Tenancy renewal fees

If it's all in the contract, it's not easy to get around. The only way is if the contract is actually illegal.

largely depends on if you actually want to keep living there. £50 is not much when you compare it to your rent, so it's simple. If you want to keep living there, are you willing to pay £50 to not have the hassle of moving. For me it's a no brainer.

You might be able to get around it if there are mistakes in the contract. If you think the charge is unfair you might also be able to challenge the letting agent if they tried to conceal the renewal fee in anyway. Like hiding it in the really dinky small print.

Obviously you'll need to consult a proper legal expert type person.

£50 isn't that much. But it's £50 better off in your pocket than the letting agents. It's also a lot cheaper than the deposit for a new flat. But it does still seem like a bit of a rip off to me. What exactly is the £50 for? Administration costs? I don't think so. Personally I'd start looking for flat with a longer term contract. Six months isn't that long. Do you move around a lot?

Yes, most letting agents do this now. You have to pay 50 quid to sign a piece of paper.

It's a scam, but an entirely legal one. Nowt you can do.

Do you know almost 80% of landlords also scam tenants out of their deposit when they move out too? A metaphor for modern Britain in my eyes.

Just buy some raw prawns when you move out- they really start to stink after a couple of weeks and are very hard to find...or so I've been told

Well isn't that why it's better to deal with a letting agent?

You're being taken advantage of because they think you're naive.

You're in a city packed with rental property at a time when everyone is desperate to keep money coming in.

Tell them to get stuffed and go somewhere else.

If possible play a few landlords off against each other, "Well, I could move in here, but the guy down the road is £10 a week cheaper and that house has better stuff. What are you going to do?"

You don't need them, they need you. Don't forget it.

Mitch

You're all right.
It's in the contract - so there's no avoiding it. It is pretty annoying though since it seems like a lot of money for them to do very little. If I want to sign another contract I pay 50 pounds, if I don't it becomes a rolling contract - so I still have to pay apparently.

The main disadvantage of not signing might be that the landlord needs to give little notice to have me move out.

I do move a fair bit - I'm a student.

TKDMitch - I might try that - although it could backfire and I might need to pay new agency fees, removal fees etc. if I have to find a new place (might be easier t just pay).

I know 50 quid isn't that much - just don't like the feeling of being robbed if I can avoid it..

What's the difference in rent for a rolling contract vs. a timed one? If it's 10 pounds a month, do you expect to stay there for five months? Or could you roll it one month while finding another place?

It's bad over here, too. I did get my cleaning deposit back on the last apartment I left, and cleaning up the current one in hopes to get it back here, but they keep the pet deposit flat out.

Surely you don't need an agency? Cut out the useless middle man if at all possible.

If you sign a contract with a landlord, in fact almost regardless of the contract, you have basic tenancy rights. Your students union should be able to inform you on those.

I didn't use an agency when I was a student; mind you, Mr GragGrinder ran a strict house with no dirty inside toilets and candles out at 8.30pm.

Mitch

Using an agency supposedly gives you a bit of protection from dodgy landlords. But the fact of the matter is if you have signed a lease, the flat is yours until you either break the terms of the lease or the lease runs out.

Normally when a lease is about to run out the land lord will have to give you due notice. So you can't find your self on the street on Wednesday because your lease ran out on Tuesday.

My feeling on this personally is to up sticks and find a new place to live. With a longer lease. I'm not sure why being a student means you have to move around a lot. I never had to.

In an ideal world I would deal directly with a landlord, especially one recommended by someone familiar with them. However, it's not always that easy, especially when under time contraints on finding a place.

I agree that signing a contract for a period, that you know you will be staying in the area, gives you added protection and security.

I am a grad student, so have moved each time I have studied at a different Uni for different degrees. Sometimes a number of times during the course of a degree (halls ---> shared house etc.).

I received the documentation through today (half of which is wrong and needs correcting). There is a paragraph in the new contract (the first agency I signed a contract with was taken over - so some of the terms have changed) stating that a £75 pound "inventory charge" will be payable on moving out.

This isn't a cleaning charge if cleaning is required (e.g. place I lived in last year - cleaned it well - no charge and got full deposit back). This is a charge for them just to check the inventory and see if any cleaning is required (if cleaning is required an ADDITIONAL charge will be payable).

I assume they make money when someone moves in, when someone signs a renewal, when they check an inventory, if cleaning is required plus a chunk of the rent each month. Not a bad business to be in. And I thought that regular (property purchase) agents were a waste of space and made money alot of money for doing very little! These guys take the biscuit.

I have never come across anything like this. Seriously considering not signing and moving on.

Has anyone else come across such a charge?

It's pretty standard unfortunately if you're living in London. Practically every letting agent I visited at the start of the year not only charged you a £50-75 fee for renewing your contract but most also charged a £50-200 fee for simply setting up the tenancy.

It's **** and it is daylight robbery but there is nothing you can do about it besides cutting out the letting agents and dealing directly with landlords. This is better imo but you've already moved into the place so unless your willing to move and take the time to find a place with a decent landlord then your screwed.

The place I'm at now harge a £75 termination fee at the end of the 6 months which we spotted before signing the tenancy. We argued about it for ages but in the end they basically said you have to pay it or else you don't get the tenancy.