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Rent hassle

BillieTheBotBillieTheBot Posts: 8,721 Bot
in Home, Law & Money
S'up chaps. I've got a bit of a dispute about my rent with my letting agency and I wanted some advice about it. So...I have a 12 month contract, with rent charged at £695 per calendar month. I moved in on 28th July 2006, my contract ends on 27th July 2007. When I first moved in I had to pay rent from 28-31 July, then started to pay the rent in full on the first of the month. They calculated the rent for those last 4 days in July as follows:

Rent per month x months in year / days in year x days I need to pay, or

695 x 12 / 365 x 4 = £91.40

Now I'm coming to the end of my contract, I only need to pay until 27th July, not the full calendar month. I calculated this to be £603.60, using the full months rent minus what I paid last year calculation. The agency, however, are trying to tell me that I have to pay the amount they are setting using the above calculation menthod, which works out as £616.93. And there is the problem: if I pay that much then I'm effectively paying £708.33 for July in total. I know it sounds really petty but I could really do without paying the extra monies if I can help it as I'm broke at the moment. They said that this is the standard way of calculating it, but I maintain I should only pay the amount which totals £695 for the month, and effectively they are making [more] money from me by calculating it this way.

So...firstly, does this make sense? :p
Secondly, am I being stupid in some way, or are they trying to extort even more money out of me than they normally do?
Beep boop. I'm a bot.

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    At the last two places I've rented (both bedsits), I was on a six month contact then it was a 1-month rolling contract thereafter. Even if I was leaving before the last day of the last month of rent, I still had to pay the full month. There was one place that let me get away with paying for a partial month but I think that the norm would be rounding it up to the full month.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks, but thats not what I'm asking. I've already paid 4 days rent for the month, and need to pay the other 27 days. The way they calculate it means it works out that I'm paying £708.33 for the month because they wanted to split it into a 4 day payment at the beginning of the contract and 27 day payment at the end of the contract, even though a calendar months rent is £695.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't think there's any doubt that you should be paying 695 - minus what you paid earlier. You paid that extra, it should be knocked off at the end.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You should be paying the calendar month rate, not any additions, as the contract clearly sets it out. However they have control of your bond, and it's gonna be fairly hard to get that extra £15 out of them without some serious hard work.

    Landlords = filth.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks for the help :)

    I got it sorted out in the end, and I was definitely in the right. I phoned up and ended up speaking to the manager of the letting agency, who after I told him I had taken legal advice on the matter (true) absolutely fell over himself with apology and told me not to worry that the rent was late, I was right and send them a cheque and it'll be fine and I'll have no penalties as its their mistake.

    You're right about the deposit though Kermit, I'm fairly sure they'll find some way of screwing me out of as much of that as possible :grump:
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