Letting Agent Hidden Fees

Icelus

Hello All,

I was wondering if someone may be able to help me as I am currently in the process of moving from one rented accomodation to another and am having some difficulty with the Letting Agent who manages the property we intend to move into...

Basically my partner and I have had to pay for two seperate credit checks at £34.50 each, before they would except our offer. We gave them the £69 and knew that we would have to pay an admin fee as well when our checks were verified. (Why it costs them £34.50 each to phone our employees and ask if we work there is anyones guess!)

Anyhow, our credit references check out alright, and we proceed to pay an admin fee of £195.50, I assume just to draw up some contracts (if anyone knows differently, please let me know). We think that this is the last of the fees we will pay as they have told us we pay the credit check and the admin fee, but...

When our contracts turn up it appears they have cunningly added further fees!! In the contract it states: "To pay the costs associated with the checking of the Inventory at the beginning and end of the tenancy and for the preperation of any renewal or continuation of the Agreement. The tenant agrees:
a) to pay £30 + VAT at the current rate for each renewal of the Agreement
b) to pay £50 + VAT at the current rate for the checking of the inventory at the end of the tenancy, this amount to be deducted from the surety deposit held."

Hopefully you can understand my predicament as I really want to tell them they can shove their contract as we don't wish to give them anymore money, but at the same time we will then have effectively lost £264.50 for nothing.

I would really like to know if there is anyway we can object to these charges and have them removed from the Tenancy Agreement before we sign? We have a meeting with the Letting Agent on Saturday so any help before then would be massively appreciated as it would be nice to go in with a bit of ammo!

Can I just check my understand of the statement they have written as well, incase I am reading it incorrectly...
I believe, because we are signing an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement for 6 months, the statement implies that when the 6 months is up we will have to pay £30 + VAT to renew the contract for a further 6 months? This seems ludicrise - taking £30 + VAT just to print out the same contract and change the date every 6 months?

As for the £50 + VAT charge for the Inventory - we have already met the lady who is going to go through it with us, and she is an employee of the company, so they are not getting in a specialist, and I believe it will take about an hour to check all the rooms and garden, why does that cost £50? and why should we have to pay it after forking out all these other fees? Surely they cannot take it out of our deposit as well? The very idea of a deposit seems to suggest that it is there to stay in the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, unless we cause damage to the property?

As I said above, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Rant over!

Thanks

jojo9239

OMG thats really expensive!!

When we applied for our flat we had to pay a months rent holding fee (which would be returned if failed credit checks) and £100 Admin fees

Im not sure if there is much you can do as every letting agent charges different but Im sure someone will offer some better advice soon xx

N79

The admin fee for starting the tenancy is outrageous but other than taking your business elsewhere there is nothing you can do.

It is normal for the T to pay for the checkout inventory but the LL normally pays for checkin. This is because the checkout inventory is your proof of how you left the property whereas the checkin inventory is the LL's proof of the condition of the property when you moved in. There is no reason why you can not pay for this upfront (at the end of the tenancy) rather than taking it from the deposit if you prefer - in effect the LA is offering you a "credit" facility for the checkout costs. I would refuse to pay for a checkin inventory myself as it does not offer you the T any benefit!

As for the renewal fee - I would strike them out of the agreement but I guess this risks the LA refusing to do business with you. On the plus side at the end of 6 months you can go onto a periodic tenancy (month to month), which can last indefinately and which does not count as a renewal.

PasturesNew

They're all b4rs4rds.

I paid £176.50 when I moved in (alone).

It is one of the things stopping me moving really, having to pay more fees/checks and another deposit and sign another 6 month agreement ... better the devil you know.

theartfullodger

They are bleedin' a***ole crooks who are exploiting people with few alternatives for somewhere to live. B***ards!!!

I am very sorry bit not surprised to hear your story.

Cheers!

Lodger (A Landlord)

Jowo_2

There are no hidden fees if you ask an agent upfront to detail all their charges for the duration of the let...

All the charges that you cite for particular aspects of the let are very common. Price will inevitably vary but separate charges for credit checking, AST and its renewal, and inventory are fairly standard.

