Estate Agent fees for tenants.
Discussion
It is f*cking disgusting this practice - the agency should profit plenty from their agreements with the landlords, this is charging for nothing.
We were evicted after just 5 months from a flat when the landlord decided to vacate the property for their own son to live in. My Mrs was 3 weeks from her due date at the time. C*nty Properties who were the agent did not care and would not waive the same fees we had paid less than 6 months prior for a different property. Oh no, you'll have to find a deposit, fees and then do the whole thing all over again.
Theiving b
ds.
We were evicted after just 5 months from a flat when the landlord decided to vacate the property for their own son to live in. My Mrs was 3 weeks from her due date at the time. C*nty Properties who were the agent did not care and would not waive the same fees we had paid less than 6 months prior for a different property. Oh no, you'll have to find a deposit, fees and then do the whole thing all over again.
Theiving b
ds. It's basically the same as if Autotrader or some other car sales medium charged the buyer for looking at their ads and buying a car. Complete joke.
Someone tried it on and got away with it and the rest wanted a piece of the action.
When I had done a year in my last flat the agent, who had had nothing to do with me since fleecing my bank account a year earlier, contacted me to say I needed to pay them £250 for a new contract in order to stay in the flat.
Thanks to advice from this site and another, I knew I could tell them to fek off.
Does make my blood boil. Currently thanks to lack of work, I need to find somewhere cheaper yet I can't stump up a whole load of fees.
Someone tried it on and got away with it and the rest wanted a piece of the action.
When I had done a year in my last flat the agent, who had had nothing to do with me since fleecing my bank account a year earlier, contacted me to say I needed to pay them £250 for a new contract in order to stay in the flat.
Thanks to advice from this site and another, I knew I could tell them to fek off.
Does make my blood boil. Currently thanks to lack of work, I need to find somewhere cheaper yet I can't stump up a whole load of fees.
C.A.R. said:
It is f*cking disgusting this practice - the agency should profit plenty from their agreements with the landlords, this is charging for nothing.
We were evicted after just 5 months from a flat when the landlord decided to vacate the property for their own son to live in. My Mrs was 3 weeks from her due date at the time. C*nty Properties who were the agent did not care and would not waive the same fees we had paid less than 6 months prior for a different property. Oh no, you'll have to find a deposit, fees and then do the whole thing all over again.
Theiving bds.
As a landlord I agree. Why do they change hundreds to sign, or re-sign a contract. The costs should go to the landlord so that its negotiable. When you're charging tenants you have them over a barrel with the threat of losing their home. We were evicted after just 5 months from a flat when the landlord decided to vacate the property for their own son to live in. My Mrs was 3 weeks from her due date at the time. C*nty Properties who were the agent did not care and would not waive the same fees we had paid less than 6 months prior for a different property. Oh no, you'll have to find a deposit, fees and then do the whole thing all over again.
Theiving b
ds. I don't use EA's for this reason.
croyde said:
Thought these had been made illegal in the last budget
Was misleading. The Chancellor put it across that it was a ban. however later transpired it is actually a "we think a ban will be good, but lets do a 12 month consultation first". So they will probably get lobbied by estate agents who will claim they will all go bankrupt and get it watered down. Will find out more at the end of this year.
Have you looked into renting directly from the landlord? Gumtree.com and other websites are good for this, as is ads in the local newsagents and local papers.
hyphen said:
Was misleading.
The Chancellor put it across that it was a ban. however later transpired it is actually a "we think a ban will be good, but lets do a 12 month consultation first". So they will probably get lobbied by estate agents who will claim they will all go bankrupt and get it watered down. Will find out more at the end of this year.
Have you looked into renting directly from the landlord? Gumtree.com and other websites are good for this, as is ads in the local newsagents and local papers.
I tried that after the agent lied to me about work that needed to be done and offered for let a property that had already been taken. Dealt with the landlord direct, moved in and the agent then sent a fee for admin services to me and to the landlord.The Chancellor put it across that it was a ban. however later transpired it is actually a "we think a ban will be good, but lets do a 12 month consultation first". So they will probably get lobbied by estate agents who will claim they will all go bankrupt and get it watered down. Will find out more at the end of this year.
Have you looked into renting directly from the landlord? Gumtree.com and other websites are good for this, as is ads in the local newsagents and local papers.
