Can my estate agent charge a termination fee?

[notomato]

I signed a contract with my estate agent in December to sell my flat. After 6 months, I've had literally a handful of viewings and no offers. On asking to remove it from the market, he is now charging me £360. It does say this on the contract but, surely, after so long without any offers, this is totally unreasonable?

If that's two agents now who cant sell it what makes you think a third will. Price reduction is probably needed. Or does it need some work? or even just decluttering or brightening up that sort of thing?

Correct. There is no free term. You were happy to sign the contract which had the term so you’d need to pay the fee.

Just as a general point, from a lawyer, just because you sign something doesn’t mean you (or your counterparty) will be legally or practically held to it.

There’s loads of shit in contracts I sign in my personal life that sounds scary in black and white but is legally or otherwise unenforceable. It’s like when you sign a waiver at places saying the venue won’t be liable for your death or personal injury (due to negligence)…in England and Wales you can’t contract out of liability for that…so sign away!

Instead of oxbow lakes or whatever, I really wish schools would teach basic contract law and consumer rights. So many people get shafted in everyday life when it’s palpably unfair on the little guy.

Also, in the case of this particular fee, if I really wanted to get out of it and had to be an arse to facilitate, I’d tell the EA the fee was akin to a penalty clause and so onerous that it should have been printed in red ink in massive font so as to draw my attention to it (IYKYK, but Lord Denning said it better).

Make them an offer of say half that amount. They will probably take it.

I take it the fee isn’t for the photos or the energy certificate?

I'm not going to put it on with a third. The bathroom could do with updating (definitely serviceable though) but the rest of the flat is nice, did a load of decluttering when it went on with the first agent and again with the second.

He took the photos. It's exempt from EPC due to the age but he arranged one without telling me (another occasion of gaining entry without asking) and, because I wasn't present, there are things that are just wrong on it so it's useless. I did say that when it got sent to me but he then said actually it's exempt and he didn't need to get it done 🙄.

I agree, I don't see how it's enforceable. Is the lack of term unreasonable in your view? The last EA had a 3 month term, which I thought was very reasonable.

I was lucky enough to do a little bit of case and contact law as part of my engineering degree (we also covered tax and company accounts and that sort of thing) and have taken people to small claims track as well, which was stressful but I won.

If the term is open ended, no, I don’t think that’s enforceable at all.

I don’t recall the full thread though - was the term a finite period?

Age is irrelevant to needing an EPC. You do need one to sell a house.

A surveyor undertakes the epc, what was incorrect, there are a few exemptions but not the age, is it a listed property.

Read the contract carefully. What does it say about his obligations in it ? Eg informing you on visits and so in. There's probably some clauses in there and therefore if he's broken the contract by entering your property to do viewings without advance notice or whatever you can argue he's breached contract.
If the contract has no such terms then write to him and tell him that he'd assured you the price was right, that he should keep it at current price and that you require 48 hrs notice for all visits.
Then that if he doesn't provide this then you just write again saying you are terminating the contract without payment because he is not complying with your specific instructions

OP no professional photos taken, no feedback from visits etc why didn't you bring this all up with the estate agent sooner?

What does the contract actually say, our epc was done by a surveyor but all assessors are listed so I'd look them up, what will you do now with the flat if you don't want a third agent..

Is he a member of any regulatory body, you can report to trading standards or property redress

Once an estate agent has phoned the two dozen people he has on his books looking for a particular type of property, they are then literally relying on advertising on Rightmove.
That’s all they have. They charge a fee to compensate for the time wasters. No idea if it’s enforceable.
The apartment is obviously overpriced if it’s been for sale for 18 months and had no (realistic) offers and one price reduction.

Yes, the term was open ended, no date or minimum term.

Contract did not say that he would sort out the EPC. Property is nearly 300 years old and listed. AFAIK that means it's exempt.

Yes listed is different. What did the reviews of this agent say? Did you pay any upfront costs? Or is the only money they are getting from you the withdrawal fee?

Regarding the EPC, it is not possible to install insulation (solid walls and people both above and below me) or alter the windows at all. Already have a new boiler and carpets in rooms except the bathroom and kitchen, so there are no other energy saving measures that can be carried out. The EPC talked about things I would not be allowed to do. Can't even get secondary glazing!

Regarding the price, it was in line with other similar properties in the area and, as I said, a similar size flat in the building has just gone on for £20k more. The service charge is a movable feast and the property comes with extensive grounds. It's the kind of thing where, if you like it, it's good value, if you want a boring modern flat, it will seem expensive. House prices are high where I live so there's just no point selling for less than it's worth, I'm not intending to move out the area.

If it’s the kind of flat I think it is then the price is unlikely to be the issue (high end conversion in a mansion block?). They are very niche and you just need to sit it out and wait for the right buyer. Sometimes agents like savills or similar can help getting in people who haven’t considered flats - you need an agent who can have the conversation and convince people it’s worth looking at, and this isn’t a typical flats.

These things don’t sell via Rightmove listings. You want an agent who when they are going out speaking to a downsizer in a house with grounds will ask what their next plans are and mention yours.

If he charged your for an epc that didn't need doing as its listed and exempt then I'd ask for a refund, an ea should know the law, I wouldn't take too much notice of another flat coming on at 20k more, they always overprice at the beginning. There's a reason you've had either very low or no offers, how longs the lease, is it share of freehold, what are the service costs.

Lease is 80 something years, share of freehold. Service charge is high due to the grounds maintenance and insurance cost for the building. It's roughly double that of smaller, modern flats in the area with no grounds. @Srubag has hit the nail on the head, it's niche. If you love it, it's well worth the money, if you want a modern box, then it seems very expensive. My only reason for moving is that my son is getting older and it would have been nice to have our own garden and be nearer bus stops, plus I'm earning more now than when we moved in so I can afford a house now.

Get the 80 year lease sorted

Sounds like this is your issue in selling

higher than average service charge due to the age of the building