UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi
It's a long story cut short for ease.
So I've been with my letting agent for 6 years now and last week she decided to cancel our contract.
She has given me one month's notice.
She wants me to open a DPS account so I can take over the tenants deposit so she cuts all ties with my tenants and I.
She said that there is an administrator fee of £25 that I'm thinking she wants me to pay.
Where do I stand? She's instigated the termination of our contract but wants me to pay for everything?
Am I being made a fool of here. She has the upper hand as she keeps telling me this and also because she has 30 years in the business.
Happy for all and any help please.
I have a feeling I may be asking a few questions on here so I don't get shafted
Thank you all so much.

The £25 fee is not the main issue.


You haven't said why the agent has decided to cancel your contract. Is she retiring? Or is there another reason? Are you the only client she is doing this to?

Do you actually want to take on the management of this tenancy? Or do you want it transferred to a different agent?

And if you decline to pay the £25, will they refuse to terminate the contract?

I'd simply ask where in their contract with you it allows them to charge you to end the contract with a month's notice and charge you an admin fee for the cancellation?

[quote author=HandyMan

Reason for her termination of our contract i am currently waiting on her reply to this question i asked her last week!

She is an independent agent but has said many times rentals are too much hassle she prefers to do sales than letting.

I have no choice but to take on the management of the house!

The admin fee is from her to change the DPS from her account me if I had one.

@jpkeates

The admin fee is for changing over the DPS accounts

It's a huge head mess

It sounds like the agent is making a rational business decision, and not continuing with business that they don't want to be involved with.

I get the sense that the issue isn't so much the £25 (or anything else) you would simply want this not to be happening. I suggest that you focus on that, and, therefore, replacing the agent or learning to do without, rather than fighting the inevitable.

When people say it is a long story it often suggests a protracted disagreement

£25 is nothing, honestly it is not even worth the time it took you to create and reply to the post.

What matters is that deposit protection was taken out, that the protection is continuous and that the Prescribed Information is provided to the Tenant within 30 days.

In my experience, professional Agents tend to take on hoards of Tenants under an insurance version of Deposit Protection with one of the three government approved organisations.  These can expire if they are not managed properly managed by the agent.  Some Agents use these deposits as cashflow for their business and go bust every 18 months or so, you should be glad that she wants to sort it but you should also check that she has complied with the legislation.

First check she protected the deposit within the first 30 days by putting in the details of the Tenancy at each of these three links

http://bit.ly/depchk1

http://bit.ly/depchk2

http://bit.ly/depchk3

Then ask the Agent for evidence that she provided a legally compliant Prescribed Information document along with terms of the scheme to each Tenant.

Remember that legal compliance affects the service and construction of the PI and that it should have been signed by you or her.

Once that is established chances are that if she has not used the custodial scheme you might need to return the deposit and ask the Tenant to repay it to you so you can protect it with a different scheme.  You will need to protect that new deposit and serve the PI within 30 days of receipt.

If the deposit is already in a custodial scheme call the scheme provider and take their advice on the protection moving to you and re-issue PI, making sure that your PI is legally compliant and that Tenant signs a copy of new PI.

This draws a line between the period of management by the Tenant and by yourself and the evidence will reduce any sanction you may become liable for jointly with the Agent.

I am not quite sure why you said "I have no choice but to take on the management of the house!"?  Did all other Agents suddenly cease trading?

What this Agent calls hassle are processes that they are paid to carry out, it might be that she has realised that some of those processes can lead to her and you being sanctioned or it might be that she just likes the sell and forget aspect and revenue from house sales. 

Do not ignore the requirements of the deposit protection, if this agent saw replacement tenancies as a tiny income generator she could have opened you both up for huge sanctions.  If she charged any fees prohibited by the Tenant Fees Act (2019) she could have prevented the chance of no fault eviction until these fees are repaid to the Tenant.

Engage with the Tenant, explain what is happening, consider amendments to the lease for things like service of documents if they are not up to date and check with them that they agent did not charge them for anything.  Do not put this off, right now the Tenant is malleable because they want to stay in their home, the moment they leave you could be a target for free cash.

Quote from: Curiness on March 09, 2025, 10:01:15 PMHi
It's a long story cut short for ease.
So I've been with my letting agent for 6 years now and last week she decided to cancel our contract.
She has given me one month's notice.
She wants me to open a DPS account so I can take over the tenants deposit so she cuts all ties with my tenants and I.
She said that there is an administrator fee of £25 that I'm thinking she wants me to pay.
Where do I stand? She's instigated the termination of our contract but wants me to pay for everything?
Am I being made a fool of here. She has the upper hand as she keeps telling me this and also because she has 30 years in the business.
Happy for all and any help please.
I have a feeling I may be asking a few questions on here so I don't get shafted
Thank you all so much.