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Banning letting agents’ fees is just one step in improving renting
The ban on letting agent fees came into force at the weekend and represents just one way the government is making renting fairer for tenants, writes Heather Wheeler
Millions of people rent homes every year in England, from students experiencing their first taste of independent living to growing families looking for a new home to settle in.
Renting should be, regardless of circumstances, above all else, fair – an honest exchange between a landlord and tenant, built on mutual respect and openness.
Whilst the majority of landlords and agents across the country provide a good service to their tenants, for too long we have turned a blind eye to sky-high fees and costly deposits, seeing them as just the way the system works.
But for so many people across the country - flat sharers, millennials in their first job, families - renting has become a cost they are struggling to afford, and not because of their monthly payments.
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Rather than feeling like valued tenants who are free to settle down and make a place a home, thousands have until now faced unfair fees and a threat of eviction if they do not meet these costs.
From being charged hundreds of pounds in cleaning costs or an eye-watering sum to replace a light bulb, it is easy to see why so many tenants have stared at bills and wondered where their money is going.
There’s little in life you’d hand over money for without seeing the evidence that the job was actually carried out.
So why should renting be any different?
And it’s not just the fees for admin costs that tenants can face.
There’s little in life you’d hand over money for without seeing the evidence that the job was actually carried out. So why should renting be any different?
The amount some tenants feel forced to pay for a deposit can make the cost of moving house – already an expensive time in any circumstances - exponentially increase.
Which is exactly why our Tenant Fees Act, which came into force on Saturday, is here to help renters feeling trapped.
Under the Act, tenants are legally entitled to ask their landlord or estate agent to provide detailed evidence of the costs of work done before paying the bill.
And for the majority of renters, deposits will be capped at five weeks rent.
Together these measures could help renters across England make savings of at least £240 million a year.
But we’re not just banning these unfair fees and assuming that all problems of this kind will be solved.
We recognise that, occasionally, tenants will still struggle to get what they are rightfully owed.
Which is why now, Trading Standards or a First-Tier tribunal will be able to require landlords and agents to pay back any prohibited payment and any unlawfully retained deposit within 7-14 days.
I want to emphasise though, that this is not about punishing agents or landlords.
Our changes to the law will make the housing market fairer for everyone, whether that’s for renters or those letting out their property.
Which is why we’re carefully considering the case for a specialist housing court to provide greater access to redress for landlords and tenants in property disputes.
Our changes to the law will make the housing market fairer for everyone, whether that’s for renters or those letting out their property.
From plans to stop private landlords evicting tenants from their homes at short notice and without good reason, to extending mandatory licensing for Housing in Multiple Occupation to improve living conditions of tenants in shared homes, the private rental market is improving every day thanks to our wide-reaching reforms.
I’m confident that tenants across the country will reap the benefits of not just this act, but these wider measures, which will rebalance the relationship between landlords and tenants.
Heather Wheeler, parliamentary under secretary of state at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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