Senseless letting fees!

jetlagged

Hi there Ive a problem with a house Im renting...I am using a managing agent to let and manage it. He has had the house let for one year which is up on friday. I have a copy of the lease the tenants signed it is a fixed term of 12 months. First off the agent is telling me Ive to fork out a re-let fee which is the same as a fresh let fee, surely that can't be right given initial advertising costs etc. I am now told the tenants will not sign another fixed term lease and want the option of a months notice. This is where the problem arises. If the tenants move out in a few months time doesnt that mean I will have to pay the letting fee again to get new tenants in?

curadh

I have given a lot of thought to this before and think this could be a fair way to both landlord and tenant. What if the agent could specify a clause in the new lease stating if the tenant gives notice then they should be liable for the re-let fees taken from their deposit, minus the remainder of the term they are breaking. eg. if the tenants pay 1200pm, sign a 12 month lease, give notice after 3 months to move on the fourth month, and the letting fees are €600, then they will have to pay (600/12=50, x8) €400 towards the landlords letting fees, from their €1200 deposit. Fairs fair? Or something else is coming to mind that its a part 4 tenancy now because of the duration of tenure so they have the right to break the lease when they want...which leaves you in a pretty bad situation.. why not let it yourself?

antoinolachtnai

curadh wrote: »

I have given a lot of thought to this before and think this could be a fair way to both landlord and tenant. What if the agent could specify a clause in the new lease stating if the tenant gives notice then they should be liable for the re-let fees taken from their deposit, minus the remainder of the term they are breaking. eg. if the tenants pay 1200pm, sign a 12 month lease, give notice after 3 months to move on the fourth month, and the letting fees are €600, then they will have to pay (600/12=50, x8) €400 towards the landlords letting fees, from their €1200 deposit. Fairs fair? Or something else is coming to mind that its a part 4 tenancy now because of the duration of tenure so they have the right to break the lease when they want...which leaves you in a pretty bad situation.. why not let it yourself?

You (or your agent) cannot make the tenant sign a new 12 month lease. In general, it would be contrary to your tenants' interests to do so.

Now that the property is let, and the relationship is established between you and the tenant, what do you need the agent for? If you just don't want to deal with the tenants directly yourself, you'll have to keep on paying, I guess, but there is no other reason. You can negotiate whatever deal with the agent that you both agree on.

On the issue of the early departure - Usually, these agents will tell you that they will give you credit from the re-let fee towards the new re-let fee for tne new tenant, if the current one leaves.

The problem with this is that it continuously locks you in with the agent for another year. That's fine if you are happy with the agent and the price he charges, but it's not so good if you decide you don't like him anymore.

Why don't you pay your agent for every month the apartment is occupied or something? Otherwise this is going against your interests.

One thing that happened to me - agent kept on getting tenants that would only stay for one year, so that he would be sure of getting the renewal. He got his renewals alright, but we kept having to pay for rental voids, as well as his fee.

D3PO

if your not happy with the fees let it yourself.

curadh

Maybe the dealing should be between landlord and agent then? Same situation but make it credit towards the re-let? All depends if the tenants are entitled to a months notice or not having been there a year. If not then they should have to stump up for breaking a lease.

dats_right

I would doubt the need for a new fixed term tenancy in these circumstances, owing to the fact that the tenants want a one month notice clause and presumably you will have to abide by the 1 year term. As it currently stands there is apart from the lease/letting agreement in existence under statute, what is known as a 'part 4 tenancy', which is a reference to the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, and means that as it stands you can only terminate the tenancy at the end of the part 4 tenancy i.e. after 4 years and on serving the appropriate notice, or if the tenants are in breach of section 34 of the Act. This is the case even if they did sign a further 1 year letting agreement, so this means that say at the end of the second letting agreement you still could not terminate the tenancy unless section 34 also applied, so it really is rather pointless unless the tenant will sign for a futher 12 months fixed term.

In any event, as as it stands your tenants are required by law to give you 42 days notice of termination regardless of whether their is a written tenancy agreement or not (if as I assume they are in possession for between 1-2 years).

jetlagged

Thanks for the replies all, I live in Sligo, the house is in Dublin, thats why I dont manage it. @antoinolachtnai the agent wants the let fee up front but will allow me pay monthly in advance with the management fees. If they broke the lease early what sort of credit could I expect against a re-let?
@curadh I dont think the tenant would ever agree to that seeing as its their right to break their lease with the appropriate notice.
@dats_right So if they are there for more than a year they start a part 4 tenancy? and that entitles them to break a lease after the appropriate notice, and NOT lose their deposit?

D3PO

well tell the agent your not paying it make them draft a new agreement at a reduced rate or tell them you will find another agent.

Trust me there going to want to keep your business.