Estate Agents lettings fees for new tenants, does this sound excessive?

Dubber_2

We are interested in a property that is up for rent with a local agency. I was given a breakdown of the costs involved in taking the property and they seem quite high to me, was wondering if someone could take a look and let me know what they think. I don't remember paying anywhere near this much last time I rented (3 1/2 years ago). If it helps, we are a couple, currently both living at home but have rented in the past.

Move In Costs:

- First months rent plus deposit equal to one months rent (this seems fine)
- £360 referencing and admin fee (this seems rather high)
- £120 reservation fee, apparently this is money held by the agency to cover any administration charges incurred during the tenancy and is returned at the end of the tenancy assuming no deductions are made. (never heard of this one before)
- £25 to pay for the deposit to be registered with DPS

Thanks! We really love the property and will probably have to bite the bullet and pay the money, but I wanted to know if these are 'typical' charges.

BitterAndTwisted

The referencing and admin fee of £360 is daylight robbery. The actual cost of doing credit-checks is probably less than £30 plus taking up references from employers or previous landlords shouldn't bring the cost up another £300! Try and negotiate this down.

I've never heard of an agent using a reservation fee to cover administration charges during a tenancy: the landlord should be charged for those as the contract to let a property is between the agent and landlord not agent and tenant. But then I've never heard of this reservation fee being returnable either. Get this in writing.

Registering a deposit with DPS does not cost the landlord or agent anything. I suspect the agent will start charging a fee to answer the phone soon!

If you have a choice I would consider going through a different letting agent: these folks sound greedy to the max.

theartfullodger

One of the deposit schemes (TDS) does charge £15/property for doing something but the £360 is daylight robbery.

Trouble is, if they have the property you want you've no choice but to accept their wicked, extortionate & evil charges.

Just to set the costs level, I've just booked a credit check on a tenant & their guarantor.. These start at £8/person. I went for a "Full check" @ £23 each so I've just paid £46. I don't bother to charge tenants.. The agency you are dealing with clearly (Appear to) only care about their profits, not being decent & honest business people.. others may hold contrary views...

Kidge004

Having just moved into a new rented property i can tell you that around £300 for fee's etc is probably about right as long as its a joint tenancy!

They charged me and my girlfriend £127+VAT each for credit checks etc...

The others do sound quite excessive though....

Dubber_2

Thanks for your replies everyone.

The house is really nice so I guess I can accept the £360 fees, the agency so far have dealt with things quite well and quickly.

The one that concerns me is the £120 reservation fee (I should clarify that reservation fee doesn't seem to be the right wording as it isn't the same as the holding fee, which is £200 but is deducted from the admin fee assuming the tenancy goes ahead). It doesn't seem right to be holding our money on the assumption that at some point we will incur a charge. Surely that money should be ours unless we incur a charge, at which point we would just pay for it.

The_Drama_Llama

This is the bit that makes my blood boil, tbh. The reference/credit check is for the benefit of the LL only, it does nothing for the T (except show up as a search on their credit history). Yet the T pays for it...and doesn't just pay for it, but pays well over the odds for it.

I wish all LLs were like Artful and paid for the peace of mind they get from checking out their Ts.

MegaMiniMouse

There may be regional differences, and you don't say where you are, but in my area those prices would not apply

How long has the property been on the agency's books? How quickly can you move?

All things are negotiable... just don't be shy (that's what they depend on), and be willing to walk away

MMM

Dubber_2

We're in the south, the property has only just come on their books, and we can move straight away.

I think the problem that we have is that in this area, there are more tenants than properties and they are going so quickly. 2 that we booked viewings on were let before we had the chance to view and people are letting properties they haven't even viewed yet.

We paid the holding deposit when we viewed to reserve the property as there was so much interest, obviously we can still walk away at this stage, but we'd lose the deposit.

Is it legal to take and hold the £120 fee for the duration of the tenancy, or can they just do what they want pretty much?

BitterAndTwisted

They can do whatever they think they can get away with. You can be absolutely certain that whatever they say about that £120 being returnable at the end of your tenancy you will find that they have weaseled a way to charge you for something or other. Probably breathing in the property.

skint-student-nurse

I agree with artful,it is daylight robbery. When i rented,i did have to pay a reservation fee,but this amount was then deducted from the remaining depost i paid,and like you,i have never heard of an agent witholding that reservation fee for the duration of the tenancy,unless it was to make up the deposit like ive experienced,and then it was protected accordingly. From my knowledge, the DPS do not charge to register the deposit and in theory, the time it would take the agent to register this should be covered with your admin fees.

Also check if this agent is likely to charge you to renew your tenancy,really they cant chage you as you can refuse to pay,but this agent seems like they are out for all they can get.

MegaMiniMouse

I would be reluctant to deal with this agency, but, as you say, your choices are limited

I would be slightly happier if the tenancy was to be managed directly by the landlord - it is fairly certain that this agency will have very little interest in dealing with any problems which may emerge

If you can literally move immediately, then you may have a slight advantage - try to exploit it

MMM