Hi All,
I just want to check a few things with you guys to know that i am doing it right regarding to renewals.
So my tenant want to renew the tenancy do i need to start all over again, e.g. background check, deposit returned and then ask to put deposit again?
Also, when you just got your gas certificate or EICR again do you need to send to the tenant again?
Any suggestion helps!
Regards,
Not necessarily.
If nothing has changed then no.
If you have a statutory periodic reserve the documents. If you donât, viz you have a contractual periodic you donât have to.
Better not to renew as AA says. Just let the tenancy become periodic, (rolling) on the same terms. To achieve that, you do nothing.
Most Landlords donât know the difference between a statutory periodic tenancy and a contractual periodic tenancy . Itâs quite simple and exactly what itâs says on the tin. With the latter itâs clearly stated in the tenancy agreement ie contractual that at the end of the tenancy it will automatically roll over into a periodic tenancy whereas with the former it doesnât say what happens at the end. The latter is the better one to have as the contract remains the same and you donât have to worry about doing anything else .
The openrent tenancy agreement that is automatically generated defaults to a contractual periodic tenancy or at least it did for my last one just a few months ago .
Well the thing is my tenant wants to renew the contract presumably renegotiate rent. if so do I just edit the periodic part of the openrent contract?
Just because the tenant wants to renew doesnât mean you should agree. Explain to the tenant that the tenancy continues on a rolling basis on the same terms. You can vary the rent using a s13 notice or even just a letter of agreement as long as the tenant pays the new rent.
so basically just a one liner saying âas agreed on the call the rent would be xxx (up or down)â and they reply âagreedâ and that is sufficient?
is there any extra work that needs to be done if issuing a s13 notice? what is the difference?
The point is that if you agree a new rent in any manner, it becomes legally binding as soon as they start paying it, so yes that sort of email would be fine if you trust them and you give them at least a months notice.
A s13 notice can be challenged if the increase puts it way in excess of market rents, but they rarely are and even more rarely is the challenge upheld.
You can only impose a rent increase once a year.
The guarantorâs agreement may expire with a rent increase ( the NRLA agreement does have a clause to override this ). They may challenge their position under Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Legislation
Paul Shampolini has written an article for open rent ( it can be found in a previous thread)
There are a few factors that come into play
Does your contract have a rent review clause?
Is your contract a contractual or statutory periodic?
Do you have a guarantor that needs to be considered ( there are several factors that come into play with a guarantor)
This year I increased rent.
I had updated my contract too. Old contracts have been written as contractual periodic rather than statutory.
If I was increasing rent I would write a new AST and a new guarantors agreement to ensure there was no comeback. I also served all the appropriate documents required for the tenancy.
Landlord Law goes into detail on this issue.
Better safe than sorry.
Most tenants who actively want to ârenew the contractâ want to do it because they want the guarantee that you wonât serve them with 2 months notice which you can do if they are on a periodic tenancy. Imagine if they have kids nicely settled in the local school and get on with the neighbours but they have spectre of a Landlords 2 month section 21 notice hanging like the sword of Damocles over their heads . Therefore if they seem to be good tenants ( you can never be sure as good tenants can turn into bad ones very quickly ) why not offer them a new contract even a 2 year. The risk to you is if they turn bad itâs much harder to get them out with a section 8 than a section 21.
If there is trust between landlord and tenant and the landlord is clear that they are letting for the long term and the tenant is fully complying with the conditions of the tenancy, then being on a periodic tenancy makes no difference at all. I have tenants whoâve been on a periodic tenancy for 7 years and I know of other landlords where the period is more than twice that figure.