Charging different people different agency fees?

greensalad

Asking on behalf of a friend who I've been helping out with the finding of a new housemate.

She has an interested person who went to referencing stage and was charged £300 inc VAT for the reference. She failed the reference so had to pull out.

My friend has managed to quickly find a new tenant (they were going to kick her out because they made her sign to break the tenancy before they referenced the person, or they wouldn't reference them). Anyway, she's found this new person and they were expecting the same £300 fee for reference.

It's come back as £420 inc VAT.

I know that letting agents can charge willy-nilly with no recourse but can they bump it up, within 3 weeks, simply because they fancy it? Or is there any law to state they have to charge everyone the same? I know they have to let you know costs before everything is signed, but can the costs be different?

This is just one of many problems, for example making her sign a scrap bit of paper in the office to break the tenancy before they would reference the new tenant (her old housemate wanted to move away). When the reference failed they then told her she has 2 weeks to leave the house because she'd been forced to sign to end the tenancy (I know they're legally allowed to do that, but it shows how awful they are). It wasn't until her Dad called up that they changed their tune 'oh no of course we won't be kicking her out' etc. Now her Dad has been able to help her pay the rent for a month while she looked for a new person, and they are doing everything they can to make life difficult. Plus they are so rude, like, properly abusive on the phone!

eddddy

It's a bit difficult to understand the situation...

Your friend is a tenant in a shared house. Why is she finding other tenants?

The LL would normally pay the agent to find a tenant. Why is your friend doing the LL's/agent's job for free? (I guess it could be because your friend wants some control over who the other tenant is.)


Anyway, the options on the £420 fee are:

1. The prospective tenant tells the agent that the fee is too expensive and tries to negotiate it down.

2. They tell the LL that their agent is losing prospective tenants because of their high referencing fees - and hope that the LL puts pressure on the agent to reduce the fee.

greensalad

She is a tenant and was in a joint tenancy. Her housemate wanted to leave early (before the tenancy was over) so she asked around and found an acquaintance who was looking for a room. She went to the LA and said "I'd like to break my tenancy early (if you'll let me) and I have found a replacement, and we can sign a new 12 month agreement."

They said yes, but only if you agree to break your tenancy right here right now. They drew something up on a piece of scrap paper that essentially said "I agree to end my old tenancy at the end of the month" (end of June). And refused to even consider the referencing process for the new tenant until she had agreed to break this tenancy. She foolishly signed, thinking the tenant was a sure thing and it would be fine. Well it wasn't as the tenant did not pass referencing due to having a contract job. Because they took so long to reference the new tenant, it was now until 2 weeks until the end of the tenancy so she was effectively homeless in 2 weeks.

They said they didn't care, sorry, you signed to break the tenancy. So she was homeless (in tears, no family locally and a job she needs to keep, we were making all sorts of plans for putting her stuff in storage and putting her up on the sofa until she could figure out a new place, it was horrible).

The LA were uninterested in finding a new tenant because as far as they were concerned the property would be vacated at the end of June and that was that.

It was only when my friend's father called that they changed their tune. "Oh no, of course we wouldn't make her homeless" and he was able to negotiate a three month short tenancy, where he would pay half the rent and she would continue to pay her normal share, effectively giving her three months to either find her own place, or find a tenant that she could go to the LA with and request for a 12 month tenancy all over again, but of course all the time she's living alone she's costing her father rent money so she's been trying to find someone ASAP.

Now she has found someone and the LA has agreed that's fine and they can start a new 12 month tenancy, but the referencing fees are £420, whereas 4 weeks ago they were £300. That was my question really, it seems they are bumping up the reference fee because they feel like it and I wanted to know if there is anything that can be done. It seems totally unfair to just pick and choose how much to charge each tenant just because the LA fancies it. Especially as four weeks ago, it was only £300 (still extortionate for referencing).

The LL is actually kinda OK, but he's been pestered a lot through the whole process and is probably getting pretty !!!!ed off so I don't think it's best to ask him for anything more.

I think they are trying to negotiate it down, by showing the emails that were sent to the previous prospective tenant showing the £300 fee. But I wanted to know if there is any regulation that says, at least, that LA's can't change their prices per person. I'm guessing there isn't. It seems very discriminatory to me (they don't even know anything about the tenant yet, as they're charging for the reference!).

jjlandlord

Prices are freely set in this country.

Pixie5740

Letting agents in England letting agents must publish full details of their fees and charges on their websites and prominently in all their offices. So what fees do they list just now? Do those fees match what your friend has been quoted?

Letting agents must publish a full list of their fees. The list must clearly show if a fee covers the whole property or if it must be paid by each tenant. The description of each fee must be clear so you can understand the service or costs covered.

The published amount must include any taxes such as VAT. If the amount of a fee isn't known in advance, the agent's list must say how the fee is calculated.

Marktheshark

First thing she needs to do is stop signing things she does not understand or has not had read by someone competent .
Until this sinks in, there is going to be very little anyone can do to advise her of anything.
As an adult, she is responsible for any contracts she signs, if someone stuffs "bits of paper" under her nose and she signs them for an easy life, then that is the last thing she will get.

Sit her down, make sure she leaves with a very clear understanding about the absolute number one importance of not signing things she does not understand.

If this does not sink in, I am afraid she is just going to have to learn the hard way in life, the very very hard way.

Which it sounds like she is doing so.

Sorry to be pedantic but we do not know what contracts she has signed and if what you say is true, she just signs any bit of paper stuffed under her nose then she is going to end up in a lot of very serious trouble with money.

getmore4less

greensalad wrote: »

She is a tenant and was in a joint tenancy. Her housemate wanted to leave early (before the tenancy was over)

She has let someone elses problem become hers.

Why is she looking at another joint tenancy that just makes her liable if the other person does a runner.

greensalad

Marktheshark wrote: »

First thing she needs to do is stop signing things she does not understand or has not had read by someone competent.

Trust me she's learnt her lesson. She is now getting everything properly in writing and sending it to me (I am checking against anything I can find on MSE as I find it a useful resource) and her Dad. It was definitely a mistake signing to break the tenancy pre-referencing of the new tenant but what's done is done.

She has not signed anything further yet. The new tenant is just getting things lined up/getting referenced. The next thing they sign will be the new joint tenancy.

greensalad

getmore4less wrote: »

She has let someone elses problem become hers.

Why is she looking at another joint tenancy that just makes her liable if the other person does a runner.

It kind of his her problem though if it leaves her homeless. What else is she supposed to do? The LA won't do anything in terms of finding a new tenant. She would have to find a new property elsewhere, and end up with her parents paying the rent for 3 months, and also raise a deposit in that time (do-able but difficult). The LA won't do a thing regarding finding a new tenant unless she leaves the property.

And she has to get a joint tenancy because that's how it works, at least around here. Either you live on your own or you get a joint tenancy.

greensalad

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Letting agents in England letting agents must publish full details of their fees and charges on their websites and prominently in all their offices.

They don't have a website, so the new tenant is going to go down to the office and see what they have up in the office. If they don't display anything prominently, then what would be the next course of action? Use that as leverage to negotiate to reduce the fees? Who is the authority that this would be referred to if they don't display their fees? Who would it be reported to?

jjlandlord

What leverage does she think she has?