Private renting - agency fees, how much?

london_saver

I am thinking about moving and elsewhere in London. I rent from a private landlord now and we have a good relationship, there were no admin fees agency fees etc just rent and deposit.

The last time I was a student, a good 8 years ago! I remember paying £60 each (7 of us) to rent a 7 bed house.

My friend recently had to pay £125 each with her flatmates for a 3 bed flat for "admin" and "agency" fees.

I actually think these fees are extortinate and definately puts me off renting from agencies.

What is the legal max amount that agencies can charge for "admin" fees? What is your advice about paying these fees? I resent how inflated the prices are as I dont think the fees are actually worth it. "administration"? my £125 would pay for a secretary for 3 whole days!!

What have been your past experiences with agency fees?

PasturesNew

Last month I paid £150+VAT to the agency for admin/credit check.

While this seemed a lot, from what I've seen on these boards, I got off quite lightly.

Swoxy

There is no legal maximum amount. The agreement between a tenant and agency with regards to fees is purely contractual so it is up to the parties to agree on a fee. Depending on demand for the property and the area, I would refuse to pay the fee completely and start from there. Hopefully you'll be able to meet somewhere in the middle, or at least get some sort of discount.

BrixMorta

Fees/costs/charges often passed to tenants by letting agencies would be as follows.

About £90 for an AST.
£20 for each applicant for referencing agency charge.
Costs associated with tenancy check - in, usually £30 - £50
Administration costs typically £25
VAT

You can see why the charges paid by applicants applying for tenancies typically range between £80 to £150 each.

jay7_2

We're about to rent a 3-bed house in Berks. The agency will charge £150 for reference checking plus 12 days rent as admin fee. That is nearly £600 in total!!!
:eek:

The trouble is that there are very few houses in the area at the moment - in fact the one we're taking is the only 3-bed house in a decent neighbourhood. Unfortunatelly we aren't in a position to choose a different agent or negotiate the fees.