Autumn Statement 2016: Letting agents to be banned from charging tenants upfront fees

Former_MSE_Lucinda

Renters will no longer have to pay letting agents' fees with the cost instead being passed on to landlords, under new rules expected to be unveiled by the Government today....

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'Autumn Statement 2016: Letting agents to be banned from charging tenants upfront fees'

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Crashy_Time

https://twitter.com/Rickmanprop?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

[Deleted User]

Love MSE but why is there a need to repeat a thread that has already been opened by a member?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5561626

SuzieSue

Excellent news but should have happened years ago. Landlords had been forcing down finders fees to LAs were just increasing the fees to tenants to compensate. Now landlords will be able to force down LA's other fees.

clairesilverspar

I'm happy to see this change. Even if it does increase rent (which I'm not really sure it will) it will spread the cost over months rather than all at once in advance.
Two years ago we paid £500 each (for three of us), plus one had to pay an extra guarantor fee of £150 on top of her own credit check fee of £150.
All of that was non-refundable, payable before contract signing and if anything fell through or the landlord changed his mind we were screwed.


Last year we moved to a place where we were charged £99 for a credit check and referencing fee and that was it. Same checks, still needed employer and landlord references, but much, much cheaper. Much less stressful, quicker service too.

theGrinch

surely they will just raise fees/comms to LLs = rents up.

Crashy_Time

Guys, rents = up just isn`t going to happen, do the sums, feel the sentiment, we are in new un-charted waters. If you have multiple BTL`s it is time to start selling them, and being VERY nice to prospective buyers.

beeg0d

theGrinch wrote: »

surely they will just raise fees/comms to LLs = rents up.

Yes they will to a degree. The difference is competition. Landlords have a choice of agents, tennents dont (at least if they want a specific propety), if an agent charges too much then the LL will goto a different agent or cut the agent out totally and self-manage.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

theGrinch wrote: »

surely they will just raise fees/comms to LLs = rents up.

If the tenant will happily pay more why haven't rents gone up already?

Crashy_Time

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays wrote: »

If the tenant will happily pay more why haven't rents gone up already?

:money::money:

Innys1

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays wrote: »

If the tenant will happily pay more why haven't rents gone up already?

They are going up, inexorably - this will just make them go up faster.

If a landlord has a property to let in a popular area, they can simply add the referencing fee to the market rate and still have desperate tenants queueing up.

After all, the remaining landlords in the immediate area will be doing the same - all this announcement means is the market rate in such areas is now higher than it was yesterday.