UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hello and thank you for this great forum.
I have tenants and they are wanting to stay a long time. Their agreement is finishing in the summer but I am very unhappy with the letting agents who manage the property and have now sadly lost all trust in them. They have said I cannot change agents whilst the tenants are residing there but I'm wondering how this stands as my contract was with the previous agents who sold the agency to this one and I wasn't asked to sign an updated contract. In fact I wasnt even informed they had taken it over. The tenancy agreement is with the new agent as it had to be updated with a new clause so I had to resign and this time it had the new agents name on it. So is  my management contract with them or the previous agency owners? I know I need to give six months notice to the tenants if I decide to just sell up and move on so I need to know facts and figures to be able to do that soon.  I hope someone can advise, thank you. It's a really frustrating situation.

If you are determined to sell soon,you won't have a problem,the contract will be over.It does sound as if you are under contract with this agent,but this does not mean you cannot change while these tenants are still in situ.You need to read your original contract,there will probably be some penalty to pay to the agents.If you have written proof of their incompetence,you could just inform them  in writing of your decision,tell the tenants that from now on they will pay the rent directly to you.This is not a good way to go about it usually,but if they have clearly failed to address your complaints and provide you with good  service, it could be justified.I doubt if they would pursue it to court. 

Thank you very much. I actually can't see anything in the contract with them about terms but I will reread it and reread it so that I'm sure. I have all the information in writing that proves their incompetence and I have told them they have caused me so much unnecessary stress due to their actions and lack of them!
I hate the thought of the hassle of selling and buying but I also hate the thought more of another two years of this if I were to stay with them and keep the tenants.
I had been told by someone that the letting agents 'own' the tenants in an odd way so until they've gone you're stuck but as my signature is with the previous agents contract I really wonder how that can be.

Thank you for the help. The agency has agreed to terminate the contract now without charge although to be honest there was nothing in the contract about terms for termination or charges. Now I need to decide what to do. Self manage, take another agency or sell!