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One in four ripped off by letting agents

John Fitzsimons
by Lovemoney Staff John Fitzsimons on 04 September 2012  |  Comments 9 comments

Shelter study finds letting agents are cashing in by overcharging.

One in four ripped off by letting agents

A quarter of us have been ripped off by a letting agent.

That’s the finding of a new survey by housing charity Shelter, which says a succession of unfair charges are levelled at tenants.

‘Administration’ fees were the charges most respondents said they had been unfairly hit with (14%), while fees for credit checks (10%) and renewing a contract (8%) were also highlighted.

Letting agents overcharging

The main reason for feeling the fees were unfair was that respondents felt they were out of proportion to the cost or amount of work done by the letting agent.

Here are some of the worst examples identified by Shelter:

  • Renters charged over £150 for repeat credit checks each year, checks which should cost no more than £25 to perform.
  • Letting agents double-charging fees for the same service to both landlords and tenants.
  • Renters charged more than £500 in non-refundable administration fees.
  • Prospective tenants charged £100 each time they viewed a property.

Shelter is currently conducting an investigation into the fees charged by letting agents and has called for those with experience of unfair charges to join its fight for change. You can find out more about the Letting Away With It campaign on the Shelter website.

Are letting agents a rip off?

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So what do you think? Are letting agents cashing in on both landlords and tenants? Have you been ripped off by a letting agent? Or do they get an unfair rap? Let us know your thoughts in the Comment box below.

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Comments (9)

  • Combi man
    Love rating 1
    Combi man said

    We were asked to inflate our repair bill by ten percent by a letting agent so they could take ten percent commission, they charge for gas safety certificates when we provide them free with an annual sevice.

    We did not agree to the agents request, and have had no work from them since,but we can sleep at night!

    Report on 05 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • Colin56
    Love rating 0
    Colin56 said

    I think this is very common practice with letting agents. Years ago I used to do work for letting agents who started to charge the contractor 10% of their bill. I stopped working for agents that made this charge but know a lot of contractors just add in onto the bill, why should they lose because of greedy agents, so the landlord pays. Contractors that are very reliant on letting agents work (all their eggs in one basket) have little choice!

    This may not be too bad for a £50 - £100 bill but when you start getting large repairs 10% becomes quite an amount, also why should there be a charge, agents charge a "management fee" to "manage" the property

    The only time I have seen letting agents charge landlord and tenant is in the student market, don’t see there is any more work for them to make this charge?

    Report on 05 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • Realscot
    Love rating 1
    Realscot said

    They have laws against this in Scotland. Why should you pay someone else's agent for acting for them? Doesn't stop it happening though. Best thing to do is to pay their charges and then raise a small claims action to get it back. That would soon stop them.

    Report on 06 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • wiliamson
    Love rating 4
    wiliamson said

    I lived at the same address for 11 years, on a 12 month contract. For the first 5 years, all that happened was an increase in the rent, then in year 6 an administrative charge appeared? Er, all the letting agent had to do was print out the same contract and update the rent. first year it happened it was 65pounds, next year 95, and so on until the last year, 120pounds. For what? On top of which because our landlord charged less than the going rate, the agent was dumping all the rubbish on their books on us. Every new tenant that came in was a pest/nuisance/menace.

    Report on 08 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • moreteavicar
    Love rating 23
    moreteavicar said

    Combi man you restore my faith in humanity!

    I'm not sure if it's being scientifically proven yet, but it could be that letting agents share much more of their DNA with rats than with apes.

    Report on 11 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • meldrewreborn
    Love rating 44
    meldrewreborn said

    Who is the us from the first sentence? since owner occupiers account for circa 70% of the population and probably another 10% are in social housing that leaves only 20% in private housing. If 25% of these had been ripped off it would represent only 5% of "US".

    Letting agents need to charge to survive. If they didn't charge for X they'd charge for Y. Unfortunately they do provide a useful service to many landlords - otherwise they wouldn't exist. How does this amount to being "ripped off". Many letting agents and estate agents are struggling to survive at the moment. We live in a free society so if you feel that agents are a licence to print money there is an opportunity for all the doubters to show how it can be done better for less. Tesco started off that way!

    Report on 11 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • DavidSP
    Love rating 1
    DavidSP said

    Let's see an end to renewal fees (for doing nothing), more transparency on fees and no mark-ups on what the agent gets charged by third parties. The trouble is, letting agents come from an estate agency culture so are sales, not service, led. It's time for the new breed of independent, specialist property management companies like The Happy Tenant Company to shake the market out of its complacency.

    Report on 11 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • nelita_s
    Love rating 0
    nelita_s said

    Kinleigh Folkhard and Hawward (KFH) are scrupulous. They charge the same fees (11%) for renewals as long as the tenants remains. While other agents charge a reduced rate (8%) in the second and third year, and nothing after.

    Also once they get their fees, they do no work at all, unless you take their management service which is another 6% on top.

    Please avoid KFH as the plague

    Report on 12 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • poguig
    Love rating 0
    poguig said

    Nelita_S - surely you mean unscrupulous?

    Report on 19 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves

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