Change of letting agent & tenancy agreement

[ScentsyIndConsultant]

I rented a flat in Jan19 with a brilliant letting agent, who then later sold his business in August. I've found the new letting agents less than responsive when I've had maintenance issues, rarely acknowledge emails and I have to constantly chase for everything.

Now my years tenancy is up I've been given a new agreement. (I've been chasing since early Dec for a new one). They expected just to pop round and get me to sign there and then, but I told them I needed time to read it through.... I've found a few differences between old and new which I've emailed them about. The biggest differences are that I have to insure the landlords furnishings against accidental damage (I thought the standard was just my own possessions) and pay to have the flat and carpets professionally cleaned.

I spoke briefly to the LA last week who assured me that his tenancy agreement was perfectly standard and that although they state 'professional' it just means they want it to a certain standard, and the rest of my questions will be answered soon...

I've no doubt that the tenancy agreement is above board, but my question is, if I took on this property under certain terms, can they be changed now as I'm an existing tenant?

Does anyone have any idea where I stand legally? Thanks

"professionally cleaned" is unenforceable and they know it.

your agreement is with the landlord not the agent - or are they one and the same? if the landlord hasn't changed and the only change is the agency management you don't need a new contract. your existing shorthold tenancy agreement will have a provision for moving on to a continuous rolling contract. regular renegotiation of contracts is unnecessary and just happens for the sake of inflating agency income.

I agree with the pp - you could just let the tenancy become a statutory periodic tenancy instead of signing up to a new term. Do you have the How to Rent Guide? Also, check what impact the changes re: charges to tenants may have if you don't sign a new tenancy agreement. I think they came in in June 2019 for new tenancies after 1st June 2019.

Both parties have to agree the terms of a new agreement - you are well within your rights to strike out the clauses you don't want included. Whether they accept them is another matter, but presumably the LL was happy with the first tenancy agreement.

Lots of agents put unenforceable clauses in tenancy agreements, but those clauses don't trump the law.

is it you that wants the new fixed term? If so, fine, if not just refuse and it goes on to a rolling tenancy.

it is a good idea for tenants to have contents insurance that includes accidental damage cover for landlord possessions (carpets, curtains etc). That will mean you won't chance losing some of your deposit. The landlord may want this to cover against you doing more damage than the deposit covers. But it is a 'want', not a 'must have'.

fees for cleaning are not allowed under the tenancy fees ban.

what the agent wants is irrelevant unless they are also the landlord.

Yes I had asked for a new tenancy agreement as I thought I needed one as the original stated it was for a period of one year and nothing about it rolling on... So if they can't enforce the 'professional' side of the cleaning, then if they felt it wasn't up to scratch (I would never dream of leaving a property dirty), could they deduct that from my deposit for a clean? So I'm effectively paying anyway (I know there's a process to follow with deposit deductions...

And the landlord hasn't changed, just the letting agent.

England? Read your how to rent guide. If the tenancy agreement is silent on what happens on expiry (and quite often if it isn't) then you automatically go on to a rolling tenancy. One month notice from you and two from the landlord. Unless you vacate the property before the end of the fixed term there is NOTHING to stop this.

the advantage to you of a fixed term is of course that it is a fixed term. But that also commits you to staying. Most sane landlords let tenancies go rolling, just leaving the tenants where they are as no-one wants a void for the hell of it (despite what the Guardian and Shelter think). However if the landlord does die/divorce/need to sell you can of course be given two months noticed, whereas if you are in a fixed term you would be unaffected.

repeat; letting agent irrelevant, contract with landlord.

Since the tenant fee ban came in last year, there is a lot of things that they can't now charge you for, so they can't automatically charge for these things when you leave.

If you leave the place like a pigsty then they can ask you to clean it to a decent standard, or they can deduct damages from your etc, but you need to agree to this or it will go to a dispute. They must provide photographic evidence and invoices.

Landlords should have proper Landlords insurance which covers contents such as carpets etc. That is not your responsibility, but as a Tenant you should have proper tenants insurance.

*From page 31 of this document
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/819635/TFA_Tenant_Guidance_190722.pdf

Q. Can a landlord or agent ask me to pay for a professional clean at the end of
a tenancy?
No. A landlord or agent cannot require you to pay for a professional clean when you
check-out. However, if your tenancy was entered into before 1 June 2019 and you
agreed in your contract to pay fees for cleaning to be provided then a landlord or
agent can continue to charge these fees up until 31 May 2020. From 1 June 2020,
the term requiring that payment will no longer be binding on you. If you believe the
level of fees being charged is unfair, you should discuss this with your landlord or
agent.

ooh, and there it is all written down!

this sounds like the usual case of dodgy agents trying it on. Knowledge is power. May also be worth writing to the landlord (demand his/her address if you don't have it) to let them know what is going on.

So just to clarify, my agreement agreement says it's for a term of 12 months (which ended 12.1.20), so I can just say to them that I don't need another fixed term agreement and let this one run?... Oh and I've not had a copy of the 'how to rent' so I've just downloaded it and having a read.

Thanks for all of your help so far

you can indeed say just that and you are already on a rolling tenancy as you didn't leave.

Serving you with the how to rent matters - what other documents didn't they give you? If they also missed gas safe (if you have gas of course) then you can never be evicted under current section 21 case law. And if any of the other mandatory items are missing, sec 21 will fail too. Smoke alarms? EPC? deposit protection?

I have the EPC, the deposit is
in a protected scheme and was transferred when the agent changed... I don't have gas, and the smoke detector ^was a problem... It didn't have a battery in and was knackered, so has been replaced...

Something else that I've picked up is that the landlords address should be given unless out of the country? Well as far as I know she's not, but they've just put the letting agents details in where hers should be.

I really don't want to stay here any longer than necessary anyway so being able to serve just 1 months notice would suit me down to the ground

Thanks everyone

ah right, better than some (although most who ask an initial question like yours never answer regarding the other items).

landlord address does not have to be given initially but you can have it on request within 28 days, so if you want it write to the agent. BTW there are rules about when your notice expires (usually on the last day of your rent period) and the guide will tell you that.

smoke alarms must be working on tenancy day 1 and there needs to be one on each floor. After that it is tenant responsibility to change batteries or advise a fault. Clearly your predecessors weren't bothered which was their lookout.

good luck kicking the agent and it looks like it all works out!