Problem with letting agency admin fee.......urgent help needed please!

[landy_alert]

Hi everyone:)

 

I wonder if anyone can help me with this problem which I'm dealing with on behalf of my Son. He has just completed his final year at uni and is living in a rented house shared with one friend. He telephoned me this morning to ask if I could help him with a problem with his letting agent. The reason it is urgent is that he goes away for a fortnight tomorrow and needs to have it sorted before he goes as he has to give six weeks notice that he is leaving the property when his tenancy runs out at the end of August

 

My Son and his friend took out a one year shorthold tenancy on a house at the end of August 2009. Having just completed his finals my Son has decided to go travelling for a year with his girlfriend, but his friend has decided to keep the tenancy for a further year. Another friend is going to be moving in to take over my Son's room.

 

They have informed the letting agent that one of them is moving out at the end of August when the tenancy agreement runs out and that the other will be staying on. The letting agent has met the new tenant who is now in the process of completing guarantor paperwork etc.

 

Last week (while my Son was away visiting us) a letter arrived at the student house to say that he and the other current tenant have to pay an 'administration fee' of £176.25 because they are 'changing the terms of the contract'.

 

They cannot understand why this admin fee is being charged when they are not actually 'changing the terms of the contract' which will run to the end of its course before one tenant is replaced by another.

 

According to their current contract if they had both decided to continue the tenancy beyond the year's agreement they would have had -

 

'To pay the sum of £56.35 in respect of administration costs for any extention of the tenancy in respect of this property.'

 

Instead of this they are being charged £176.25 although one of them is remaining for another year.

 

Their contract states the following in respect of changes during the term of the tenancy -

 

'If at any time throughout the term of the tenancy a change of person or persons should occur, an administration charge will be levied of £172.50 in addition to any normal administration costs.'

 

My Son visited the letting agent yesterday to query this and pointed out that they were not changing person(s) during the term of the tenancy as he will remain in the property paying rent until the tenancy expires at the end of August at which point the new tenant will move in. Two girls at the letting agents attempted to justify what the admin fee was for, but couldn't do so.

 

They explained that as the property was not being fully vacated they are not able to check the state of the property, but said that as long as the new tenant was happy to take over the property as stated in the inventory, this was fine. The new tenant (who went with him to the letting agent) is perfectly happy with this. In any case, the letting agent only carried out a check on the state of the house a month ago at which point everything was fine.

 

There have been no problems with not paying the rent etc and as far as students go they have been good tenants - well my Son's friend is a mature student of 30!

 

The letting agents have said that they will not progress with arranging for the friend to take over as the new tenant until they have received the new tenant's application fee of £120 and the admin fee of £176.25 from the current tenants. The letting agent wants these monies paid tomorrow.

 

What my Son cannot understand is that according to the options of the tenancy contract the current tenants have two standard options -

 

1. Give six weeks notice to quit

 

2. Remain in property by renewing tenancy creating a 'rolling' tenancy

 

If they were to do the latter - which one of them is - they would not have to pay an admin fee of £176.25, but the lesser fee of £56.35.

 

Additionally, if they were to both give notice, then re-apply for the same property they would then only have to pay the £120 application fee (plus deposit) - less than they are being required to pay!

 

He believes that either the letting agent is confused over the fact that they are changing tenants during the term of the contract - which they are not.............or else that they are trying to take advantage of financially naive students who will just pay up because they believe they have to!

 

I have suggested that they ask the letting agents for a list of their admin costs incurred to prove that the fee of £176.25 is justified, but as he goes away tomorrow, time is short.

 

Apologies for the very long post and if anyone could advise on what (if anything) can be done about this I would be most grateful.

 

Many thanks,

 

Landy x

Edited July 1, 2010 by landy_alert
typo!

[sillygirl1]

I think your son needs to go to Trading Standards and report the Letting Agent - how on earth they can justify the outrageous fees is a mystery. That is his best course of action at the moment.

 

You can also advise your son to contact CAB and get them to contact the letting agent regarding the high fees they are charging BOTH parties - something is wrong here.

[landy_alert]

I think your son needs to go to Trading Standards and report the Letting Agent - how on earth they can justify the outrageous fees is a mystery. That is his best course of action at the moment.

 

You can also advise your son to contact CAB and get them to contact the letting agent regarding the high fees they are charging BOTH parties - something is wrong here.

 

Hi sillygirl:)

 

Thanks so much for your prompt response - it is most appreciated!

 

I will get him to do that - hopefully he will have time as he is off on hols tomorrow as I said. My husband has also said he will give the letting agents a call to give them a piece of his mind - not sure that's such a good idea though, but then he's not a Cag devotee like me who prefers to keep everything in writing these days!

