L's Agent charges fee for reviewing L's own AST!

[maidstone98]

Hi guys

I'm currently in the process of finalising an AST for my property which I will be letting via an agent. The agent normally charges £117 for the priviledge of creating an AST, hence partly why I am happy to put one together (coupled with the help of a solicitor friend of mine).

The agency I am due to let the property via are stating that if i put the tenancy agreement together myself, that they will still need to run it past their solicitors, and hence will incur futher 'administration' costs. Quick question - in the eyes of the law, do they have the 'right' to demand the AST is vetted by their solicitor? I am taking up the 'letting only' option with my agent, and thus they will not be managing the property or collecting rent. However, i really just want clarification on whether the responsibility for the AST and its 'tightness' sits with me, or whether the agency can demand it is signed off by their solicitors.

Any advice greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks

Olly

[Preston]

Hi

Sounds bizarre to me. Have you signed an agreement with them and what does it say on this issue?

Preston

[maidstone98]

No haven't yet signed a Ts and Cs agreement with them yet to actually take on my property to advertise/let. However, in the Ts and Cs, it has the following:

"Agent will be responsible for negotiating the terms of the tenancy between yourself and the tenant."

It then goes on to say that "The agency has prepared a comprehensive Tenancy agreement to cover current legislation and protect your interests. The costs of preparing the Tenancy agreement are £100 + VAT. If you instruct your own solicitor to prepare the tenancy agreement, you will be responsible for the solicitors fees in full for that event. For the negotitation and administration of your own agreement, our fee will be £75 + VAT"

Key line is the last one. It does not actually say that the £75 + VAT is to cover solicitors fees their end, merely admin; and by the very fact that me getting my own AST suggests I have involved my own solicitor, then surely the agent should not need to involve its own solicitors at increased costs to me?

Thanks in advance - help/advice greatly appreciated!

Cheers

Ol

[Preston]

Hi

Well, unless their overall fee is very low, go somewhere else, or negotiate the clause out, because it is ridiculous. I guess you could argue that its enforceable under the Unfair Contract Terms Act but, frankly, who knows? So, why take the risk?

Sorry I can't be any more positive.

Preston

[Rodent1]

I get LA to "find" me a Tenant and take a deposit, I then take over , i do the referencing (thru a ref agency) and i use my ast, i protect dep, LA has no say in the matter !
Basically all I use LA for is to put potential T in front of me! very often they send T to me and i do the viewing (Cuts down the risk of getting lumbered with a non desirable T , and as i do most of the work I pay a considerably smaller finders fee! I have good working relations with most of the local LA's on this basis)

The Rodent

If they dont like it then i dont use them !

Good AST's are readily available for free (on this site and others) and in good stationary stores, so why go to the time and expense of writing your own ?
and risk missing out vital parts ?

[P.Pilcher]

One has to be careful and sensible in this one. An agent is entitled to a fair fee to find a tenant for a landlord and sone sometimes sweeten the pill by taking a proportion of their fee from the tenant. Although I like to use my own AST, one of my agents "got more professional" the last time I used them and insisted on using their own. I read it - it was perfectly fair and reasonable so I agreed that they could use it instad of mine. I subsequently discovered that they had charged my new tenant over £100 for referencing, interviewing and drawing up the AST. Yes that AST was produced by pressing the "print" button on their computer, but they considered the fee part of what they had to charge for finding a tenant for me - fair enough. What I stopped them from doing was making further charges for six monthly renewals! However they accepted this with a shrug of their corporate shoulders and have subsequently found me several further tenants.

P.P.

[Esio Trot]

If the property is a let-only, it doesn't make much odds to the agent what agreement is used - though they do have a duty of care to advise you if it is total rubbish.

If they are to manage it, then they will want to use their own, or charge you more to use yours. This is because the office should know the terms and clauses of their own one quite well. Using a foreign one means that with any query they will have to read what the AST actually says - which takes time. And time is money.

[jeffrey]

Yes, but the Agent is never bound by the AST which is between L and T only.

[Lawcruncher]

Yet another example of an agent treating a landlord as milch cow. The notion that you should pay to have your own agreement vetted is entirely preposterous. You decide the terms on which you let your property, not the agent.

[maidstone98]

guys - thanks for the detailed responses; as I thought, seeing as I wouldn't be going down the 'managed' route, the AST although albeit needs to be watertight and to a professional standard, is the responsibility of the LL.

Cheers

Ol

[bunny]

I operate in exactly the same way as Rodent. Any agent who won't let me use my own AST can "do one"! They can choose whether they want my business or not. I even fill in the blanks on the AST myself generally. My tenant, my house, my documents and I decide. That's how I operate and I have good relations with my agents.
I certainly never sign up for any repeat fees of any description.



I get LA to "find" me a Tenant and take a deposit, I then take over , i do the referencing (thru a ref agency) and i use my ast, i protect dep, LA has no say in the matter !
Basically all I use LA for is to put potential T in front of me! very often they send T to me and i do the viewing (Cuts down the risk of getting lumbered with a non desirable T , and as i do most of the work I pay a considerably smaller finders fee! I have good working relations with most of the local LA's on this basis)

The Rodent

If they dont like it then i dont use them !

Good AST's are readily available for free (on this site and others) and in good stationary stores, so why go to the time and expense of writing your own ?
and risk missing out vital parts ?