Lettings agents hit the headlines earlier this month when a national agency chain hired nightclub-style bouncers to prevent members of campaign group ‘Let Down’, who are protesting against hidden lettings fees, from entering one of its branches in south London.

In hindsight, this probably wasn’t the wisest way to interact with customers who feel you have something to hide.

On the same day, the same group of protestors visited the haart branch in Brixton. Notice the use of the word ‘visited’ there. They didn’t feel the need to push and shove, they didn’t have to hammer on the door and they certainly didn’t have to contend with security men asserting that their name wasn’t on the guest list.

It beggars belief that new tenants will willingly hand over a wad of cash to someone with no guarantee that it will end up in a tenancy deposit scheme.

That was because our staff invited them in. We asked them to tell us what their concerns were, and then explained, in detail, what we do and how our charging structure works. We shook hands, the campaigners thanked us for our time and went away feeling more informed than they were when they arrived. It’s called being transparent, something which many agents claim to be, but in reality, very few actually are.

Something to hide?

Many agents are evasive when it comes to the question of fees and many legitimate costs are hidden until the last moment, when they become a shock to the customer and often when the prospective tenant is vulnerable and in no position to back away.

A recent investigation carried out by Which? found that the vast majority of agents have been failing to display fees upfront, in written format, and in some cases even when the information was asked for.

Renting is a significant commitment for a tenant to make, and by being opaque, agents not only risk alienating customers, but also causing potential deals to fall through where tenants are unwilling to continue because of  hidden charges or even failing mid-contract as a tenant falls into financial difficulty when they haven’t been able to budget for extra costs.

Service levels

Lettings agents who have signed up to The Property Ombudsman must follow the Letting Code of Practice. This sets out the framework within which registered agents must operate and the standards of service they must provide for both tenants and landlords. However, whilst this Code of Practice details the level of service that both tenants and landlords can expect from their agent, there is no reference within the code to transparency.

Tenants and landlords should be able to expect their agent to be upfront, honest and open. The Code of Practice should insist that tenants can access any information they require from the start, without having to repeatedly ask, question or chase the agent.

According to the code, tenants should expect to be supplied with a draft Tenancy Agreement to read before signing and not under any pressure, recording the terms of the letting including the rent, deposit or ancillary fees and charges, duration and this will happen is not enough. We and the Ombudsman must ensure that it DOES happen. We would not accept a reference form from a prospective tenant with vital information missing, so how can we expect a tenant to accept the same from us?

As we all know, anyone can set themselves up as a letting agent and start taking deposits from day one. It beggars belief that new tenants will willingly hand over a wad of cash for deposits and monthly rental to someone with no guarantee that it will end up in a deposit scheme leave alone in the hands of the landlord. However, many are desperate to finalise their accommodation and will go along with what the letting agent demands without questions.

Future standards

The House of Lords’ recent amendment fell short of compulsory membership which we would have welcomed and we are hopeful will become law eventually. The level of complaints at present stand at more than 8,000 a year received by the Property Ombudsman and this is unacceptable. For those innocent tenants with no knowledge that they have a right of redress, this must change. As Generation Rent is here to stay it’s up to the big boys like us to set the lettings industry on the right course and stamp out bad, misleading and downright illegal practice as soon as we can.