Agency reference checks - what's too much?

pixi_chick

My partner and I are moving in together and we have already found our perfect flat to rent in Liverpool. The only catch is we are having to pay £100 EACH for a 'reference check' . When I asked what this involved the agent explained that they would look to see if we where legitimate.

what costs £100? Experian credit checks take 10 minutes or less to get, i have 5 years of wages slips and so does my boyfriend. So I dont understand what more information about me or my boyfriend they can buy.

Can anyone else see that I'm being ripped off or is this the norm?

climbgirl

Our reference checks were £40 each (which I still thought was excessive for the amount of work actually involved!). So yeah, I think £100 each is excessive.

Frankly, they can charge what they like as it's an unregulated industry. You do of course have the right to challenge the fees and negotiate if you can.

But it depends on how competitive the market is to find flats right now. Where I live it's very hard to get a place, so if we had challenged the fees they would have given the place to the next people waiting in the queue behind us.

Your call on how much to push it!

Dubber_2

My partner and I just paid £360 admin fees to a lettings agent for our new rental house. This apparently included tenant referencing (their external referencing company did a limited credit check, got work references confirming our employment and references from our previous landlords), creating our contract and check in and check out inventory costs.

We live down in the south where prices always seem to be higher anyway, but at the moment the rental market is pretty buoyant and there is usually another tenant waiting in the wings if someone doesn't want to pay their fees. We loved the house so we are swallowing the rather painful fees.

Some agents may still negotiate but it will depend how long the flat has been on the market and how much interest they have had.

pixi_chick

Thanks for your advice folks. I phoned around a few estate agents to find out what the average reference fee is and its between 50-70. I also phoned the agent and she is looking into a way to negotiate the fee.
It's a start I suppose but I will keep posted and let you know how it turns out.