 

Our son is also going to try to speak to someone at his uni - he has a appointment to discuss career prospects on campus tomorrow before he departs on his hols - so he will try to see someone in the accommodation office, although as it's not uni accom I don't know if they will be of any help............

 

In the meantime what should he do about not paying the fee? The letting agents are expecting him to go in tomorrow to hand over the cash and because of his need to give six weeks notice to quit (tenancy ends 26th August) he needs to arrange this before he goes away as he isn't back till 16th July.

 

Any advice on this would be most useful, thanks!

 

Will update with his progress on this.

 

Many thanks again,

 

Landy x

Edited July 1, 2010 by landy_alert

[Planner]

From what you have written, I will make the assumption that your son and the other tenant are joint tenants i.e. they are both named on the same tenancy agreement rather than having one each. I will also assume the tenancy agreement is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST).

You have given the two options:

1. Give six weeks notice to quit

 

2. Remain in property by renewing tenancy creating a 'rolling' tenancy

While I totally sympathise with your position on these fees, you need to keep in mind that they are joint tenants i.e. they must both take the same course of action. You can’t have one giving notice and the other remaining in the property, it must be either or as there aren’t two tenants here there’s only one – the Joint Tenant.

[landy_alert]

Hi Planner:)

 

Okie dokie - I see your point. I'm trying to get hold of him now to check whether as you suggest he and his friend are indeed 'the joint tenant'......unfortunately he's not answering his phone at the mo. Will report back as and when I get hold of him.

 

Thanks for your input, btw!

 

Landy x

[indebtstudent]

I'm afraid I have no meaningful issue as its not my area. However I just wanted to share my inability to believe that a company, any company, would seek to use an admin fee to make a profit.

 

Banks, airlines, Sky Virgin et all having penalties for not paying by DD. Surely any reasonable person can see we need a law to say an admin fee should be just that?

 

Hope you get something sorted, and I can imagine thier faces when anyone says so this fee what EXACTLY does it cover?

[landy_alert]

Hi indebtstudent:)

 

Thanks for your reply - to be honest I'm not quite sure what my son did about this as he went away on holiday (to celebrate getting his degree - yippee!) the day after I started this thread and I didn't get a chance to speak to him first.

 

I have a feeling though that he probably ended up having to pay the fee as the general consensus (he also spoke to someone in the office at his uni) was that as a joint tenant it was unavoidable unfortunately.

 

He is back in the UK at the end of this week so hopefully I will get an update then.

 

Thanks again to everyone for their comments!

 

Landy x

[JAG007]

Hi Landy

 

I would be intrested to hear what your son did as i am in the same position myself with an agency trying to charge me £150 admin fee to have my name removed from a contract despite giving my notice to quite as per the CAB advice.

[landy_alert]

Hi Landy

 

I would be intrested to hear what your son did as i am in the same position myself with an agency trying to charge me £150 admin fee to have my name removed from a contract despite giving my notice to quite as per the CAB advice.

 

Hi JAG007:)

 

Sorry to hear you are experiencing a similar problem. My son is due back in the UK on Friday so hopefully I will find out what the outcome was over the weekend and will post up to let you know.

 

Landy x

[landy_alert]

Hi Landy

 

I would be intrested to hear what your son did as i am in the same position myself with an agency trying to charge me £150 admin fee to have my name removed from a contract despite giving my notice to quite as per the CAB advice.

 

Hi JAG007:)

 

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you on this. I spoke to our son today - unfortunately he said in the end he felt he had no option but to pay this fee, mainly because of the 'joint tenants' issue. It was paid prior to his departure on hols apparently.

 

Hopefully you get your issues resolved soon,

 

Landy x

[Aequitas]

Hi JAG007:)

 

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you on this. I spoke to our son today - unfortunately he said in the end he felt he had no option but to pay this fee, mainly because of the 'joint tenants' issue. It was paid prior to his departure on hols apparently.

 

Hopefully you get your issues resolved soon,

 

Landy x

 

Oh dear! Anything for a quiet life. Regrettably this supine attitude allows these agents to go on their bloodsucking ways.

[landy_alert]

Oh dear! Anything for a quiet life. Regrettably this supine attitude allows these agents to go on their bloodsucking ways.

 

I know Aequitas - it isn't how I hoped he would have dealt with it, but the difficulty lay that as he was going to be out of the country for two weeks during which time he was due to give notice to quit, he felt he had to resolve matters before he left...............

[Kentish Lass]

Not really "on post" but just wanted to say that letting agents are not regulated in any and can basically charge whatever they like (and can get away with) and many do charge exhorbitant fees - not only to tenants but also to landlords - and get away with it because of so called "market forces". The other worrying thing is that many of them have absolutely no idea of landlord and tenant law!