This was in Canary Wharf, London agents know that there are many other suckers who will play their game if you kick off.
So this is finally law. Looks like it takes effect with tenancies signed after June 1.
https://news.rla.org.uk/royal-assent-tenant-fees-b...
I'm not sure how I feel about it. It seems to me like another thing that just punishes the "good" landlords who do everything properly and above board, while doing nothing to rein in dodgy landlords who do everything in cash, threaten violence if you complain, squeeze umpteen people into unlicensed beds in sheds etc.
I agree with putting a stop to nonsensical agency "signup fees" and similar bullst being charged to prospective tenants; the letting agency can make their money from the landlord by charging them an advertising fee or a monthly rent collection fee.
I'm in two minds about fees to the tenant for drawing up the actual tenancy contract once agreed, I'm mindful to say they should be allowed (but could have been capped at say £50 per tenant per tenancy) - my reasoning for this is that if you buy a property or take out a mortgage or take out a remortgage, you frequently have no choice but to pay whatever arrangement /application fees and legal fees and disbursements your lender or solicitor decide to charge (yes I know some mortgage deals come with an arrangement/application fee of £0 but usually at a cost of higher interest). And with some types of commercial property transactions you end up paying the seller's legal fees too. So I don't really see a problem with fees relating to the tenancy contract either (but a cap would have kept them control).
Finally things like reference fees and post-tenancy cleaning charges, even as a tenant I don't have a problem with either, provided they are sensible amounts, which could have been achieved with a simple %age cap again. Reasoning for the reference fee (of £15 or so) being payable by the tenant is to stop them trying to take on tenancies when they know full well their work or other financial circumstances mean they won't pass, and just causing frustration all round.
The blanket ban on fees they've done, will I think, just mean landlords push rents up for everyone to cover it all.
https://news.rla.org.uk/royal-assent-tenant-fees-b...
I'm not sure how I feel about it. It seems to me like another thing that just punishes the "good" landlords who do everything properly and above board, while doing nothing to rein in dodgy landlords who do everything in cash, threaten violence if you complain, squeeze umpteen people into unlicensed beds in sheds etc.
I agree with putting a stop to nonsensical agency "signup fees" and similar bulls
t being charged to prospective tenants; the letting agency can make their money from the landlord by charging them an advertising fee or a monthly rent collection fee. I'm in two minds about fees to the tenant for drawing up the actual tenancy contract once agreed, I'm mindful to say they should be allowed (but could have been capped at say £50 per tenant per tenancy) - my reasoning for this is that if you buy a property or take out a mortgage or take out a remortgage, you frequently have no choice but to pay whatever arrangement /application fees and legal fees and disbursements your lender or solicitor decide to charge (yes I know some mortgage deals come with an arrangement/application fee of £0 but usually at a cost of higher interest). And with some types of commercial property transactions you end up paying the seller's legal fees too. So I don't really see a problem with fees relating to the tenancy contract either (but a cap would have kept them control).
Finally things like reference fees and post-tenancy cleaning charges, even as a tenant I don't have a problem with either, provided they are sensible amounts, which could have been achieved with a simple %age cap again. Reasoning for the reference fee (of £15 or so) being payable by the tenant is to stop them trying to take on tenancies when they know full well their work or other financial circumstances mean they won't pass, and just causing frustration all round.
The blanket ban on fees they've done, will I think, just mean landlords push rents up for everyone to cover it all.
When I rented a flat last year, the EA’s wanted £180 to re-sign a contract. I found that if you are happy with not signing the tenancy rolls over into a 1 month rolling tenancy. I was happy with this and so was my LL. After finding out these fees, the LL ditched the EA and we dealt with each other directly.
Sometimes they make a rod for their own back.
Sometimes they make a rod for their own back.
When I left my last flat I checked that every bulb was working and paid a small fortune to a cleaning company to do a professional clear up.
The agent contacted me the next day to say that one bulb was not working and that I would have to pay an electrician to go round to fit a new bulb as I was not only out of the flat but was working away.
After much insistence I got the agent to pop round to replace the bulb and I dropped off the £3 it cost a few days later.
Considering the £100s they had charged me in fees for ringing them up to say that I liked the flat for rent on their website, I thought they owed me at least a bulb change.
