Long story short - we have been treated badly by our estate agent and landlord since we moved in. Multiple issues. Beyond unprofessionalism.
We are coming to the end of our fixed term and have signed another contract for a year last month (it said subject to contract on it which I do believe now after research is another way to say unless they change their mind)
Today they have told us that the landlord wishes to go to a periodic contract from January. This, we feel, is so they have power over us and can get us out at any time due to our ‘complaints’ of - finding syringes here when we first moved in. Broken boiler. Huge leak in bathroom meaning it needed to be ripped up over 2 months. Despite all this we still paid full rent on time and after a year of living here and fixing its issues we have now been told this. We are positive that they will hold this over us and have power to evict us at any time for no reason. We are good tenants and love this property despite its issues, but the landlord and estate agent have been awful throughout and we feel this is calculated. Is there anything at all we can do ? We do not feel safe with this periodic contract.
i Have tenants on periodics for years , good tenants. No need to remove
Totally understand that - we just have no trust with the agent or landlord. And due to how they’ve treated us, we are worried for this lack of security. If it was a good agency or landlord we would feel better as we have had this type of agreement in another tenancy for 2 years before !
you may be worrying for no reason a good paying tenant is an asset. Apart from that it is taking ages to evict a tenant thru the courts. I do not understand a landlord who makes his tenants feel insecure. i tell all my tenants ,as long as you pay your rent and look after the place ,you can stay as long as you want
Gosh if only it was that simple. We were bullied for reporting our boiler broken… it’s just a mess how it’s been. Anyway, it makes us feel awful when we just want to pay rent and live in peace. You’re right about the money though - you’d think they would want to lick us in longer but I think they’re using this to get us out should we report anything else faulty.
Subject to contract effectively means that the contract is only made once it has been offered, accepted and signed. If you’ve signed it, its now binding on both sides, although why you would want to stay any longer in this property I am not sure.
Thanks David. You’re right about why would we want to stay here given what I’ve said haha but now the issues are fixed that we were faced with, much to our inconvenience whilst living here. The only issue really is the estate agents.
Fair enough. Just tell them that you would prefer to go with the new contract you’ve signed.
Why are you worried about going on to a periodic tenancy, all conditions remain exactly the same as the original agreement and it certainly does not give the landlord an easy option to evict.
I have several tenants that have let their original agreement roll over onto periodic which are exactly the same conditions as the original.
Thanks Tony. Maybe it’s the situations we have had with landlord and estate agent. I suppose we fear a ‘revenge eviction’ which would be easier to go without a fixed term contract and just allow them 2 months to give us notice to leave, maybe I’m wrong and worried from the experience I have had with them. Thanks for the reply, makes me feel somewhat better x
As per this, we have only a letter from the agency confirming this - considering we believe they keep us from the landlord due to their lies, do we have any rights to ask for a letter from him or anything signed by him to confirm this ?
The agent speaks for the landlord so he is bound by what they say.
You may be missing one important point, many estate agents charge LL for agreements, hence the LL may just be wishing to save money.
Ha. You may just be on the mark there
As a Landlord I almost never do renewals and just allow Tenancies to go Periodic. On time rent and looking after the property is all I ask - Oh and not to annoy the neighbours. Both sides can give notice so fair all round and as the Landlord has to give more notice than the Tenant, actually the Tenant is in the stronger position.
Many Agents want to do regular Tenancy Renewals as that is part of their business model. Simply not necessary.
Bottom line, if you have lost trust then find a Landlord/ Agent that you can trust.
I do exactly the same and have same reasons
Hi. A landlord cannot terminate a tenancy for what seems to be a property in disrepair that you complained about or claim that they wish to move into the property, I believe. It is one of the newer protections a tenant does have. If it should go to court, most judges will not even entertain this type eviction. The courts are now facing a high number of evictions estimated to be about 600,000 new people to be made homeless post the Covid eviction restrictions. Some may be justified as in anti social behaviour, but you are requesting what are basic requirements that the landlord should be seeing to. Another point to consider is, is the property fully managed by the estate agent? They may have a vested interest in offering a new lease as they make money and can charge for this, also the landlord may not even know exactly what is going on with the property s the estate agent is only interested in making themselves look like they are taking the landlords best interest in consideration by not telling them about the disrepair so the estate agent looks like they are doing their job and saving the landlord money. By the way, you can actually sue a landlord for this type of disrepair, which is new, and the landlord cannot evict you as it is considered retaliation for your complaints.
I do not think you need to worry.
I am a landlord and I asked my tenant to move to a periodic tenancy agreement to avoid the ridiculous renewal fees I am charged by the estate agent for doing nothing.
My tenant has been at my flat for 6 years and he is welcome to stay as long as he want.
A good tenant is an asset and save the need to search for a new one and pay for more fees
I hope this is of help
All my tenants are periodic its perfectly normal. They still have to give 2 months notice to you and you only 1 month to them. It may be a nice property but I could not abide to stay with uncaring landlord or agents. At the end of the day I value my tenants highly and treat them the way I expect to be treated. I don’t understand why you would want to give them your hard earned money for sub standard conditions. I would advise go periodic and in the meantime look around for a better landlord and equally good property.
Both my properties move to periodic after the first 6 months, I wouldn’t worry.
But I would look for somewhere else rather than investing time and energy into somewhere you don’t feel happy staying in, if you have doubts.
A periodic tenancy will make this easier for you to do.