18th
Apr 2013
In a move that may soon include Landlords, the ASA, Advertising Standards Authority have ruled that from now on letting agents will have to include their charges to tenants in their advertising.
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This follows the ruling made against an agent that advertised one of its properties on Rightmove. The agent did not make any mention of its administration fee that it would be charging tenants.
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The ASA ruled it had broken the advertising rules by not disclosing the fee, so by this action being taken means that in future all letting agents must feature their fees in adverts.
Guy Parker, chief executive of the ASA, said: “Hidden fees are not only unfair, they hit those who are struggling hardest. Our ruling makes clear that letting agents need to get their houses in order and treat potential tenants fairly.
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“Renting a property is a significant commitment. And for those who are new to the rental market, like students, navigating it can be particularly difficult.
“That’s why the ASA is clamping down on letting agents who hide fees.
“Today’s ruling makes clear that agents must include all compulsory fees and charges in their quoted prices. If the fees cannot be calculated in advance, then the agent must make clear that fees have been excluded, and provide enough information for consumers to establish how fees are calculated.
“It’s now our priority to make sure agents across the sector bring their advertising into line.”
Letting fees are outlawed in Scotland which also affects landlords and this could be moving across the border into the England as Shelter have been campaigning for this. Landlords in Scotland are not allowed to charge fees to tenants for such actions as referencing or move in checks.
Many law firms are frantically looking to see whether the ASA’s ruling could affect landlords.
The ASA does say that sometimes it is impossible to calculate fees in advance and that the agent’s advertisement must make it clear that additional fees and charges have been excluded and therefore must provide the information necessary for the consumer understand how the fees are calculated.
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