I swear every light was working when I locked up for the last time. I have mild OCD.
The agent contacted me the next day to say that one bulb was not working and that I would have to pay an electrician to go round to fit a new bulb as I was not only out of the flat but was working away.
After much insistence I got the agent to pop round to replace the bulb and I dropped off the £3 it cost a few days later.
Considering the £100s they had charged me in fees for ringing them up to say that I liked the flat for rent on their website, I thought they owed me at least a bulb change.
I swear every light was working when I locked up for the last time. I have mild OCD.
Its a good move if you ask me, ive read through the whole law and it really does mean absolutely zero fees for a tenant entering a property. The only two fees allowed during a tenancy are lost keys charge (with proof of cost, no labour or inconvenience allowed to be charged) and late rent payment interest charged at 3 percent above base rate.
I can see a mass exodus of agents as they relied on tenant fees for an income stream. With sales suffering at the moment too it will be a rough ride for a lot of agents.
I can see a mass exodus of agents as they relied on tenant fees for an income stream. With sales suffering at the moment too it will be a rough ride for a lot of agents.
Having worked as a letting agent a number of years ago, I agree that the fees should be atleast reduced.
BUT now agents will pass their losses onto the landlord which in turn will raise rents and in the long run probably cost the tenants more. It's bit of a lose lose in either case.
Referencing with experian used to cost us £12 and about an hours work setting up the tenancy plus a few hours to to the inventory.
for what they were paying us I'd work out the man hour cost to be roughly £50.
So I think that the landlords monthly % fee will rise from around 10-12% to 15% and that initial letting fees will go up and in turn I see rents going up by £25pcm in the long term which for a tenant over a year is £300 a year!
All a bad move IMO they should have just capped the fees.
Matt
BUT now agents will pass their losses onto the landlord which in turn will raise rents and in the long run probably cost the tenants more. It's bit of a lose lose in either case.
Referencing with experian used to cost us £12 and about an hours work setting up the tenancy plus a few hours to to the inventory.
for what they were paying us I'd work out the man hour cost to be roughly £50.
So I think that the landlords monthly % fee will rise from around 10-12% to 15% and that initial letting fees will go up and in turn I see rents going up by £25pcm in the long term which for a tenant over a year is £300 a year!
All a bad move IMO they should have just capped the fees.
Matt
The Tea Boy said:
Having worked as a letting agent a number of years ago, I agree that the fees should be atleast reduced.
BUT now agents will pass their losses onto the landlord which in turn will raise rents and in the long run probably cost the tenants more. It's bit of a lose lose in either case.
Referencing with experian used to cost us £12 and about an hours work setting up the tenancy plus a few hours to to the inventory.
for what they were paying us I'd work out the man hour cost to be roughly £50.
So I think that the landlords monthly % fee will rise from around 10-12% to 15% and that initial letting fees will go up and in turn I see rents going up by £25pcm in the long term which for a tenant over a year is £300 a year!
All a bad move IMO they should have just capped the fees.
Matt
Agree with a lot of that, especially of the charges being reconfigured into rent mostly and the rest put on landlord, however i think this regulation only came about because of the extortionate fees some agents were charging.BUT now agents will pass their losses onto the landlord which in turn will raise rents and in the long run probably cost the tenants more. It's bit of a lose lose in either case.
Referencing with experian used to cost us £12 and about an hours work setting up the tenancy plus a few hours to to the inventory.
for what they were paying us I'd work out the man hour cost to be roughly £50.
So I think that the landlords monthly % fee will rise from around 10-12% to 15% and that initial letting fees will go up and in turn I see rents going up by £25pcm in the long term which for a tenant over a year is £300 a year!
All a bad move IMO they should have just capped the fees.
Matt
I am a private landlord and i used to be shocked when tenants come to me with tales of fees almost matching the rental figure and one woman told me she was charged £250 to renew her tenancy and was asked to leave when she didnt, no offer of a periodic lease. If only there was a sensible cap brought in sooner it might have avoided ths new punative law.
Also there isnt much you can do to the PRS in terms of fees or regulation that dont flow donwards to the tenant in the form of higher rents. Politicians have to be seen to fighting the greedy house grabbing landlords. The ridiculous amount of regulation and tax that has been bestowed upon us in the last 5 years is absurd.
