Landlords face 'money for nothing' agent fees

Landlords are facing paying letting agents 'money for nothing' of up to 15 per cent of their rental income.

The vast majority of landlords are aggrieved at renewal fees charged by letting agents on a 'let only' basis - calling the fees "money for nothing".

According to research from the National Landlords Association (NLA) – which represents the interests of 14,000 landlords in the UK – some 73 per cent of landlords view this type of fee in a negative light.

Particularly enraged are those in the south-east of England and London.

The survey results reveal those landlords with properties outside these key areas are likely to pay a fixed fee in the region of £50.

However, landlords leasing property in the rent-table topping south-east of England are forced to pay anything from five to fifteen per cent of the annual rental income just to keep the same tenants.

"Letting agents in London and the south-east must be laughing all the way to the bank," said NLA vice-chairman, John Socha.

"It is about time they stopped charging these 'money for nothing' fees if they want landlords to use their services.

"The truth is that landlords get no added value from letting agents on 'let only' deals once the tenants are in place, so why should they have to pick up the tab just to keep the same tenants."

In response the research also highlighted some 88 per cent of landlords believe these significant renewal fees actively discourage landlords from employing the services of a letting agent.

"With a typical 'let only' renewal fee at over ten per cent of annual rent, many landlords could be facing a figure running into the thousands," explained Mr Socha.

"The NLA fully supports the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) attempts to stop agents being able to charge these fees and we look forward to the case being brought in the High Court.

"We would also like to see a letting agent who is brave enough to go against the crowd and ditch these fees. We’re quite sure this would be a very popular move among landlords letting property in London and the south-east."

Chris O'Toole