My landlord advised that open rent will chart him extra fee. He said that do to this I have 2 options: pay rent as normal to his account or pay extra £10 a month to keep paying via open rent. I live 2 months at this property and have 6 months contract. Is that legal?
No it’s not legal under Tenancy Fees Act see this link
https://www.google.com/share.google?q=KQtlGeZAlS9EeY9KN
There’s no such thing as a 6 month contract anymore from 1 may due to Renters Rights Act. See this info sheet which you should have received if your tenancy started before 1 may.
You can now give 2months notice (to end the day before a rent payment date) so you are not tied in to staying 6 months.
Good luck
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Read the post again! Rolls 
He moved in BEFORE the Renters Reform Bill.
Doesn’t matter. Existing AST tenancies were converted to APTs on 1st may when RRA came into effect.
Even if you had a 12m tenancies agreed on 30 April it no longer exists as a fixed term tenancy. Those parts of the agreement referring to fixed terms are null and void and can’t be enforced under RRA. (If a LL tries to enforce them it’s an offence with a big fine). Copy of the guidance below
Good luck
Changes to private rented tenancies
Most existing assured shorthold tenancies automatically became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026.
If you agree a new tenancy agreement with a private landlord on or after 1 May, it will be an assured periodic tenancy.
Assured periodic tenancies run on a rolling basis, for example, weekly or monthly. It is no longer possible to have an assured tenancy agreement with an end date.
If your tenancy agreement has an end date in it, this will no longer apply
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So, how up to date are you on the legal aspects of letting property Mentmore?
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Thank you so much David. I was quite surprised when they asked me to pay more just after 2 months. I will read all documents advised.
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@Katarzyna15 ps if the LL didn’t serve you the Information Sheet by 31 may and your tenancy started before 1 may then the LL faces a fine of £7,000 if you report it to the council. You might want to mention to the LL to encourage them to stick to the law in future…
It may be legal under the Tenant Fees Act as the landlord is giving the tenant an alternative, (s1(7)).
Katarzyna15, there is no problem with paying rent into the landlords account. There will be an audit trail through your bank to prove payment.
Which of the following would the 10 per month fee fall into?
(From the guidance)
"The only payments in connection with a tenancy that you can be asked to make are:
• the rent
• a refundable tenancy deposit capped at no more than five weeks’ rent where your total annual rent is less than £50,000, or six weeks’ rent where your total
annual rent is £50,000 or above
• a refundable holding deposit (to reserve a property) capped at no more than one week’s rent
• payments to change the tenancy when requested by the tenant, capped at £50, or reasonable costs incurred if higher
• payments associated with early termination of the tenancy, when requested by the tenant
• payments in respect of utilities, communication services, TV licence and council tax; and
• A default fee for late payment of rent and replacement of a lost key/security device giving access to the housing, where required under a tenancy agreement.
If the payment a landlord or agent is charging is not on this list it is not lawful, and a landlord or agent should not ask you to pay it."
It’s not part of rent (that would need a proper rent increase via s13) so I’m struggling to see which of these categories you think it could fall into.
The choice doesn’t mean the LL isn’t asking for it to be paid - they are still putting forward an option which isn’t legal which is what @Katarzyna15 needs to know.
Maybe offering someone the option to pay a fee which isn’t legal isn’t itself illegal if they are offered a legal alternative but I don’t really think that’s what @Katarzyna15 was asking..
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I didn’t know that LL has to pay £10 p/m if receives rent through OR. That’s cheeky.
@Tim_Ira well it’s part of their rent collection service and much cheaper than a traditional letting agent would charge (ask any agent what they charge)
Source: OpenRent Smart rent collection service to take care of hassle free rent payments for Landlords | OpenRent
Or do you think that unlike all other agents, OR should collect rent chase late payments for free? How could that be profitable for them?
Agree cheeky to ask tenant to pay what would be an illegal fee even if only offered as an ‘option’
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Thank you. Never used OR for anything else than finding a T.
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I referenced the section of the Act that applies in my post.
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@David122 I just don’t think that is what @Katarzyna15 is asking.
Do you agree (irrespective of being given a legal option), paying an admin fee for use of Openrent as a means to pay the rent would not be a legal fee under the Tenancy Act as it doesnt fall into any of the categories listed as lawful? Yes or no.
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I am assuming that he doesnt want to use OR rent collection and she does, so he is offering this as an alternative to paying him directly, as long as she covers the fee. Perhaps Katarzyna15 can tell us.
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Ask your LL where they want you to pay the rent. Its your LL choice where you pay your rent. If they choose to use OR Rent Collection, OR will charge them £10pm.That is a fee to them. I wouldn’t have thought they could pass this fee onto you, but what @david122 says appears reasonable, given they are offering you a fee free option, and if you chose to pay via OR, instead of directly to their own bank.
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