6th
Feb 2017
An association of residential lettings agents has told the government to ban letting agent fees that are incurred by tenants at the start of their tenancy, however they are urging it to replace the fees with costs that are spread over the first six months.
The association has recently carried out research and reports back that 62% of lettings agents believe that by imposing the ban that the standards of rented 'homes' will drop, and 61% expect that their management standards will fall.
The survey was completed by 1008 letting agents and it contained questions on what their fees covered and how the ban would effect the housing market, the research concluded that if the government introduced a scheme of spreading the fees then the high standard of service would continue.
The association strongly argues its case that by spreading fees it would make sure that tenants would be able to rent new 'homes' , as they would only have to find the deposit and the first month's rent. The association's plan also includes that tenants would only have to pay 'costs' for the first six months and would not be liable for any more charges if they renewed their tenancy agreement.
It also points out that as landlords are having to face cuts in their mortgage interest tax relief and other cutbacks imposed by the government, it should mean that they will not have to increase rents.
David Cox, the managing director, of the association of letting agents, said: "When the Chancellor announced a full ban on letting agent fees in the Autumn Statement, we called the measure draconian and a crowd-pleaser. We stand by that. Nonetheless, we believe that ARLA’s proposal to spread the cost of the fees across the first six months of the tenancy will guard against the numerous unintended consequences of a full ban while also finding a solution that works best for the consumer."
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