The TDS is one of the largest government backed deposit schemes in the UK. They are responsible for over £1b of tenant’s deposits. Recently, they hiked up Letting Agent member fees to counter-act the cost of handling disputes they receive each day.
As with most business operating costs – these are normally passed or absorbed by the consumer – and in this case, the Tenants.
lettingaproperty.com warns that some Letting Agents are already charging astronimical application fees to tenants (up to £400 per couple) and with the added presures that Agents have been under over the last year we could see agents increaing their application fees further.
Mr P Endacott, a Letting Agent himself has today commented on estateagenttoday.co.uk:
“We will be introducing a fee of £100 to both tenant and landlord in order to deal with any dispute. This may rise if the TDS insist on pulling their price increases out of a tombola.”
A typical application fee is around £100 for the first tenant and then £50 thereafter. The price varies significantly.
Talking to two midlands Letting Agents, the first confirmed a fee of £285 + vat for two tenants and the second Letting Agent was £100 for a couple.
These two agents are no more than 10 miles apart in neighbouring villages so it is advisable for tenants to be clear on the fees before they proceed with an application.
Private Landlords rarely charge fees to tenants and if they do, it is usually the cost of a single credit check (about £30). This is a massive incentive for tenants and why they seek out private landlords on the internet.
lettingaproperty.com is an online letting agent and property website dedicated to UK residential lettings and homes more than 70,000 properties to rent from letting agents and private landlords.
