Can LA legally refuse to allow AST to lapse to a periodic tenancy?

[apn8keh]

Renewal time has come round again, which I always find particularly stressful as it costs us £60 and I have to commit to living the next 6 or 12 months of my life. We've been renting the same property for 3 years & would like to buy within the next year or so. A periodic tenancy would be better as I'm aware it is virtually impossible to complete a house sale on time & I don't want to be stuck paying rent & a mortgage. I've argued until I'm blue in the face that by not signing a new AST, that I automatically lapse onto a periodic, but the LA say they will just take renewal fees from my deposit. What makes the whole thing really annoying is that I have colleagues that rent from the same agents who have been allowed to go periodic. The only difference I can make out is that in their instance the LA only finds the tenant & the landlord manages the property whilst in our case the LA fully manages the property as the LL lives a long way away. My landlord says he is happy for a periodic tenancy but the LA won't allow it because they also rob him of £120 each time we renew! I know I should just move out, but it costs an arm & a leg on administration fees to find somewhere else & I don't want the hassle of moving somewhere for the short term. Any ideas?

[MrShed]

They cant do that. Simple as. What they can do if you refuse to sign is evict you...

[Aequitas]

There is no way the cost of a renewal can be deducted from the deposit. The deposit is for breaches of covenant. What covenant will you be breaching? Refuse to pay. In fact, demand a refund of the sums you have paid!