Tenancy -Partners and pets

meercatsunited

I suspect the admin fee includes all credit checks, it costs me as a landlord more than that every time a new tenant takes redidence so looks reasonable.

my last tenant moved his girlfriend in and a pet we were not aware of any this until he moved out when the debt collectors letters started arriving for both of them and discovered animal hair everywhere, stuck to the grease in the kitchen, cat litter spillage on the stairs and they smoked inside.

It cost us extra cleaning and decoration; you and the agent are doing everything correctly so well done for that.

DRP

SwissPhil wrote: »

Morning all,

Small update: my girlfriend went into the estate agents yesterday to give them her details, references etc. They've now lumbered her with a £132 'Admin fee' for doing the referencing. Does this seem like way over the odds for a referencing fee? She's not going to be contributing to rent, so there's no need to do a credit check, it's just character references.
It's slightly infuriated me as at no point in all the conversations I've had with them has there ever been mention of 'admin fees'. It feels as if they just ambushed her because she's new to the world of renting!

Based on the comments in the posts above, you probably ought to have anticipated there would be a substantial fee for this and maybe considered not informing the agent that your girlfriend was moving in.

As it is you did the 'right' thing. I would say the fee doesn't seem particularly high compared to fees I have seen posted on this forum.

Guest101

SwissPhil wrote: »

Morning all,

Small update: my girlfriend went into the estate agents yesterday to give them her details, references etc. They've now lumbered her with a £132 'Admin fee' for doing the referencing. Does this seem like way over the odds for a referencing fee? She's not going to be contributing to rent, so there's no need to do a credit check, it's just character references.
It's slightly infuriated me as at no point in all the conversations I've had with them has there ever been mention of 'admin fees'. It feels as if they just ambushed her because she's new to the world of renting!

Well it's up to the landlord, if they insist on a new agreement the agent can charge what they like really, its abit shocking. Personally I wouldn't have mentioned it, BUT the pets thing have meant you had to.

Werdnal

Agents can basically charge what they like, as their fees are not regulated. Whilst these tasks may not "cost" the amount charged, they also add their overheads for carrying out the check - phone calls, emails, time in speaking to references etc.

Is she actually being added as a "named tenant" on the agreement now? If so, agent will also charge time for amending and printing that.

You could ask for a breakdown of what the fees actually cover, but £132 is the cheaper side of the going rate - seen up to £250 quoted in some posts here!

moromir

SwissPhil wrote: »

Morning all,

Small update: my girlfriend went into the estate agents yesterday to give them her details, references etc. They've now lumbered her with a £132 'Admin fee' for doing the referencing. Does this seem like way over the odds for a referencing fee? She's not going to be contributing to rent, so there's no need to do a credit check, it's just character references.
It's slightly infuriated me as at no point in all the conversations I've had with them has there ever been mention of 'admin fees'. It feels as if they just ambushed her because she's new to the world of renting!

In all fairness I'd be credit checking her too, if shes running up debts left right and centre you might be tempted to bail her out instead of paying the rent.