Here is a question to the blog clinic from Sam (not his real name) who is a landlord
I am a new landlord with one property. I rented it out last March and ts coming uptp the end of contract.
I like the tenants and they want to stay on but I want to know if I can now bypass the agent and have a contract directly with the tenants.
I cant see anything about this in the tenacy agreement.
This is quite a common request. However the place where you look for answers is not the tenancy agreement but your agreement with your agents.
Agency law
Agency law is a special type of contract law and is symbolised by the little diagram above. In this the landlord is the principal and the tenant is the third party.
The tenancy agreement is the document which sets out the terms relating to the landlords’ agreement with the tenant. If the agent appears here at all it will just be as your representative.
Check your agency agreement
However you should also have a document which you signed with your agents which sets out the details of your agreement with them. This should say what you need to do if you want to end the agency agreement.
Generally you will need to give them written notice and there may be a clause which provides for them to continue to receive commission, altough this should not be for more than two years (see my report here on the Foxtons case as to why).
If you don’t have a written agency agreement, then it will probably be sufficient just to send them a written notice.
Don’t forget the deposit
Note however that if the agents are managing the tenancy deposit you will need to arrange for this to be transferred to you.