lettings fees
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Rental market
Lettings agency boss slams corporates for ‘bizarre’ extra fees charged to landlords
Nick Goble of Noble Estates in Clapham, London says his new approach of a flat management fee and just three extra fixed charges is fairer and more transparent.
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Features
Why the government wants to introduce a lettings fee ban
The Government has launched a consultation paper on its proposal to ban letting agent fees, but, says Sheila Manchester, it’s more a ‘done deal’ than a proposal.
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Latest property news
Lettings fees ban WILL go ahead, says DCLG
The lettings fee ban is set to go ahead. The Government has announced its intention to introduce a total ban ands agents across the UK will not be able to charge any fees to tenants for their services, if the Government’s proposals are implemented. This isn’t a case of rattling cages to get the message through to agents that their fees may be disappearing, if they do not receive suitable responses from the consultation – today’s publication of the Consultation Paper leaves us in no doubt that there will be a total ban on lettings fees, as stated by Baroness Hayter (right) last week at the arla|propertymark Conference, it is just a matter of when and how it is implemented. Within the document, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) says, “DCLG officials undertook some market research of letting agent fees. We randomly chose 50 agents of differing sizes and models (i.e. franchises, independents and national branches) across the country and searched their website for a list of letting fees charged to tenants. This exercise reinforced how difficult it is for tenants to both find and compare agent fees since it was not always simple to either find the fees…
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Features
Lettings fees: cap or outright ban?
The push to ban lettings fees to tenants is gathering momentum, but Isobel Thomson, Chief Executive, National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) says that a cap would be a better solution.
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Latest property news
Are Swansea and Dorset agents worst at displaying letting fees?
The Property Ombudsman Katrine Sporle has revealed that the enforcement letters sent to TPO member agents in Dorset and Swansea last week requiring them to prove they are clearly displaying fees details targeted these areas first because it had found that 50% of letting agents within them were not compliant. Her comments came during her speech at The Negotiator Conference in London earlier this week. The letter (see link below) strikes a new and relatively aggressive tone compared to previous efforts and is a taste of what’s to come for agents elsewhere in the UK. TPO says the campaign is national and that the letters are being rolled out region by region in a phased approach. The next roll-out is due to be revealed. In a nutshell, the letter requires TPO members to provide an image of their fees on display in the branch and a web link and image to demonstrate where their fees are displayed on their website. “Agents in Swansea and Dorset have until 21st November to provide evidence and any agent that fails to do so will be referred to Trading Standards,” a TPO spokesperson told The Negotiator. The campaign is being conducted in partnership with the…
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Guest Blogs
Lets be transparent about lettings fees
Paul Smith, CEO of haart, says that agents need to be totally transparent about letting fees.
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Regulation & Law
Lettings fees: why a crackdown now?
We look at the war being waged against lettings fees and the wider Private Rental Sector and what it means for you.
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