Romans letting admin fee of £624!

PasturesNew

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Shelter are running a campaign to end letting agency fees for tenants in England. So if you want to see this issue discussed in parliament get signing.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/campaigns_/fixing_private_renting/letting_agencies/sign_our_petition

Signed!
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HappyMJ

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Shelter are running a campaign to end letting agency fees for tenants in England. So if you want to see this issue discussed in parliament get signing.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/campaigns_/fixing_private_renting/letting_agencies/sign_our_petition

PasturesNew wrote: »

Signed!
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Signed here as well.

I paid £432 in agency fees to move in to this flat for a couple. My partner had terrible credit and no income at all but they still insisted on a credit check even though the tenancy was based on my savings and credit history.

I wouldn't mind if fees were fixed throughout the country at maybe £50 each and that's it. There's no need for a £300 tenancy set up fee. What's that for? They didn't change the tenancy agreement from their standard template to suit the property. They also didn't even do an inventory even though I've paid for it.

makeyourdaddyproud

Won't they just raise their margins to compensate?

AdrianC

makeyourdaddyproud wrote: »

Won't they just raise their margins to compensate?

Indeed. Fees have to be paid by somebody. If the tenant doesn't explicitly pay them then the landlord pays them, and they'll get passed on to the tenant one way or another.

PasturesNew

AdrianC wrote: »

Indeed. Fees have to be paid by somebody. If the tenant doesn't explicitly pay them then the landlord pays them, and they'll get passed on to the tenant one way or another.

There never used to be fees. Years ago the agent made their money by charging the landlord 10% of the rent. Now they do that AND rinse the LL for fees AND rinse the tenant for fees.

Instead of, say, one agent having 100 properties on their books, you've now got ten agents, each with 10 properties.

makeyourdaddyproud

I wonder then if LL's will turn to online agents and services if such margins will either cost the landlord directly or indirectly so via higher vacancy periods as would-be tenants procrastinate?

Pixie5740

Until recently I was a tenant in Scotland and I can honestly say that I didn't notice any significant difference to my rent after letting agency fees were made unlawful. Even if the rent was increased by a small amount you would only pay it if you were awarded the tenancy. None of this, "we'll have £600 off you for referencing," whilst referencing a number of other tenants at the same time or when the letting agency knows full well the tenants won't pass referencing because the tenant has already told them they have a DMP or some other negative factor.

marksoton

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Until recently I was a tenant in Scotland and I can honestly say that I didn't notice any significant difference to my rent after letting agency fees were made unlawful. Even if the rent was increased by a small amount you would only pay it if you were awarded the tenancy. None of this, "we'll have £600 off you for referencing," whilst referencing a number of other tenants at the same time or when the letting agency knows full well the tenants won't pass referencing because the tenant has already told them they have a DMP or some other negative factor.

And that's the point. Fees are not the problem. Unjustified spurious fees are.

The whole English housing market legislation needs over hauling. In it's current state it's a disgrace.

franklee

PasturesNew wrote: »

There never used to be fees. Years ago the agent made their money by charging the landlord 10% of the rent. Now they do that AND rinse the LL for fees AND rinse the tenant for fees.

Exactly. When I last took a tenancy a few years ago the the tenant's fee was a hundred pounds for two. I don't see any reason for that to have changed dramatically. With a busy letting market it's not as if the agent has to do much work to find a tenant.

Also if the landlord is being charged all the fees hopefully that will influence his choice of letting agent to avoid the extortionate ones. Even if some of the charges are passed on in the rent at least it will be obvious which properties are more expensive. ATM I bet few landlords take the fees charged to the tenant into account when choosing an agent so there is less to reign in the charges to the tenant as the agent has the property on their books before the issue of the tenant's fee arises. Of course a sensible tenant will ask what the fees are before they even consider viewing but I bet many don't and then once they've emotionally invested in wanting the property it's harder to say no to the fees and loose the property.

teddysmum

This fee paying for private renters is so unfair when those lucky enough to get LA or HA don't have fees or deposits to pay and get lower rents to boot.


A relative once found that if they moved in with a partner, the letting agent wanted a fee to credit check them, even though the partner had no problem paying the rent already....so they 'didn't move in '