Agent charging for reference

BurnCK

So I'm in the process of moving and going through referencing for my new property, but my previous agents wants to charge me £54 for a reference. Is this common practice / legal ?

There's 2 of us moving so it potentially could be £54 each, although I'm waiting for a reply on that. Seems a right rip off for them just to say we paid on time...I could prove that from bank statements.

Comms69

BurnCK wrote: »

So I'm in the process of moving and going through referencing for my new property, but my previous agents wants to charge me £54 for a reference. Is this common practice / legal ?

There's 2 of us moving so it potentially could be £54 each, although I'm waiting for a reply on that. Seems a right rip off for them just to say we paid on time...I could prove that from bank statements.

Indeed so tell the new landlord that

Retired_Mortgage_Adviser

Assuming that the property is in England, from the Tenant Fees Act 2019 - Guidance for LLs and LAs

Q. Can a tenant’s previous landlord or agent charge me (ie the LL or agent) to provide a reference?

Yes. If you request a reference directly from a tenant’s previous landlord or agent, they can charge for this. You will be responsible for negotiating and paying any costs associated with obtaining a reference required from a previous landlord or agent.

Q. Can I require a tenant to obtain a reference?

No. You cannot require a tenant obtain a reference through a third-party reference service as a condition of granting a tenancy, but a tenant could opt to obtain such a reference voluntarily. You can ask a tenant to supply a reference from a former landlord or agent, but the previous landlord or agent cannot charge the tenant for this. If you request a reference directly from a tenant’s previous landlord or agent, and they want to charge for doing this, you (ie the LL or Agent) will have to negotiate this with the previous landlord or agent directly and pay any associated costs if required.

BurnCK wrote: »

So I'm in the process of moving and going through referencing for my new property, but my previous agents wants to charge me £54 for a reference. Is this common practice / legal ?

There's 2 of us moving so it potentially could be £54 each, although I'm waiting for a reply on that. Seems a right rip off for them just to say we paid on time...I could prove that from bank statements.

BurnCK

Comms69 wrote: »

Indeed so tell the new landlord that

We're going through an agent again so don't have landlord details and have had to submit my details to UKTenanacyData for referencing. They advised they hadn't received a reference so when I chased Thornley Groves they said there's a fee to pay for it.

I guess I could speak to the new agent but they may just insist we complete the process as required. I'll see.

BurnCK

Retired_Mortgage_Adviser wrote: »

Assuming that the property is in England, from the Tenant Fees Act 2019 - Guidance for LLs and LAs

Q. Can a tenant’s previous landlord or agent charge me (ie the LL or agent) to provide a reference?

Yes. If you request a reference directly from a tenant’s previous landlord or agent, they can charge for this. You will be responsible for negotiating and paying any costs associated with obtaining a reference required from a previous landlord or agent.

Q. Can I require a tenant to obtain a reference?

No. You cannot require a tenant obtain a reference through a third-party reference service as a condition of granting a tenancy, but a tenant could opt to obtain such a reference voluntarily. You can ask a tenant to supply a reference from a former landlord or agent, but the previous landlord or agent cannot charge the tenant for this. If you request a reference directly from a tenant’s previous landlord or agent, and they want to charge for doing this, you (ie the LL or Agent) will have to negotiate this with the previous landlord or agent directly and pay any associated costs if required.

Sorry, I'm not sure I 100% understand that. So they can't charge to provide a reference for me ?
"You can ask a tenant to supply a reference from a former landlord or agent, but the previous landlord or agent cannot charge the tenant for this".

Does that just mean that them providing it to UKTenancyData incurs a charge, but if I ask for it myself it's non-chargeable ?

Retired_Mortgage_Adviser

Yes, that's how I see it. The legislation prohibits LLs and Agents from collecting most fees "In connection with a tenancy". This has been defined to include providing references for a former tenant. So your former LA is not allowed to charge you for it.

However, I don't know if the law forces them to provide a reference or whether they could just refuse. But they can't charge a former tenant for a reference as the act falls under the umbrella of banned tenant fees.



PS: I don't know how this works if your previous tenancy was pre-TFA.

BurnCK wrote: »

Sorry, I'm not sure I 100% understand that. So they can't charge to provide a reference for me ?
"You can ask a tenant to supply a reference from a former landlord or agent, but the previous landlord or agent cannot charge the tenant for this".

Retired_Mortgage_Adviser

It means that your former LA can charge the current LA for providing a reference, but they are not allowed to charge you (former tenant). I hope that makes sense.

BurnCK wrote: »

Does that just mean that them providing it to UKTenancyData incurs a charge, but if I ask for it myself it's non-chargeable ?

PS: I don't know how this works if your previous tenancy was pre-TFA.

BurnCK

Retired_Mortgage_Adviser wrote: »

It means that your former LA can charge the current LA for providing a reference, but they are not allowed to charge you (former tenant). I hope that makes sense.




PS: I don't know how this works if your previous tenancy was pre-TFA.

OK thanks, but then if I'm the one having to pay the fee to Thornley Groves, are they not charging me? Thornley Groves have sent me details of how to make the payment for them to release the reference.

P.S. My current agreement was signed after ban on fees came in as I purposely delayed signing one until then.

Retired_Mortgage_Adviser

Yes they are trying to charge you. Just because they shouldn't be charging you doesn't mean they can't try to.

They might not know the law (the most likely scenario), they might know the law but think it doesn't apply to this particular case (which is very unlikely given you signed after the TFA) or they might just be trying it on.

1. You could write to them sharing the government guidance which says clearly that they can't charge a previous tenant for providing a reference and see what they say.

2. You could pay the fees, progress your new tenancy and once that's in the bag, file a formal complaint with the previous LA and take it to the Property Ombudsman if they don't refund your money. It's not a complicated process and at no cost to you.

In your place I would start with 1. If they still insist that fees is due, I would pay up and then take step 2. There isn't any point in getting into a to-and-fro now which might jeopardise your new tenancy before it starts.

BurnCK wrote: »

OK thanks, but then if I'm the one having to pay the fee to Thornley Groves, are they not charging me? Thornley Groves have sent me details of how to make the payment for them to release the reference.

G_M

Under the new legislation a tenant cannot be charged for a reference.

The only exception would be if
a) the existing landlord/agent charged the tenant directly (ie not if it is the new landlord/agent charging) AND
b) the fee for a reference had been already agreed by the tenant pre-June 2019, for example in their original tenancy agreement

In that case the fee can continue to be charged until June 2020.


Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants (updated July 2019)

Annastin

Thanks for this information. I was charged £40+VAT by my previous agent for providing a reference for the current flat. I can't see any mention of it in the tenancy agreement. I will lodge a complaint and see what happens.

Retired_Mortgage_Adviser wrote: »

It means that your former LA can charge the current LA for providing a reference, but they are not allowed to charge you (former tenant). I hope that makes sense.

PS: I don't know how this works if your previous tenancy was pre-TFA.