Renting - Admin Fees

starry_eyed_5

Hi Everyone!

Last week I applied for and got accepted for renting a property through a renting agency. I was told that for the application I would have to pay £200 up front for them to do the credit checks, references etc. but so long as I passed (which i have) this would be taken from the bond meaning that I would owe an extra £190 against the bond and the first months rent of £390 before I could move in to the flat.

I've just recieved a phone call from the agency saying I can have the keys on friday but need to take an extra £175 for an 'admin fee' this has never been mentioned to me before and although I have heard of them from other people who have rented I'm new to this and I assumed since they have never previously mentioned it I wouldn't have to pay it.

My boyfriend isn't best pleased when I told him we both needed an extra £87.50 each and he said I should ring up and complain, but I'm feeling really ill at the moment and not in the mood for a fight.

Does anyone else think that thats a fair price for an admin fee or do you think I should fight against it? I really don't feel as though I have much of a fight/plee to make with them, and unfortunally my boyfriends phone battery ran out while I was trying to tell him this.

Thanks for any advice

Emma x

Fire_Fox

What is the admin fee for? Are you 100% confident this was not mentioned in any of the paperwork, did you read all the small print? Don't ring, write/ e-mail and query the charge.

Sammy85_2

In most cases there is a fee for credit checks & referencing, and then a fee for Admin (usually for drawing up the agreements & the LL usually gets charged it too!)

I would check your contract, it seems strange for there to be no fees except this refundable credit check fee and i would expect this new fee is for your tenancy agreement.

princessamy86

Yuck. I still can't believe letting agents are allowed to get away with this. Definitely write or email as FF said, and query it, but do check your paperwork first to save any blushes. Still query it, but go in informed.

starry_eyed_5

Fire_Fox wrote: »

What is the admin fee for? Are you 100% confident this was not mentioned in any of the paperwork, did you read all the small print? Don't ring, write/ e-mail and query the charge.

No it was definately not mentioned to me, even verbally before, I'm very observant on those type of things. The only paperwork I have had off them so far was an application form in which I had to fill in my details of work, landlord reference etc.

I have not yet signed a contract, apparently this will be done at the flat when I hand over the money and am given the keys.

I think it is just maybe a good idea to ask what the money is for, at the end of the day these agencys are out to make money, and I suppose they have to bulk it up as much as they can!

Thanks for your responce

starry_eyed_5

Sammy85 wrote: »

I would check your contract, it seems strange for there to be no fees except this refundable credit check fee and i would expect this new fee is for your tenancy agreement.

Thats what I said to my boyfriend, I just wish the letting agency had mentioned it to us previously because we've been ensuring we had the other money together it would have been nice to be able to prepare for this charge too!

princessamy86

I bet they can't justify it to you when you query it!

Fire_Fox

The letting agents cannot just trump up an extra charge, I would not only ask what the admin charge is for I would also ask which document it was in. If they cannot come up with anything then I'd argue it was not part of the contract and request they write it off.

<sebb>

princessamy86 wrote: »

I bet they can't justify it to you when you query it!

I'm sure you're right! I've never understood these admin fees, they always seem very high. I'd be curious to know what they say it is for as I've just accepted them in the past.

It wasnt fair of the Letting Agent not to warn you before you now so you could budget for it though.

Sammy85_2

<sebb> wrote: »

I'm sure you're right! I've never understood these admin fees, they always seem very high. I'd be curious to know what they say it is for as I've just accepted them in the past.

Agreed - it takes at most an hour of someones time to fill in the blanks and the cost of paper and ink, say £10 to draw up the agreement.

Sure, they have had the initial costs of getting an agreement drawn up in the first place, but shared between all their rentals (assuming a good sized LA) it couldnt add more than a couple of quid onto each rental..

casper_g

There are two questions here: the one most people seem to be asking is whether the admin charge is set at a reasonable level for the service it buys. I'd say most of these charges are excessive, but if they are part of the business model of a letting agency the tenant is likely to pay them one way or another anyway, whether through increases in rents or as a specific item. I don't have too much of a problem with them as long as they are clear from the outset.

The second question is whether it is reasonable for the agents to spring this charge on you after you've already gone through the reference checks etc and are obviously well on the way to committing emotionally to your new home! I think they're on dodgy ground here -- what would they say about the £200 referencing fee if you couldn't come up with this extra cash (which isn't that unlikely when it's equivalent to a fortnight's rent)? Would they refund it?