tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22617683.post6980843194910254774..comments2023-08-15T12:32:37.166+01:00Comments on The Landlord Law Blog: OFT preliminary success in Foxtons unfair terms caseTessa Sheppersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09661168506904640975noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22617683.post-66992805757636458282009-07-21T19:13:20.667+01:002009-07-21T19:13:20.667+01:00I am about to become a first-time landlord and wan...I am about to become a first-time landlord and want to enter into an agreement with a letting agency (large national chain) whose terms for renewal of a tenancy with an existing tenant(11%) and sale to a sitting tenant (2.5%) are identical to Foxtons (although clearly expressed in the contract). Should I try to renegotiate different rates for these two aspects of the contract? If so, what would a fair percentage be considered to be?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22617683.post-21074038704042234232009-06-16T12:53:48.579+01:002009-06-16T12:53:48.579+01:00Guidford landlord - we don't have the decision...Guidford landlord - we don't have the decision yet, I will do a posting on this once the decision is out.<br /><br />Anonomous - not all landlords are acting in the course of a business. If they let just one or two houses with their main income from elsewhere, they will probably count as a consumer. However if they have a large portfolio and landlording is the main income, it is different.Tessa Sheppersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09661168506904640975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22617683.post-32801935213500285312009-06-16T12:31:05.840+01:002009-06-16T12:31:05.840+01:00Hi
What I'm surpised about, is that this is b...Hi<br /><br />What I'm surpised about, is that this is being taken under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations. Surely landlords are acting as a business, and so have no protection under these regulations.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22617683.post-57771690884645816052009-04-16T11:25:00.000+01:002009-04-16T11:25:00.000+01:00Hi Tessa,
do we have any details on just how the O...Hi Tessa,<br />do we have any details on just how the OFT deem the Foxton's contracts to be unfair? I am currently being taken to court by a letting agent in Guildford for not paying him renewal commission for work he has not done. I believe the contract I signed with him (identical to the Foxtons one) is unfair but am not sure under which parts of the UTCCR law they might be deemed unfair.Guildford landlordnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22617683.post-56039950873296008842009-04-03T12:46:00.000+01:002009-04-03T12:46:00.000+01:00The case will be on Foxtons specific clauses, but ...The case will be on Foxtons specific clauses, but the judgement will probably affect all similar clauses. Hopefully it will also clarify the interpretation of the regulations generally, so its effect may well be much wider than just agency agreements with landlords. There has not been a lot of case law in this area of law, so this case is very welcome. <BR/><BR/>However we will have to wait and see what the decision actually says.Tessa Sheppersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09661168506904640975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22617683.post-6880970505221026892009-04-03T11:27:00.000+01:002009-04-03T11:27:00.000+01:00I realised that the judgment is not on the Foxtons...I realised that the judgment is not on the Foxtons terms themselves, but on the matter of whether, if terms are held to be unfair, the ruling will affect all current as well as future Foxtons tenancies.<BR/><BR/>What I'm unclear about relates to the question of the actual unfair terms themselves, upon which judgment still has to be made. I'm not sure whether the case is about all renewal clauses or Foxtons specific renewal clauses. <BR/><BR/>For example, I could well understand landlords objecting to paying renewal fees when the agent did not negotiate the renewal. However, where the agent does negotiate the renewal and re-writes tenancy agreements, something different is happening. When the agent does not negotiate the renewal, but does rent collect, one has a different example again.<BR/><BR/>I'm just wondering how far the judgment on the upandcoming Foxton's case will affect the entire industry, or whether renewal terms can be changed very slightly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22617683.post-55129038342023402522009-04-03T11:07:00.000+01:002009-04-03T11:07:00.000+01:00This judgement is not specifically on the Foxtons ...This judgement is not specifically on the Foxtons terms. This will be dealt with in a separate case later this month. <BR/><BR/>However it is not a good decision for them. <BR/><BR/>If the OFT win the main case, then all other agents will need to amend their terms (or if they don't the clauses will be void). It will affect all current agreements as well as future ones. I can't comment further however until we see the case report.Tessa Sheppersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09661168506904640975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22617683.post-8560449314970864322009-04-03T10:55:00.000+01:002009-04-03T10:55:00.000+01:00This is a monumental judgment against Foxtons if t...This is a monumental judgment against Foxtons if their terms are indeed held to be unfair.<BR/><BR/>If the Foxtons terms are held to be unfair, will all other agents have to change their own terms in so far as they are substantially similar? Are all the current contracts (as opposed to future contracts) for other agents similarly affected, or would they all need to go to court to test this?<BR/><BR/>What degree of similarity would mean other agents would need to change their terms? Does the Foxtons unfair terms case hang on the fact that they weren't rent collecting at the time of charging renewal fees, or is it likely to affect rent collected tenancies as well?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com