Consumers forced into debt management corner due to letting agents' practices
Consumers forced into debt management corner due to letting agents' practices
Thursday 21st May 2009
According to a new report from Citizens Advice, the tenants are being "badly let down" by a system that allows these agents to impose unwarranted and excessive charges while offering a poor service.
Extra charges imposed by letting agents on top of people's rent should be banned, according to the national charity, which is calling for such measures to be included in the recently-announced government plans to regulate the sector.
Research conducted by the organisation has found that nearly all letting agents (94 per cent) slap up to seven additional charges on tenants excluding the tenancy deposit and advance rent.
The charges varied across the board but in some instances the extra money for things such as a non-returnable holding deposit, a reference check charge, administration fee and tenancy renewal fee added up to more than £600.
"People often think that renting through an agent is a safer option than dealing direct with a landlord, but our evidence clearly shows that it can be a risky business for tenants," said Citizens Advice chief executive David Harker.
"Allowing letting agents to go on operating completely unchecked in these circumstances is totally unacceptable. Regulation cannot come soon enough."
Commenting on the findings of the report entitled Let Down, Keshav Thukaram, the managing director of Smartlandlord.co.uk, said that tenants and landlords should not hesitate to dump such letting agents.
He added that is it not just tenants who have suffered under unscrupulous tenants, saying "for years, landlords too have paid through the nose for excessive and often unnecessary fees" for a poor and negligent service.
News article brought to you by Debt1 – UK debt management specialists.
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