tenant fees ban
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Latest property news
‘Only strong letting agents will survive fees ban’
Not many letting agents can say they have been able to buy up three rivals within three years of establishing their business from scratch. But that is what Angela Newark can claim after revealing today that she has bought the property management portfolio of sales and now former letting agent Martin Lonsdale in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, taking her managed stock to over 800 properties. In 2014 she cold-started a Martin & Co franchised branch in Saltaire but then bought rival Village Estates in 2015 and then the Keighley office of Whitegates in 2016 (pictured, below), also part of the Martin & Co family. Letting agents “I’m a beneficiary of the multi-brand strategy of The Property Franchise Group as I trade both as Whitegates and Martin & Co,” she says. “Central office assisted me with the acquisitions and I’m looking at other businesses currently. I know agents are worried about the tenant fee ban, but the strong will survive, and my business is now set for further growth in 2018”, said Angela. The Property Franchise Group owns six franchised lettings brands including Martin & Co, EweMove, CJ Hole, Ellis & Co, Parkers and Whitegates and operation nearly 300 branches. The detail of the tenant fees ban…
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29% of landlords may drop their agent after tenant fees ban, says research
The likely consequences of the tenant fees ban for agents has been highlighted by research from UKALA among landlords. Carried out in partnership with the National Landlords Association among nearly 700 landlords, the research reveals that 71% of those who use a letting agent will continue to do so even if their costs rise following a tenant fees ban, although this also suggests that nearly a third of landlords will not. Nearly 80% of landlords said they expect agent to increase their fees after a ban, while only 9% said they’d switch to self-managing their properties after it comes in. UKALA says it is critical of the ban, and argues that “affordability in the private-rented sector cannot be addressed by preventing agents from charging for legitimate business services, and that the costs will eventually be passed on to tenants in the long-term,” it says. The research also suggests that 40% of landlords are likely to increase rents to cover the additional costs, while just 9% are prepared to pay the extra costs themselves. “UKALA agents strive to provide a premium service which represents excellent value for money, but the ban on tenant fees could leave hundreds of professional businesses with…
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Tenant fees ban will have an unintended consequence, Mr Hammond
Two senior figures within the lettings industry have said that the tenant fees ban announced by Philip Hammond in his Autumn statement is likely to make life more difficult for tenants, not easier. Martin Totty, CEO of HomeLet (pictured, left) and David Cox, MD of ARLA (pictured below), both told The Negotiator that they expect tenants to be asked for – and pay the costs of – providing their own references if a full ban is implemented. Totty, who heads up the UK’s largest referencing agency, says that while there is now uncertainty about what might happen to referencing after agents and landlords are prevented from passing on their cost to tenants, if this does happen renters should not “assume referencing is no longer their liability” if they want to secure a property. “This would be an unfortunate [and] unintended consequence of the announcement contained in the Autumn Statement,” he says. David Cox agrees, saying that if referencing agencies such as HomeLet are forced to find alternative business models, these companies will turn to tenants to pay the cost of checking their financial and rental track records. Cox says that if a full ban is introduced he believes agents will ask tenants for…
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Will Wales now copy England’s fees ban?
High-profile Labour Welsh Assembly Member (AM) Jenny Rathbone has called for a tenant fees ban in Wales, despite voting against a similar proposal by Plaid Cymru last year. Her comments follow a 2012 ban in Scotland against tenant fees as well as last week’s announcement by the Chancellor that they are to be banned in England next year, following a consultation. Rathbone (pictured) has been active in Wales campaigning against fees. In a Senedd debate earlier this year she said “it should be the landlord paying the letting agency, not the tenant” and that “letting agencies are getting away with simply not providing a service in exchange for a fee”, in particular highlighting fees for taking properties off the market while contracts are drawn up. And Rathbone is worried that Wales is now seen as protecting tenants “less than in England and Scotland”, she told the BBC. But in Wales, unlike in England and Scotland, Rathbone is one of a relatively small group of politicians to campaign for a fees ban. Welsh ministers have taken the view recently that rents would rise if landlords are asked to pay for the cost of post-tenancy property cleaning, inventories, credit checks and references.…
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Fees to tenants should be banned
LibDems demand that all letting agency fees to tenants should be outlawed.
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