Here is a question to the blog clinic from Rob who is a landlord
My tenant has been renting my property for 3 years via a local agent. The tenant is a good tenant but I need to sell the property and discussed this with my agent last year.
However, my letting agent has recently re-signed my tenant up to another 12 month contract without asking my permission.
My question is does the agent need to receive my permission each anniversary before re-signing my tenant?
Answer
This is a difficult one to answer as it will very much depend on what your agency agreement says and what discussions you had with your agent.
If you made it clear to the agent last year that you wished this to be the last year with this tenant as you wanted to sell, then it is arguable that the agent had a duty to check with you to see if the situation has changed before signing the tenant up again.
However, agents are busy people and I suspect that he will have forgotten a discussion which took place a year ago.
What you should have done it put it formally in writing to your agent that you did not wish to extend the tenancy beyond the current year. If this was not done then the agent could, with some justification, say that (if he remembered the conversation) he assumed that you had changed your mind.
It may be that you did actually put this in writing and it would be a good idea to check all your emails to see if any of them refer to your need to sell the property in 2015.
However looking to the future, I suggest that you write to your agent now making it very clear that you do not wish to continue the current tenancy and do a diary note to write to the agent again two months before the end of the fixed term, telling them this again and asking them to serve a section 21 notice on the tenants.
Just count your blessings. Section 21 hasn’t been abolished – and prob never will be, with this Tory Govt. 2 months notice, and if you’re lucky the tenant doesn’t drag it to court to ‘buy’ more time. I can only find sympathy for another tenant, who will likely be uprooted at the whim of a landlord again.
The landlord owns full title to the property, the tenant does not. The landlord has the full rights, obligations and risks associated with property ownership that the tenant does not.
Tenants buy the right to the quiet enjoyment of the property for a period of time. It’s as simple as that. That’s capitalism and the complex system of UK home ownership for you.
From all your posts you clearly seem to think that everyone should be entitled to own their own home, regardless. Good luck with fighting a thousand year old system on an island with a shortage of housing.
Security of tenure, my friend; that’s what I’m in favour of. I shan’t be nodding off anytime soon. (sounds like you have though).