Letting agents referencing fees

Lisa333

Hi, I'm looking for some insight into what other people have been charged for agency fees when letting with 'your move'. We desperately want a house that they are letting, but they are telling us we need to pay £500 just in referencing fees etc. I've never heard of this figure being any higher than £250 which was already extortionate in my eyes! The most we've paid was £130??? Does anybody else have a similar experience with your move? They didn't even really seem to know what the fees were... I'm struggling with desperately wanting this house against being taken for a mug!

Amy help is massively appreciated!

Werdnal

Agents can charge what they like - some people pay, some people negotiate, some people walk away.

You say "we", so is this £500 fee for all adults on the tenancy or each? Remember, what you have paid in the past, were at past rates, and everything has gone up in recent years.

Ask them to itemise what you are paying for - quite a reasonable request as you would never part with cash in any other way without knowing what you are getting for the money. If they cannot/will not do so, then it is up to you whether you want to continue, or are prepared to argue and get the fees reduced.

Check also whether they charge renewal fees at the end of your fixed term (another sharp practice for LAs to make money when there is absolutely no need to even sign a new tenancy after fixed term ends). Also, ask if fees are refundable should the tenancy not go ahead for any reason, other than the credit check not being sound.

Mrs_Z

Hi, unfortunately I can't give you any views about what the average rate for obtaining references are as I've never rented privately. However, the figure you quote seems outragously expensive!!!

On the other hand I'm not overly surprised as when we asked a Letting Agent to find a tenant for us and set up the tenancy, the bill came to nearly £1,000! And I'm sure they charged another lot of fees from the tenant for references and reserving or taking the property off the market for them whilst the paperwork was prepared. So all in all, the Letting Agent would have done quite nicely out of both parties by not doing very much.

I find these fees excessive. Next time, I will be advertising the flat for rental through an on-line agency at a fraction of cost, conduct the viewings myself, do my own paper work as well as do the referencing. From what I gather, obtaining the references for tenants should not cost more than £50!

I don't mind Agents making a profit, but I do mind them making an excessive profit. It's not fair for either tenants or landlords.

Where possible, I try voting with my feet. Can you find another property with a different agent that charge you less? Or try negotiating with the Agent? They may take a view that some business is better than no business to them.

Another bug bear of mine is the tenancy renewals - but that'll be another rant!

Best of luck,

RedwoodBrook

My current agent charged £130 for a single application, £180 for a double.

Its hard to advise without knowing where you are in the country. Is that the normal fee for agents round there? That said, I have never heard of one that high...!

theartfullodger

Tenant referencing starts at around £8 per person (see eg ..
http://www.nlatenantcheck.org.uk/index.aspx

)

Last tenancy I let I paid fees for tenant & his guarantor (£46 I think for both..).

These agents are only worried about their income and oddly, don't spend much time thinking about doing their real job properly...

clutton_2

artful - agents with high street offices need to pay far more expenses than a private landlord running things from a spare bedroom... dont be so disingenuous

having said taht - if its £500 for one person walk away; for 2 - negotiate a bit; for 3 - accept it; for 4 you have a bargain.

climbgirl

We paid £40 per person with a high street agency - that was a year ago, but I wouldn't have expected them to shoot up quite so much.

£500 for 1 or 2 people does seem pretty excessive, but as others have pointed out they can (and do) charge what they like. It's up to you how happy you are to try and negotiate or walk away - if you're in an area where good rental properties are hard to find, then you can probably imagine what their response will be!

theartfullodger

clutton wrote: »

artful - agents with high street offices need to pay far more expenses than a private landlord running things from a spare bedroom... dont be so disingenuous
..............

I disagree, landlord's have expenses too - but you are entitled to your opinion... and after all, agents can get references for even less e.g.

http://www.endsleigh.co.uk/Letting/Pages/letting-agents.aspx

seems to start at a mere £6:95 each..

Cheers!