Agents simply charge the market rate (i.e. what they can get away with). The fact that tenants may believe that the time, experience, skills or quality of service spent on those activitities does not actually reflect the cost is irrelevant.

A car that someone buys might be manufactured in a couple of hours flat and sold for 80% above the cost of manufacture but cars are more popular than agents and seen as more useful, so its a forgotten margin by the customer, even when it instantly loses 10% of the value of it the moment its driven off the forecourt.

I am a private landlord and for the tenant screening, I ask that my tenants pay the standard charge it which is performed by an independent company (tenantverify.co.uk). It's a comprehensive check that looks into their credit history, takes up references from previous landlords, checks electoral registers for past addresses and obtains a reference from the last landlords. It costs the tenant £35 and saves me a lot of time and hassle. More productively, it weeds out dodgy tenants who instantly withdraw the moment that they realise I will uncover their fibs, CCJs, annoyed ex landlords and fake employers.

tbs624

Jowo wrote: »

There are no hidden fees if you ask an agent upfront to detail all their charges for the duration of the let...

LAs should be totally upfront about their charges - they should be made to display them on large noticeboards.

Jowo wrote: »

All the charges that you cite for particular aspects of the let are very common. Price will inevitably vary but separate charges for credit checking, AST and its renewal, and inventory are fairly standard

Agents simply charge the market rate (i.e. what they can get away with). The fact that tenants may believe that the time, experience, skills or quality of service spent on those activitities does not actually reflect the cost is irrelevant. .

No, it is not irrelevant - if the T is expected to pay the charges they have every right to query how the level can be justified. The fact that it has become commonplace for LAs to charge Ts such high fees does not make it right for them to continue to do so:the LA works for the LL who can offset "professional" fees for tax purposes and is often also charged the same figure for renewals , for tenancy agreements etc, in addition to forking out a good 10% plus of the rental income. In many areas LAs operate a virtual cartel and Ts only other option is to find a LL who self-manages, who is likely to only pass on the direct costs of any third party credit checking service.

Whilst the Housing Ministers attention is on the issue of LA licensing Ts ( & disgruntled LLs) should write to her and to their own MPs - it can be done via email at www. theyworkforyou.com.

Jowo wrote: »

I am a private landlord and for the tenant screening, I ask that my tenants pay the standard charge it which is performed by an independent company (tenantverify.co.uk). It's a comprehensive check that looks into their credit history, takes up references from previous landlords, checks electoral registers for past addresses and obtains a reference from the last landlords. It costs the tenant £35 and saves me a lot of time and hassle. More productively, it weeds out dodgy tenants who instantly withdraw the moment that they realise I will uncover their fibs, CCJs, annoyed ex landlords and fake employers.

Most Ts fully understand that they may be asked to submit to a credit check, in the same way that LLs should understand that the T may wish to check up on the potential LL's mortgage provision. It doesn't mean, however, that the T should unquestioningly cough up a few hundred extra quid to an LA for doing very little.

hieveryone

I enquired about a flat the other day and the owner stated that she would pay any fees that the letting agent charged - then again there is an overrun with vacant flats in my area!

tbs624

N79 wrote: »

... On the plus side at the end of 6 months you can go onto a periodic tenancy (month to month), which can last indefinately and which does not count as a renewal.

Unfortunately, some agents will even try to charge both the T and the LL for sending out a letter confirming that the tenancy has become a periodic one...........

Icelus

Thanks for all your help so far - there are some great points in the replies. Jowo mentioned something about all the charges I have listed being commonplace, which I fully understand, just wish they had mentioned them before we had handed over so much money already. If the Letting Agent can charge what they wish for these fees, do you think it would be possible to ask for a breakdown of the costs of their services??

Thanks.

missile

You can ask, but I doubt you will get a detailed breakdown. Obviously the time to ask was when you first contact the agent, when most will be happy to provide a list of charges for services provided.

In my opinion it is fair to ask T and LL to split the cost for inventory and I would expect this to be carried out by a qualified person.

£264.50 may seem a lot for arranging your tenancy, but it is expensive to run an office and deal with potential clients and someone has to pay for that.