A survey undertaken by a house and flat share website reports that 40% of UK tenants in the private rented sector, are having to pay out an average of £298 to letting agents or landlords when moving to a new home.

The poll covered 4,000 flat and house sharers reports that tenants, besides the upfront charges, on the whole are asked to stump up deposits of £840 and a month's rent in advance. The report states that the average tenants have to pay out before they can lay claim to the keys of a new home, is £1,700.

Apparently the significant upfront costs is why 87% of tenants much prefer to deal direct with landlords, rather than having to go through a letting agent, as they believe landlord charges would be less.

The main charges incurred are the administration costs and two thirds of tenants when they were looking to move into a home, were charged for admin costs. Half of those tenants that did pay the charges, stated that they had to do so to reserve a property or room. 47% of tenants complained that they had been charged for drawing up new tenancy agreements and inventories.

Matt Hutchinson, director of the company, said: “Nothing unites renters quite like a shared hatred of unexplained tenancy fees. So much so they’ve already been made illegal in Scotland.

 

“Most tenants have to find a deposit before they get their last one back from their previous landlord, so adding almost £300 in fees to the equation can make the difference between being able to afford to move and having to stay put.

“In the wider world, consumers get to choose which supplier to use based on a variety of factors, including price and service but, when it comes to renting, tenants have no choice but to use the agent marketing the property they want. This means most have little choice over whether they pay fees or not. As of April 2014 agents must, by law, publish a full tariff of their fees. Although this means greater transparency for tenants, the government still isn’t doing enough to clamp down on excessive or unfair fees. Always ask landlords and agents about fees upfront and negotiate as early on in the process as possible.”

Richard Merrick of PIMS said: " This information does seem skewed somewhat, some charges are unnecessary, but which consumer industry not does not charge "costs" ?

"When booking a holiday, the public is asked for a deposit to reserve the booking and employees of the agents will receive commissions of around 10%, just to take a call and "sell" the holiday.

"And of course the booking agency makes a profit  for "admin" costs."