Autumn Statement discussion

kunkj

So letting agent fees to be banned! Am wondering what ways letting agents will find to make up that money - are they simply going to start charging landlords the fees? And if it is only upfront fees that are banned does this mean we are going to start seeing renewal of tenancy contract fees popping up? I've encountered them overseas before. The BBC coverage on this has a bit of info on what happened when Scotland banned lettings agent fees 4 years ago: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38065249

Does anyone have any idea of when this ban would come into effect? I've never followed an autumn statement before so unclear on time scales. Sister has been told her landlord wants the property back so she is in the middle of house-hunting. Would be nice if she were able to avoid the punitive fees she is being told about...

Have yet to read anything this morning about additional home stamp duty being scrapped :huh:

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

Letting agents will have to start being more competitive. Landlords can choose the ones that charge them the most reasonable fee, something that isn't an option for tenants. According to Shelter (and I've seen no other studies), it had no impact on rents when introduced in Scotland.


https://england.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/834832/6636_Scottish_letting_fees_report_v9.pdf


I wouldn't expect the changes to come in time for your Sister I'm afraid. I also wouldn't have thought the additional home SDLT will be scrapped (it's a populist soundbite so hard to get rid of now), but I have been wrong many times before!

agrinnall

kunkj wrote: »

...does this mean we are going to start seeing renewal of tenancy contract fees popping up?

What do you mean, "start"? You don't have to hang around this board very long to see that they are extremely common.

Pixie5740

I did chuckle when I read that David Cox, (managing director of ARLA) said, "Most letting agents do not profit from fees." :rotfl:

always_sunny

kunkj wrote: »

So letting agent fees to be banned!

Mazel tov - makes you wonder why they have been allowed for this long!
Next should be a crack down on leasehold extension extortions!

HouseBuyer77

Pixie5740 wrote: »

I did chuckle when I read that David Cox, (managing director of ARLA) said, "Most letting agents do not profit from fees." :rotfl:

Perhaps he's right.

Indicating letting agents are hugely inefficient and clearly need a kick up the a***!

Pixie5740

HouseBuyer77 wrote: »

Perhaps he's right.

Indicating letting agents are hugely inefficient and clearly need a kick up the a***!

Quite possibly. If you can't make a profit from charging hundreds of pounds for changing a date, hitting Crtl+P and posting out a (unnecessary) tenancy renewal, then there's something wrong with your business.

Guest101

I suspect that they deduct all business running costs in order to get a 'loss'

always_sunny

Back with the fall in estate agency shares, and analyst Anthony Codling at broker Jefferies International said:

Our view is that it would not be logical to ban fees outright, for instance inventory checks are usually outsourced to third parties and used to safeguard both landlord and tenant, perhaps these fees should be split.

Credit referencing fees: we think it fair that tenants can demonstrate that they have the ability to pay the rent.

Where fees are possibly unfair are, for instance, blanket fees of £300 to set up a standard tenancy agreement or a £60 additional charge to move in on a Saturday, such fees we believe generate high margins for the agent at the expense of the so called JAM tenants (Just About Managing).

At the moment, Foxtons is down 9.5%, LSL Property is 6.4% lower, Purplebricks has fallen 6%, Countrywide has lost 4.9% and Savills has slipped 1%.
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What a load of baloney! Almost as silly as the cabbies trying to stop Uber.

Miss_Samantha

I note that they talk about increased competition.

They should therefore make it easier to set up shop as a letting agent instead of more difficult (mandatory redress scheme, possibly mandatory client money protection, and now fewer income streams).

In any case, tenants feel the pinch because of the lack of available housing. So they should really work on that instead of these political decisions which actually reduce housing supply.

Guest101 wrote: »

I suspect that they deduct all business running costs in order to get a 'loss'

Quite obviously one has to deduct all costs in order to work out profit...

Pixie5740

Are some letting agents feeling the pinch because even now, before these changes, landlords don't think they are getting value for money and are choosing to self manage instead?

Should it be easier to set up as a letting agent given that they currently require no qualifications and no specific training? Any twit can (and does) set up as a letting agent.