Lettings Agents and Admin Fees

[Meade's Ball]

I saw a small collection of people outside a Drivers & Norris estate agents in London on Saturday with banners up and songs of dissent. I took a flyer. They were there to speak of the unfair treatment and invented charges of some customers. I liked the idea of people getting out in front of their offices and effecting their income for a day thanks to a muddying of their reputations with a tiny bit of action.

 

[spongy]

Oh dear...'very bad credit rating' & then you moan about the level of deposit required.....

Bad credit rating doesn't alter the deposit and fees they wanted, that is what they charge, the bad credit only undermines their confidence in me that I will pay the rent on time every month, which I do, and always will do, but to say it costs £400 in admin, that I struggled to find in short notice, then to be told I need to pay another £80 takes the piss.

The trouble with renting is that the demand is so high with people like us that there is always someone else who can afford these charges, it is a landlords market so can charge high prices for sub standard accomodation as there is always someone who can and will rent it, they have us renters by the bollocks and there's is f*** all we can do about it apart from bend over and take it.

6 weeks as deposit plus a month in advance is a lot to find in 10 weeks, which only covered 2 pay days as I'm monthly paid.

Now I'm financially stable, have been for 2 years, haven't had a missed direct debit or standing order or had a bank charge in that time, the reason my credit is bad was due to circumstances beyond my control and I don't feel I need I should justify myself to you.

 

[spongy]

Duplicate post

 

[Lower West Stander]

As a landlord I would strongly advocate not hiring an agent. All they do is take a cut of the rent and then phone you up when something goes wrong. As already mentioned on here it is really easy to do the credit checks yourself and download a rent agreement. It also gives me the opportunity to lower the rent a bit to give the tenant a good deal as well as being the main contact who they can trust.

Hiring a managing agent is a total waste of money imho.

 

[nwgull]

Leaders want £60.00 from us to stay in our place for another year. This seems to consist of them sending us a letter.

Don't pay it. Your Assured Shorthold Tenancy will automatically become a periodic tenant when it expires, and there is absolutely no 'admin' required by anyone for this. You still get 2 months notice under periodic tenancy, and assuming that you're decent tenants, I'm sure your landlord would rather have you stay paying rent than having an empty property.

 

[hola gus]

Glad this has been highlighted. Am looking to the rent for the 1st time since my house was sold. Need a 2 bed place anywhere from hove town hall out to Lancing town centre and anywhere in between and have a budget of £700pcm. Am I likely to get anything nice or am I being optimistic? Any advice would help

 

[sir albion]

Yep agree its a shocking amount but it's well known so most expect it.You also pay a fee when you renew for another year etc.

 

[sir albion]

Glad this has been highlighted. Am looking to the rent for the 1st time since my house was sold. Need a 2 bed place anywhere from hove town hall out to Lancing town centre and anywhere in between and have a budget of £700pcm. Am I likely to get anything nice or am I being optimistic? Any advice would help

With deposits and fee's you'll need about £1850 to move in

 

[hola gus]

With deposits and fee's you'll need about £1850 to move in

Fantastic!

 

[Westdene Seagull]

As a landlord I used agents for my first two rents and then NEVER again. The tenants they found me were awful. I now use Gumtree and have never had a problem. If you're a landlord using an agent to "manage" your property then you're an idiot. Make sure you get to know reliable tradesmen and you can easily manage your own property. Letting Agents rip off landlords and tenants alike.

And Leaders really ARE the bottom of a scummy barrel.

 

[Josky]

As a landlord, I used one agency to find a tenant for the property and was a bit annoyed at the amount I was charged, plus all the admin bits for credit checks, etc.

A year later, I decided to move to somewhere bigger and rented a property FROM them and saw how it all works from a tenant's point of view. I cannot believe the money they tried to justify taking - £350 admin, security deposit, etc - especially as I thought I was footing most of this as the landlord.

PLUS, they wanted a £35 cash handling fee for giving them the deposit in cash (nothing untoward, I just had to take cash from different sources).

They're idiots. I'm never using a letting agents again to rent out my properties. Like one of the other landlords who posted on here - when I have a property available, it'll be Gumtree for me.

 

[The Wookiee]

Glad this has been highlighted. Am looking to the rent for the 1st time since my house was sold. Need a 2 bed place anywhere from hove town hall out to Lancing town centre and anywhere in between and have a budget of £700pcm. Am I likely to get anything nice or am I being optimistic? Any advice would help

Think you might struggle for a two bed for £700pcm especially in Brighton and Hove, might be better off going to Worthing

 

[hola gus]

Think you might struggle for a two bed for £700pcm especially in Brighton and Hove, might be better off going to Worthing

Worthing really is a little too far west. Am hoping to maybe find something in Lancing or Shoreham. Thanks anyway

 

[Woodchip]

In NZ the letting fee is normally 1 weeks rent + GST (VAT). So for a £700 pcm place you'd pay a fee of £185.

Seems so much more reasonable.