Renting houses through small agencies

jimieee

Hello,

I recently viewed a house to rent in Surrey (outside of London, if that makes any difference). We really liked the place, so told the agent that we would like to rent it.
She gave us an application for and today she's sent us an email asking that we pay a £250 administration (and other expenses) fee. Doing a bit more research it seems that the agency is just one agent acting independently and she isn't a member of any professional organisation.
She does have an office on the high street, but I've never been there.

I haven't rented for a long time and don't remember if I had to pay any fees in the past. I had assumed that some of things covered by the £250 would be the landlords responsibility anyway - Tenancy agreement and inventory for example. Other things I can accept, but it seems a little steep to me (credit checks, check in cost).

Does it sound strange, or is the normal procedure?
I've heard a lot of scare stories about renting (people running away with the deposit, charging extortionate fees, recurring fees).
Any one have any advice on this?

Werdnal

Letting agent fees are totally unregulated, and the fee you have been quoted is quite the norm these days. Make sure you have a breakdown of what you are paying for, whether you will get the fees refunded if anything goes wrong, and a receipt when you have paid.

Credit checks, referencing etc is all legit, although agents tend to charge a lot more than a private LL doing the checks themselves. Assuming checks are successful and you take the property, you will also be asked for a deposit and 1st month's rent upfront on top of this.

Which of these fees did you feel the LL should be paying for? You want to rent the place, so you pay your personal fees for that service. LL will have already paid the marketing fees to the agent and other costs involved in setting up the let.

If you don't like the costs, you have a choice - walk away!

The deposit will need to be protected in a scheme within 30 days of payment, and you will be given the scheme's details. If you do not receive this, chase them up. LL will then have to justify any deductions and there is no opportunity to "run away with the deposit"!

There is a good Sticky thread at the top of the forum "A tenant's guide to Renting" which will fill in any gaps in your rental knowledge.

jimieee

Thanks for your reply.
I'll read through the sticky

The specific fees that I thought the LL should pay are the Tenancy agreement and Inventory.
I guess that bundling all of the different fees together into one fee makes it sound like you are getting more for your £250.
The problem that that is that if the rental doesn't go through for some reason then I lose the £250. It seems like a case of "pay and pray"!

Werdnal

jimieee wrote: »

Thanks for your reply.
I'll read through the sticky

The specific fees that I thought the LL should pay are the Tenancy agreement and Inventory.
I guess that bundling all of the different fees together into one fee makes it sound like you are getting more for your £250.
The problem that that is that if the rental doesn't go through for some reason then I lose the £250. It seems like a case of "pay and pray"!

If it doesn't go through because you fail you credit check, you pull out of the deal etc then you should lose your fees. If it fails through the LL withdrawing or any reason outside your control, then you should get everything refunded.

I would challenge the inventory - this is for the LL's benefit to prove any deposit deductions at the end, and you should not be paying for it!

Fire_Fox

Landlord should really pay the inventory and preparing the tenancy agreement, but if you want to rent via this agency you are not in a position to argue. You risk losing your deposit if you fail the credit check or referencing but you should be aware ahead if time if that is likely.