Query : Landlord contract with agency

Landlord Discussion
1

Hi All,

We signed a contract with the agency in 2007 as we were heading overseas. We want to cancel our Landlord contract with the agency as our current tenancy agreement is coming to an end. We want to give notice to the agent as we know the tenant and want to deal with them directly. The agency has come back to say that as per the landlord agreement, we need to pay two months’ rent if we intend to keep the tenant.

The agency sent us an extract of the contract which states if the agency found someone then we need to pay 2 months’ rent, however in this case we found the tenant. I shared the info with another agency and they said this is weird as they have never come across anything like this before. I thought it could be something from 2007 and I asked for the contract. Surprisingly they said they sent the contract via a link last year (2023) and the contract is deemed acceptable if it’s not challenged within a few days. The agency has a portal where they park all the inspection reports, tenancy agreements, maintenance reports, and rental statements however the landlord contract is not there.

The agency has taken us for granted as we have been with them for way too long and for the last few years we have been managing ourselves while they are making their money.
What are your thoughts I am not familiar with all the changes, we have been away for way too long.

2

Sounds like a good deal. Not sure what the other agency is talking about, because my understanding is that almost all agents have a similar clause, although on most other cases Ive heard about its at least 3 months penalty and some dont allow it at all.

3

Where’s your copy of that contract then? Simple job to look up the termination clauses and see what’s what.

From my experience with dealing with agents, if you ask them to do tenant find and then you find the tenant, you are still bound by their terms.

Er… with respect, I would suggest that it’s you that have been taking the agent for granted. Why you would pay them money for nothing makes no sense. Think how much you would have saved had you terminated your contract with them a “few years” ago when you started managing the property yourselves.

As David says, I don’t think 2 months’ rent is unreasonable as many agents don’t let you terminate while a tenant is in place. But the contract you have will state what rules you signed up to.

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