Fees to start new tenancy

Annabee

Thinking of moving but surprised at the level of fees being asked. They want:

£210 for drawing up the tenancy agreement
£120 'referencing charge' per person
£80 'inventory fee'

All on top of the first month's rent, plus deposit equal to six weeks rent.

Seems a lot more (more than twice) what we paid last time we moved (3 years ago). Is this the norm now, then? What has anyone else paid recently?

Bluebonnie

There is no norm, unfortunately.
£80 is about what it costs to get a professional inventory clerk to make an inventory.
Referencing should cost about £30 per person, outsourced to an agency.
Drawing up a tenancy agreement takes about 20 minutes, using a template tailored to the particular circumstances of the let.

No doubt these are charges from a letting agent - who is almost certainly charging the landlord between 5% and 10% of a year's rent as well to find a tenant.

If you deal direct with a landlord, you may well find there are no such fees.

Annabee

Thanks. It does seem a bit of a rip-off but they (Connells) have the most suitable property for me.

Anyone else have examples of fees charged recently?

G_M

I draw up the tenancy agreement myself so do not charge my tenants.

I charge a £50 referencing fee which I knock off the 1st months rent (so is only charged if the tenant withdraws or fails referencing).

I do the inventory myself so do not charge my tenants.

PasturesNew

These are fairly typical rip off charges that renters have learnt to suck up as they have you over a barrel.