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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/nov/23/rents-unfair-letting-fees-tenants-charges
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| Will rents go up if unfair letting fees are banned? Will rents go up if unfair letting fees are banned? | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| When Rory Gray moved into a one-bed flat in Exeter last year, it wasn’t the £650 a month rent that really irked him – but the £800 in fees demanded by the letting agent, part of Britain’s biggest agency, Countrywide. | When Rory Gray moved into a one-bed flat in Exeter last year, it wasn’t the £650 a month rent that really irked him – but the £800 in fees demanded by the letting agent, part of Britain’s biggest agency, Countrywide. |
| Countrywide’s local agent in Exeter expected the tenant to pay £360 as a “tenancy fee”, £90 for “admin”, £60 for “referencing”, £90 for the “check-in”, £90 for a “guarantor” and £120 for the “deed of guarantee”. He chose not to move in at the weekend; if he had there would be a further £72 for “Saturday check-in”. All this was on top of the deposit, which meant that he would have to cough up £2,300 before getting his hands on the keys to the flat. | Countrywide’s local agent in Exeter expected the tenant to pay £360 as a “tenancy fee”, £90 for “admin”, £60 for “referencing”, £90 for the “check-in”, £90 for a “guarantor” and £120 for the “deed of guarantee”. He chose not to move in at the weekend; if he had there would be a further £72 for “Saturday check-in”. All this was on top of the deposit, which meant that he would have to cough up £2,300 before getting his hands on the keys to the flat. |
| “When I saw their breakdown of costs they were complete nonsense – £300 for a tenancy agreement [£360 with VAT] which I was told was a standard agreement they use for all tenants. So they simply print off their standard agreement and charge £300,” he told the Guardian. | “When I saw their breakdown of costs they were complete nonsense – £300 for a tenancy agreement [£360 with VAT] which I was told was a standard agreement they use for all tenants. So they simply print off their standard agreement and charge £300,” he told the Guardian. |
| Countrywide said its fees are transparent and in line with Advertising Standards Authority guidelines. But nothing infuriates Generation Rent more than eye-watering fees to letting agents, sometimes paid again and again as they move from one insecure tenancy to the next. | Countrywide said its fees are transparent and in line with Advertising Standards Authority guidelines. But nothing infuriates Generation Rent more than eye-watering fees to letting agents, sometimes paid again and again as they move from one insecure tenancy to the next. |
| The 250,000 tenants who have signed the “Make Renting Fair” petition will be jubilant they are to be banned. “I have paid as little as £80 and as much as £552 in agency fees on different fees. How is it possible that fees can vary so much from agency to agency? It’s a rip-off and the agents are getting away with it, all the way to the bank,” said Vicky Spratt, who set up the campaign. | The 250,000 tenants who have signed the “Make Renting Fair” petition will be jubilant they are to be banned. “I have paid as little as £80 and as much as £552 in agency fees on different fees. How is it possible that fees can vary so much from agency to agency? It’s a rip-off and the agents are getting away with it, all the way to the bank,” said Vicky Spratt, who set up the campaign. |
| The long boom in buy-to-let had made lettings a highly lucrative business – until now. London agency Foxtons says the profit margin on lettings is about 30%. Lettings revenue growth at Your Move and Marsh & Parsons was 12% in both 2014 and 2015, much faster than other parts of the business. | The long boom in buy-to-let had made lettings a highly lucrative business – until now. London agency Foxtons says the profit margin on lettings is about 30%. Lettings revenue growth at Your Move and Marsh & Parsons was 12% in both 2014 and 2015, much faster than other parts of the business. |
| But when the ban comes into force will it simply mean the rent goes up instead? | But when the ban comes into force will it simply mean the rent goes up instead? |
| Fortunately we can look to Scotland for guidance. Since a ruling in 2012, tenants in Scotland can only be asked for just the rent and the deposit – everything else has to be paid by the landlord. | Fortunately we can look to Scotland for guidance. Since a ruling in 2012, tenants in Scotland can only be asked for just the rent and the deposit – everything else has to be paid by the landlord. |
| Housing charity Shelter has carried out detailed research on the impact. It found that landlords in Scotland were no more likely to have increased rents after the ban came into force than landlords elsewhere in the UK. | Housing charity Shelter has carried out detailed research on the impact. It found that landlords in Scotland were no more likely to have increased rents after the ban came into force than landlords elsewhere in the UK. |
| But Scottish letting agent groups disagree, arguing that rents rose when fees were banned. A House of Commons select committee decided the evidence was inconclusive. | But Scottish letting agent groups disagree, arguing that rents rose when fees were banned. A House of Commons select committee decided the evidence was inconclusive. |
| What will happen in England and Wales? Letting agencies will probably see their profit margins shaved. Many landlords will have to accept a rise in fees. And in places rents will no doubt rise. But tenants will argue, understandably, that this is a much fairer outcome than the current mish-mash of largely inexplicable charges. | What will happen in England and Wales? Letting agencies will probably see their profit margins shaved. Many landlords will have to accept a rise in fees. And in places rents will no doubt rise. But tenants will argue, understandably, that this is a much fairer outcome than the current mish-mash of largely inexplicable charges. |