estate agent charges for credit checks

plapples4

hi
my son is experiencing outrageous demands for credit checks from estate agents. 3 months ago he paid £225 for him and his girlfriend to have a credit check to rent a house together. she has now left and the estate agent are claiming £180 for him to have a new credit check and then when a new friend moves in he will have to pay another £180 for a new credit check since he will be sharing the rented lease. in addition the friend moving in will also be needing to pay £180 for his credit check. this person has rented a property with the same estate agent over the last year and had previously paid to have a credit check. both my son and this other person are therefore known to the esatate agent. to me this is tantamount to stealing £540. is there any advice somebody can give me to help my son and his friend having to pay these outrageous amounts or is this typical estate agent behaviour - second only to second hand car sales people!!!
yours
an aggrieved dad

moromir

Ok firstly deep breath

Secondly, it may not even be the agent or the landlord requiring these checks. If the Landlord has insurance like a rent guarantee, they'll often require a check to be carried out when there is a change of tenant or circumstances (ie someone leaves).

When your son moved in with his girlfriend its quite likely that the agent will have had the affordability split between the two.

Re-running the check on your son means that they can pinpoint that your son was a) still employed and b) could afford the rent on his own before offering a new tenancy (I appreciate a lot can change after that).

I'm not sure why he would need to be referenced when his house mate joins him part way through the fixed term though (obviously the house mate needs checking out) as the tenancy agreement already issued to him is binding whether or not he failed a 're-check' unless your son has misunderstood and this fee actually relates to drawing up a codicil agreement for the housemate, sorting out deposit paperwork (ie letters confirming who has interest in it), drawing up new copies of the inventory for the housemate to sign etc.

I would however query why the fees are so high. For example Letsure charges something like £26 per person for checking employment, previous landlord, public records and bank references, I could wear another £100 on top for all the codicil paperwork but the rest seems a bit much.

princeofpounds

Yep it sucks, and those are rip-off rates. As suggested the real costs are normally in the 20-50 quid range depending on depth of check (they are usually outsourced) and maybe an hour of staff time to liaise with LL and T on the matter. But prices are set by what the market will bear, not on a cost-plus basis.

As often like to generate as many charges as they can, often without benefit to LL or T.

But there is nothing you can do about it except:

A) move elsewhere or

negotiate under threat of moving elsewhere. Crucially you could contact the LL direct who might not realise that the charges are so high as to threaten their rental or even being imposed at all. They might be being charged themselves. They might not realise that every pound in checks is one less you can afford on rent. They might not even want new credit checks- there is no law that an agent has to do them!

But ultimately it is up to you as a consumer to draw a line in the sand and 'shop' elsewhere.

tbs624

Tenants should also take the time to complain to their MP and to the Housing Minister - regulation of these "let's pluck a random figure from the air" tenancy charges are long overdue.