The Tea Boy said:
Having worked as a letting agent a number of years ago, I agree that the fees should be atleast reduced.
BUT now agents will pass their losses onto the landlord which in turn will raise rents and in the long run probably cost the tenants more. It's bit of a lose lose in either case.
Referencing with experian used to cost us £12 and about an hours work setting up the tenancy plus a few hours to to the inventory.
for what they were paying us I'd work out the man hour cost to be roughly £50.
So I think that the landlords monthly % fee will rise from around 10-12% to 15% and that initial letting fees will go up and in turn I see rents going up by £25pcm in the long term which for a tenant over a year is £300 a year!
All a bad move IMO they should have just capped the fees.
Matt
We don't have tenancy fees in Scotland, it works well. At least if incorporated into the rent it is transparent and landlords can then compete on a fair footing i.e. on rent. BUT now agents will pass their losses onto the landlord which in turn will raise rents and in the long run probably cost the tenants more. It's bit of a lose lose in either case.
Referencing with experian used to cost us £12 and about an hours work setting up the tenancy plus a few hours to to the inventory.
for what they were paying us I'd work out the man hour cost to be roughly £50.
So I think that the landlords monthly % fee will rise from around 10-12% to 15% and that initial letting fees will go up and in turn I see rents going up by £25pcm in the long term which for a tenant over a year is £300 a year!
All a bad move IMO they should have just capped the fees.
Matt
Integroo said:
We don't have tenancy fees in Scotland, it works well. At least if incorporated into the rent it is transparent and landlords can then compete on a fair footing i.e. on rent.
Indeed, I imagine this will put rents up, but at least its easy to compare that way, rather than a seemingly cheap rental price and then a grand of fees slapped on top. dazwalsh said:
Agree with a lot of that, especially of the charges being reconfigured into rent mostly and the rest put on landlord, however i think this regulation only came about because of the extortionate fees some agents were charging.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^This totally. As usual, probably a minority of agents have caused the law change by properly shafting tenants and as an owner of a lettings business I'm glad to see it being stopped. Landlords will of course end up absorbing the slack in terms of fees but that could well be offset by increased rents, only time will tell.
It'll be interesting to see how people/agents deal with it come June and it could mean that May is a quiet month!
'Wer bestellt, bezahlt'
The benefit of the landlord paying the fees is that he/she has a choice of what agent to use, thus introducing a competition mechanism which will drive the fees down.
Letting agent charging £250 to a tenant to renew a contract = suck it up or or move out of your home.
Letting agent charging the landlord £250 to renew the contract = OK thanks but the agent over road only charges £50, see you later. New market rate is £50. Clearly there's a floor, based on genuine costs to Experian and paying wages etc, but I'd bet it's WAY lower than what letting agents currently typically charge. Anyone who charges significantly more goes out of business, unless they truly offer the landlord something extra to justify the extra fee.
The benefit of the landlord paying the fees is that he/she has a choice of what agent to use, thus introducing a competition mechanism which will drive the fees down.
Letting agent charging £250 to a tenant to renew a contract = suck it up or or move out of your home.
Letting agent charging the landlord £250 to renew the contract = OK thanks but the agent over road only charges £50, see you later. New market rate is £50. Clearly there's a floor, based on genuine costs to Experian and paying wages etc, but I'd bet it's WAY lower than what letting agents currently typically charge. Anyone who charges significantly more goes out of business, unless they truly offer the landlord something extra to justify the extra fee.
The Tea Boy said:
BUT now agents will pass their losses onto the landlord which in turn will raise rents and in the long run probably cost the tenants more. It's bit of a lose lose in either case.
Disagree that it's a lose lose - it makes the fees obvious rather than hidden and directly comparable between agents/properties. Much less pressure on increasing a hidden fee than an upfront cost.I had this about 10 years ago for resigning a contract - explicitly told there was no other option and we would be unable to stay. Spoke to the owner who wasn't pleased there was pressure being put on a tenant they were happy with, without their knowledge, so I decided to tell the agent I wouldn't resign and see if they'd risk losing a tenant over what I think was about £60.
We stayed for about 18 months after that, no further fees. You wouldn't believe the name of the agency if I told you, I should've seen it coming.
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