Suspicious tenants look as though they are starting to take their lettings agents to task over charges ahead of the fees ban.
One renter, Jen Ferguson, took to Twitter after spotting a renewal fee of £175 plus VAT, or £210, in her new tenancy agreement with London agents Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward.
It later emerged that her accusation was unfounded, as KFH has always charged for renewals.
However Ferguson, who runs a craft beer shop in London, also queried how the contract can have future charges if a fee ban comes in.
An email response to her by KFH, seen by EYE, said: “We are aware about the discussions taking place regarding tenancy fees, however this hasn’t been put into place and no legislation has been passed.
“Therefore our fees are still applicable upon a renewal. Concerning future renewals, fees shall be assessed at this time.”
Ferguson then asked if a clause can be added stating that fees will be assessed once a ban comes in, but was told: “We will not be amending the agreement to this effect as we are unsure of the outcome concerning tenancy fees in the future.
“Please note if tenant fees are abolished by Parliament this shall be a legal requirement for all agencies to follow and therefore in that case we will not charge these fees regardless of this being confirmed within the tenancy agreement.
“As previously advised this will be assessed at the point of any legislation changing.”
Ferguson told EYE she has still signed the renewal as she has a good relationship with her landlord, but said it would be good if KFH actually explained what the fee covered.
She said: “I think most people would agree with me that charging £210 for doing nothing but sending an email is outrageous.”
Ferguson said she has never had a response to queries about what the fee covers.
An update: I received this response to my query from KFH yesterday. I was mistaken that this was a new insertion- but it's still outrageous. pic.twitter.com/OxDtuxuNrQ
— Jen Ferguson (@missjenferguson) March 15, 2017
The charge is high in comparison with Foxtons, which quotes £96 for a tenancy renewal, although it does charge £300 for any changes to an existing tenancy, compared with £120 from KFH.
KFH charges £210 for a new tenancy, the same as it does for a renewal, while Foxtons has a fee of £420 for new contracts.
Asked what the renewal fee covers, Carol Pawsey, group lettings director at KFH, told EYE: “Tenancy fees are communicated and agreed at the start of every tenancy.
“If a tenancy is renewed, the fees cover the cost of updating agreements to adhere to legislative changes, negotiation of new clauses, and the administration of the renewal documentation.
“There has been no change to these fees since the Government announced its consultation, the results of which we await.”
A Foxtons spokesman told EYE that the £96 fee covers the renewals team time renegotiating the tenancy and legal department for redrafting the contract.
Unjustifiable greed from two high profile agents – little wonder the rest of us will suffer from the fees ban legislation.
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Using twitter like this could be potentially dangerous if she is giving false information, be it a genuine mistake of not.
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We charge the Landlord for renewals.
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Renewal fee of £175 plus VAT, or £210. – Far too high in my opinion.
“I think most people would agree with me that charging £210 for doing nothing but sending an email is outrageous.”
Let’s also say:- – I think most people would agree with me that charging £5 – £10 for doing nothing but pour beer into a glass is outrageous!
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I am now telling tenants that whenever they are put off renting a property due to the agents charges, they should get the landlords addresses from the land regs (costs £3) and write to the landlord explaining why they have decided not to rent the property.
If shelter did this, they could change agents charges to tenants overnight…..
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I personally would regard this as an invasion of my privacy and shred the letter.
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I don’t think that the landlord would particularly care to be honest. If they aren’t willing or able to pay the fees then fine, there will be plenty of other potential tenants out there who are willng or able to pay the fees. I agree that the fees some letting agents charge are outrageous but not sure that tactics such as the above should be encouraged. Could almost be construed as harrasment.
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