For anyone else in this situation who is not aware, by default an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (which you probably have if you're renting all of a self-contained dwelling) becomes a statutory periodic tenancy (i.e., usually, rolling monthly on the same terms) at the end of the initial contract period - this requires no action on the part of anyone involved so you can politely tell the agents where to stick their £100+ bill, assuming you don't mind being on a rolling monthly contract. You can of course do this next time you're due to renew even if you've paid for it before.
I've done this in four out of the five places I've rented over the years (the fifth being a special case as the landlord wanted to sell) and had no problems - although I had to argue the point with one agent who initially insisted I had no choice but to cough up. Pays to know your rights :-)
Sources:
This guide is great and used to be on the UK government website:
This is interesting. I've always been given, along with an initial rental agreement, a letter dated for the end of the tenancy that asks me to leave the property. It was my understanding that this is enough for the agent to easily eject you at the end of the agreement period unless you follow what they want.
Serving you notice before you've even moved in sounds like a pretty shady practise to me, and one that I'd be inclined to challenge before I signed anything.
If they attempt that sorts of trick before you've even paid them a penny, that doesn't bode well for the rest of the tenancy in my opinion!
I've done this in four out of the five places I've rented over the years (the fifth being a special case as the landlord wanted to sell) and had no problems - although I had to argue the point with one agent who initially insisted I had no choice but to cough up. Pays to know your rights :-)
Sources: This guide is great and used to be on the UK government website:
http://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/Tenants%27%20Tenancy%20guide.pd...
Since superseded by:
https://www.gov.uk/private-renting
which sadly doesn't seem to cover as much detail.