the contract is between you and the landlord, not the agent. Just bear in mind that no one knows what could happen months down the line and if the landlady decides she needs her property back to sell or house a family member in urgent need, you could be served two months notice, also your rent can be raised at any time whilst on a periodic. At least with a fixed contract you have security for that length of time. I have seen this happen a few times with tenants who go onto a periodic rather than pay the fee out of principle or to save money and then regret it when they are unexpectedly served notice. Of course this works both ways and plenty of people are stuck in a tenancy they need to get out of in which case they'd wish they were in a rolling contract. I think you should make your decision based on this rather that the fees.

LadyRainicorn · 05/03/2015 13:07

Thank god that's not reached my agency yet, I thought the ridiculous fees they charged for 'checks' at the start of the tenancy were bad enough (credit checks don't cost £200 ffs foxtons, there's an agency I'll never use) but they refuse to letus go on a rolling contract which would really love to be on.

RedSoloCup · 05/03/2015 13:07

My friend has rented for 10+ years and was hit with this last time!! Another money making thing no doubt, I think she did manage to get it down a bit with negotiation.

LegsOfSteel · 05/03/2015 13:08

Did you ask if the "lawyer" would be happy to accept the lower fee of £50??

wowfudge · 05/03/2015 13:11

Legslabelle has stated what I meant - the Ts and Cs of the agency which be separate from your tenancy agreement, probably the same document that stated the fees payable for reference checks, etc when you first dealt with the agents.

Anyway, glad you seem to have got things sorted.

TheChandler · 05/03/2015 13:12

Echo the above re moving to a rolling contract, and if the agency is charging for contract renewal, shouldn't it be done by a lawyer? Otherwise, its just a highly excessive admin fee.

I think they are actually entitled to charge an admin fee (maybe £25 or £30) if it involves a little bit of work on their part (word processing, getting a new contract sent out and back signed, filed) but that amount of fee suggests reasonably complex legal skills would be involved. Except you should be a lawyer to charge for the provision of legal services...

mousmous · 05/03/2015 13:12

we always politely declined to pay... never had any trouble and stayed in that place for 5 years=4 renewals...

wowfudge · 05/03/2015 13:13

LadyRain - they cannot refuse to let you go onto a statutory periodic tenancy by law. It's what happens if you don't sign another AST.

wowfudge · 05/03/2015 13:18

TheChandler - you do not need a lawyer to draw up a perfectly valid legal document in the UK. That is just incorrect. You can enter into a binding contract verbally in the UK for many things; no documentation needed.

HereIAm20 · 05/03/2015 13:19

Hi I am a landlady and our agent contacted the tenant and asked them to sign up for a new 6 or 12 month AST and was going to charge our tenant £80 and us a renew fee of £200! I agreed direct with the tenant that he should just go to a rolling contract and neither have to pay. Obviously I can give 2 months notice and he can give notice but I know he is a teacher a long way from home so probably has to give a term's notice of leaving his job. I also indicated he is a great tenant so as long as he continues to be so I really don't want an empty flat or the hassle of finding a new tenant.

LadyRainicorn · 05/03/2015 13:20

What happens is the section 21 notice is then enforced and i then don't have a house to live in as both dh and I have professional jobs we will lose as a result of court action (should we decide to try and sit it out)

it's not my house. It's only my home for the length of the contract.

TheChandler · 05/03/2015 13:29

TheChandler - you do not need a lawyer to draw up a perfectly valid legal document in the UK. That is just incorrect. You can enter into a binding contract verbally in the UK for many things; no documentation needed.

wowfudge that is not what I said. I meant that if someone is charging £125 for a contract renewal, I'd damned well expect them to be legally qualified (as opposed to someone who could in theory be an admin assistant straight out of school).

How long would it take? 15 minutes? 30 minutes? What letting agent staff member is worth £200 plus an hour?

BarbarianMum · 05/03/2015 13:34

As the renewal basically requires reprinting the old contract with a new date and getting it resigned, I'd say 10 min tops would do it. And it could be done just about anyone.

wowfudge · 05/03/2015 13:58

LadyRain - it just stinks though, doesn't it? There's very little true benefit to the LL once they know they have a good tenant in their property. All these things serve only to line the pocket of the agents.

RubbishRobotFromTheDawnOfTime · 05/03/2015 14:16

These fees are illegal in Scotland. Write to your MP asking them about outlawing them in England and Wales too (assuming that's where you are).

specialsubject · 05/03/2015 14:16

don't forget that you are always entitled to your landlord's contact details. The agency cannot dictate whether you do or do not go on to a rolling contract. That is for agreement between you and the landlord.

Original poster
RestingFuckFace · 05/03/2015 14:21

I am now on a rolling contract!

The landlord just asked if I could give 6 weeks notice when I move. Fine by me, the last landlord asked the same. It meant I have two places for 2 weeks but so be it.

Ive absolutely no intention or reason to move whatsoever so don't see it being an issue any time soon.

I very much appreciate your help MNers.

OP posts:
PfftTheMagicDraco · 05/03/2015 14:24

I had this - I told them I would go onto the rolling contract as I wouldn't pay (in my case £60) fee to reprint a few pages for the other contract. I did get in touch with the landlord though and say that I would have been happy to sign a longer contract but I refused to pay the fee for nothing!

Limes61 · 05/03/2015 14:31

My Landlord doesn't use an agent, I imagine for this exact reason of them charging money for nothing. He just advertised the house to rent in the local paper, and the tenancy agreement is perfectly legal and only costs a couple of £'s to buy. Someone near me sold their house recently by making their own for sale sign and advertising on a free website. Only took 4 months from the sign going up to the new people moving in. Estate agents are money grabbers, best to deal without them in my opinion!

LadyRainicorn · 05/03/2015 14:37

Landlords use agents for many reasons, sometimes because they are old ladies who don't want to be bothered with tenants.

I'm glad the op got sorted, but it's not a magic bullet that will solve everyone's problems - both parties need to be willing.

keepitsimple0 · 05/03/2015 14:45

I don't know the law, but that's just plain bullshit (morally, not legally).

expatinscotland · 05/03/2015 14:46

This is one industry on dire need of regulation.

LadyRainicorn · 05/03/2015 14:53

Yes expat

The varying amount of fees and for what is quite dizzying. Foxtons spit tried to charge me and my friends £200 each for the credit check plus 'setting' up the (one) tenancy agreement (this was in 2002 and I worked somewhere that got charged £2 per credit check). Another one tried to charge us £45 check out fee when we moved out.

specialsubject · 05/03/2015 15:02

'old ladies who don't want to be bothered with tenants'

I'm neither. But I do need to give a good service to my customer (the tenant) so it is worth paying the agency to help with that. The buck stops with me. The agency's experience and advice is also useful if I get a rogue tenant who plays the system. I am not able to spend the hours in court that this will need.

yes, the agency 'industry' does need regulating but all political parties are blind to that. Even the Greenies see everything as all the fault of the dreaded private landlord.

rents in Scotland went up when fees to tenants were outlawed, because the agencies just doubled what they charged the landlords. Right idea, crap implementation.

SolidGoldBrass · 05/03/2015 15:13

I have had to pay this every year for several years (and just paid it again.) I have always thought it seemed like a ridiculous amount of money for changing the date and the amount of rent and putting an agreement in the post Angry

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