Shelter bids to get letting agent fees banned by law in England

June 13th, 2013

Shelter has launched its widely-expected campaign to get all letting agent fees charged to tenants banned throughout England.

The lobbying organisation wants the practice outlawed by MPs, and in future only landlords charged.

The campaign has already garnered massive publicity. The launch included a piece on Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday, flagged up by presenter James Naughtie as “Are letting agents out of control?” and a mass email send-out inviting Shelter followers and supporters to sign a petition. This morning’s round of national newspaper include shrill headlines accusing letting agents of fleecing tenants and forcing them into debt.

The launch in England comes after Shelter was instrumental in getting fees banned by law in Scotland. Continue reading »

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Private renting’s hidden costs revealed

May 24th, 2013

The hidden costs of renting private accommodation in Northern Ireland have been revealed in an undercover survey carried out by the Housing Rights Service (HRS).

Mystery shoppers conducted a survey of 40 lettings agents across the country and found that upfront fees of as much as £100 were demanded by some agents to cover routine services such as credit checks and general administration costs.

This was on top of a deposit – normally one month’s rent – and a month’s rent in advance. Continue reading »

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Warning for landlords and investors over size of contingency fund needed for buy to let

May 22nd, 2013

Residential investors and landlords in the UK are not factoring in the costs of owning a buy to let property with a contingency fund and this is leading to an upward trend in repossessions, it is claimed.

Recent statistics show that one in five repossessions during the first three months of 2013 were on buy to let properties, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. In the last quarter of 2012, landlord properties represented 12.8% of the repossessed total. Continue reading »

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Ex-housing minister in fresh bid to regulate letting agents

April 30th, 2013

A former Labour housing minister is due to introduce a ten minute rule motion in the Commons today proposing the mandatory licensing of letting and managing agents. Continue reading »

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Amnesty period announced over advertising watchdog’s ruling on fees

April 9th, 2013

Letting agents can breathe a sigh of relief – for the time being – over the Advertising Standards Authority ruling that fees charged to tenants must be shown alongside rents whenever a rental property is marketed.

It has been agreed that there will be a moratorium until further details are thrashed out. That means the ASA will not act – as it did in the case of Your Move – to rule that adverts without agents’ fees break the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) code and are banned. Continue reading »

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New referencing service launches where the tenant pays

April 4th, 2013

A new tenancy referencing scheme has been launched in Scotland – where it is illegal for letting agents to charge fees – whereby tenants pay, and agents get referral fees.

The scheme, which also produces rent guarantees, has been launched by Let Alliance. The tenant pays £50 and the agent gets a £24 referral fee. Continue reading »

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March Madness – Fees and Transparency

March 27th, 2013

They say March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb …. well the weather most certainly has not, but for lettingsthe lion definitely came before the lamb this March.  At the start of the month the Advertising Standards Association (ASA) ruled against Your Move, regarding its advertising on Rightmove as misleading because it did not include a compulsory administration charge. Continue reading »

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Agents not yet complying with advertising ruling on displaying fees

March 19th, 2013

Virtually no letting agents appear to be complying with the Advertising Standards ruling that they must show tenancy charges in their adverts as well as the rent. They seem to be awaiting advice from their own lawyers as well as guidance from industry bodies. Continue reading »

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Rightmove to act today over lettings adverts and fees ruling

March 14th, 2013

Rightmove is today adding a disclaimer to all its rental adverts.

The move follows last week’s bombshell ruling from the Advertising Standards Authority that Your Move – and by implication, all letting agents – must detail fees in their adverts. It will no longer be enough simply to show rent when a property is advertised, with the ASA saying that this is misleading. Continue reading »

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Letting agents not upfront about fees, says Which? Which? believes letting agents’ hidden fees are unlawful

March 5th, 2013

Which? believes that major letting agents are breaking the law by not being upfront about the fees they charge to clients.

Following an undercover investigation, Which? discovered that many letting agents are not disclosing their fees upfront, and are failing to disclose fees in written format. This means renters face unexpected charges, are unable to properly compare prices and don’t always know what they are signing up to until it is too late. Continue reading »

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