Over £100p/mth agency fees!

cartercarter

Hi, My girlfriend, daughter and I just moved out of a 2 bed flat having been there for just 6 months. Our rent was £675 per month. We were told that we would receive a 12 month extension after our initial 6 months but that they do not sign people for 12 months initially. Nonetheless, my real aggravation is more concerning the amount we have paid towards the agency during this time.

Over 6 months, we have paid a total of £640 in fees. Broken down, this is made up of:-

£225 (each) for initial admin fees = £450
£40 for our references when moving out = £490
£150 Checking and Inventory fee = £640 (this appears on their website as something they charge the landlords for also!)

On top of this we have been charge £150 for 'cleaning /dilapidations'. Their only dialogue with us after moving in was to send us a letter advising that the communal bins area would be cut off (but not warning us that about 20" of our garden area woud be fenced off) and a letter giving us 2 months notice to move out.

Is there anyone that monitors this, that I can complain to or put this forward to review?

stator

So this is in England and you had a 6 month assured shorthold tenancy agreement in a building that is either Purpose Built or a House Converted into Flats but the Landlord doesn't live in the building?
Did you pay a deposit? Was it protected?

G_M

Which country?

Why did you move out? See

* Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

As for the 'cleaning /dilapidations', see

* Deposits: payment, protection and return

cartercarter

This is a UK property, located in Dorset. I had an assured tenancy agreement and the deposit paid was £825. Its from this that the moving out deductions were taken.

cartercarter

Just to add, I received 2 months notice and we were told that the property was to be on the market for sale afterwards by the agency on behalf of the landlord. My sister has recently started at a different estate agency in Buckinghamshire and believes this is a lot more than they would be charging.

anselld

The cleaning you can dispute via the appropriate Deposit protection scheme.

The fees you signed up to from day one. If you didn't want to pay them you should have gone elsewhere. Too late to complain now.

itchyfeet123

Yeah, agent fees are a complete rip off, especially when you consider agents charge landlords a month's rent or so. But they're also a fact of life and hard to avoid. You can shop around, or skip agents altogether by dealing directly with landlords, but then you limit the properties available to you.

AdrianC

cartercarter wrote: »

Hi, My girlfriend, daughter and I just moved out of a 2 bed flat having been there for just 6 months. Our rent was £675 per month. We were told that we would receive a 12 month extension after our initial 6 months but that they do not sign people for 12 months initially.

No extension is needed. Once the initial fixed period expires, you automatically go onto a periodic tenancy.

Nonetheless, my real aggravation is more concerning the amount we have paid towards the agency during this time.

Over 6 months, we have paid a total of £640 in fees. Broken down, this is made up of:-

£225 (each) for initial admin fees = £450
£40 for our references when moving out = £490
£150 Checking and Inventory fee = £640

Right, but saying "£100/mo" is disingenuous. These fees are not related to the duration of the tenancy.

(this appears on their website as something they charge the landlords for also!)

Not your problem.

On top of this we have been charge £150 for 'cleaning /dilapidations'.

If you think it unwarranted, dispute it with the deposit protection scheme your deposit was registered with.

phill99

I think what the OP is eluding to is tht letting agents in thus country are exploiting often the most vulnerable and often poorest groups in society.

Agents already get 10 to 15% management fee from their client landlords. These admin fees that are charged and completely arbitary and unjust and unfair. Letting agents appear to be the only 'profession' that charges both sides of the equation.

It is about time these scheming scrimshankers were brought into line and had regulations imposed, just like every other profession in the UK. A completely unregulated market with no barriers to entry will always encourage exploitation.

G_M

If the OP just wants a rant, and/or discussion about the morality of agency fees, this is not the right place (discussion time here), though there's likely to be broad agreement. On this issue, the Scots have it right.

But OP said:

Is there anyone that monitors this, that I can complain to or put this forward to review?

to which the answer is no to the fees and yes to the cleaning charge.

OP also said:

I received 2 months notice and we were told that the property was to be on the market for sale afterwards

but that does not answer the question of why he moved out.

I refer to the 2 links provided in post 3 above.

cartercarter

To clarify, I moved out because I had no option otherwise having been given notice to vacate the premises by the agency. I also knew about the fees upfront and am not disputing the dilapalidations costs. My qeury is more surrounding whether or not there is a watchdog to monitor whether industry fees being charged are fair. Or, if not, should I perhaps bring this to the attention of my local councillor instead? Unfortunately, beyond paying the fees there were little other options at the time for us to find somewhere else suitable to live.