UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hello 

I am a new landlord and my  tenants will complete their first 12 months contract  in a flat that I let (assured shorthold  contract) . It has been 9.5 months in and they expressed their intention to seek to stay after term has ended.  I phoned a legal helpline but had confusing advice .

Do I have to issue a section 21 fixed term form 2 months before the end of the contract then a new contract after the end .  The contract is till 31 January 2015 so what dates do I write on the section 21 notice as could issue this straight away  . I have a form and it mentions Date of Expiry (what does this mean eg 31 Jan 2015 ?)  , my signature with date (is this the date that I sign it?)

I used a letting agent to previously find a tenant and they were dire so want to learn to handle matters myself - Please can you offer any advice?

I have the old contract and am told to issue a fresh one - I see that this website sells them , I have been told that the gov.uk give a free Model agreement for a shorthold assured tenancy - not sure which to chose

Regards

After the fixed term of an AST comes to an end a SPT automatically arises, with the same terms and conditions as the AST. You do not need any kind of Section 21 - Section 21 is for notifying Tenants you wish them to leave and, if they don't, you will seek possession of the property through the Courts.

You must ensure the deposit is protected correctly... and the Prescribed Information, that I'm sure you issued correctly 10 months ago, is re-issued to the Tenants (get it signed again) as a SPT is classed as another tenancy.

I'll say that the model tenancy agreement from .gov.uk did not rock my boat... I did read it. Very long, rather repetitive, kept saying the same stuff but in different ways.

If they want to stay on, which is great, then think about the advantages and disadvantages of 'tying' them into another 6 or 12 month contract V's allowing it to go on a periodic rolling contract (which it will if you don't do anything)

Personally I prefer tenants to be on a rolling periodic tenancy rather than another AST as this gives me more and easier options to get the tenants out if I need to (which I dont, they can have the property as long as they want) also, if the tenants want to move on through splitting up or moving on with their life, it makes the whole situation easier from my point of view as instead of trying to break a legally binding contract they can give a months notice and get on with their lives.  Also if they become a pain in the backside for whatever reason I can issue a section 21 2 month notice to them at anytime, which I can't if they are in month 2 of a 12 month contract.

By going on a rolling periodic I only have to re issue the PI once again (not that it's hard anyway) but less paperwork.

Hello Hippogriff & Riptide

Thank you for sharing your advice so promptly and expertly which is much appreciated. 

So if I do nothing at the end of the fixed term AST it will turn automatically into a Statutory Periodic Tenancy -rolling month to month and have the same terms and conditions as the original contract . The tenants can issue me with a one months period of notice and I a 2 months period by issuing a Section 21 notice .

Although I used a Letting Agent to find the tenants originally , the agency has now written to me indicating that where the tenants wish to stay that a Fixed Term Extension can be prepared for a fee of £125. What is this document all about ? Is it a new contract and what benefit can it offer over just letting matters roll into a rolling Statutory Rolling Tenancy (apart from the clause making it fixed for 6 months with the breaking /  release clause of 1 month there on)  If there was ever to be a dispute with the tenants would I be disadvantaged only having a Statutory Periodic tenancy rolling from month to month rather than a new contract or an add on fixed term extension?

Thank you very much for adding clarity to this matter
Regards

Do not let the reissuing of the deposit Prescribed Information get lost in the noise here.  You must do it within 30 days of the AST ending if you want to avoid breaking the law.

I would be tempted to take control back from the agents and let the tenancy roll on into SPT.

Based on my experiences I class Letting agents in a similar way to used car salesmen.  Dont believe a word. Keep you wallet shut.

Quote from: Sam I am on November 13, 2014, 08:51:04 AMSo if I do nothing at the end of the fixed term AST it will turn automatically into a Statutory Periodic Tenancy -rolling month to month and have the same terms and conditions as the original contract . The tenants can issue me with a one months period of notice and I a 2 months period by issuing a Section 21 notice .

Yes.

Quote from: Sam I am on November 13, 2014, 08:51:04 AMAlthough I used a Letting Agent to find the tenants originally , the agency has now written to me indicating that where the tenants wish to stay that a Fixed Term Extension can be prepared for a fee of £125. What is this document all about ?

The Agency wants to charge you money, and likely the Tenants too, for reprinting a document with some dates changed.

Quote from: Sam I am on November 13, 2014, 08:51:04 AMIs it a new contract and what benefit can it offer over just letting matters roll into a rolling Statutory Rolling Tenancy (apart from the clause making it fixed for 6 months with the breaking /  release clause of 1 month there on)  If there was ever to be a dispute with the tenants would I be disadvantaged only having a Statutory Periodic tenancy rolling from month to month rather than a new contract or an add on fixed term extension?

It is a new contract, but is very likely to be the same as the previous one. It will provide a fixed term, but is that actually in the interests of you and your Tenant? Your Tenants may appreciate a new fixed term, they may not. You may, you may not. It's a personal thing.

One Tenant specifically asked me for a new 12 month fixed term after the initial fixed term. They even asked for 24 months, but I said I'd feel happier with 12. They preferred this to moving to a SPT. They want the security of tenure for their child who is at a [good] local school. Other people will want the flexibility of not being tied-in. The contracts are the same contract. I don't charge my Tenants for printing a new AST with different dates on. A new contract is a good time to introduce a rent increase, instead of needing to do it via Section 13.

Is the deposit protected correctly? Remember to serve the PI again when the fixed term comes to an end and the Tenants remain on.

Thank you Martha for flagging up again the need to not forget the issuing of the prescribed information  with regards to the deposit protection (to avoid a fine    

Yes,  I am slowly realising that the Letting Agents continue to be working for their own best interests . I was shocked as to their unprofessional approach when I engaged them to find a tenant for me at the start of the tenancy. They left out clauses in the contract discovered after the tenants had signed the contracts , involving lots of missing clauses having to be agreed separately !,

Plus the Letting Agency then lost the rental and deposit for weeks and provided out of date information to the tenants in documents that indicated the old deadline of the tenants right to receive the statutory information within 14 days  (should have been 30 days) or the Landlord would be fined - and at that point being a new landlord I trusted the agency to know what they were doing and had to take the day off work on the 14th day to chase the letting agency for fear of a fine, but the Manager of the branch  continued to lie as to not knowing where the deposit had disappeared to . To cut a long story short I had to take the 14th day off work to try and sort out matters and when she did not return my calls or emails I phoned her head office and found the missing deposit money with them in the clients account and was told that she had not bothered to ask head office at any time where the money was !  After weeks of complaining to her area manager I finally mentioned the property ombudsman scheme and that my legal insurance would fund a solicitor and suddenly I was offered  a 50% fee credit with the agency .... but can I trust them again next time ?

Thank you Hippogriff for your detailed response and necessity to serve the PI when the tenancy comes to an end - where they seek to stay on.

Best Regards and thank you again