For some time there has been an increasing awareness of and focus on the fees that Letting Agents charge to Tenants.

This is a consequence of the growth of the private rental market, the increase in rents and of course the fact that we are now only two months away from the next General Election!
The most important thing about any charges that a Tenant has to pay, is transparency. Here at Hannells, we have always made our fees entirely clear to Tenants from the outset so that they are able to take all costs into account when making a decision. As of last year, this was taken one step further with the Advertising Standards Agency making a ruling that all adverts for rental property had to make it clear if any fees were payable in addition to the rent and deposit.

The Labour Party introduced a vote in the House of Commons on the 13^th May 2014 to ban all Letting Agent fees to Tenants. This proposal was defeated by a majority of 53 votes but as it looks like this will be an issue that remains in the spotlight for some time, it is worth looking at the benefits that Tenants receive from working with a professional and regulated Letting Agency. The main benefits to Tenants fall within 3 main categories; Protection, Convenience and Service.

Protection – First and foremost, when a Tenant rents a property through a regulated Letting Agency, they receive security that their money is protected. As members of ARLA and SafeAgent, we are required to hold a ring-fenced Tenants account and have an accountants audit carried out annually to ensure that all Tenants money is properly accounted for as well as holding an insurance policy to protect our Tenants funds. Our Tenants also have the protection of knowing who they are dealing with and can feel secure in paying over any monies when dealing with a Letting Agent. Whilst of course there are many genuine Landlords renting out their own properties there are also always unscrupulous people looking to defraud people and there are often horror stories about Tenants who have handed over money to someone at the property who later turns out not to be the owner and is never heard from again!

Convenience – Generally speaking it is often far more convenient for a Tenant to rent a property through an Agent rather than going directly to a Landlord. A good Letting Agent will advertise their properties widely including lots of photo’s and a floor-plan within their advert allowing the Tenant to easily decide whether or not a potential property would be of interest or not. A Letting Agent will also be easily contactable by either phone or e-mail and will also be flexible over viewing times and be able to show the property at weekends, late evenings or whenever is convenient for a Tenant. Clearly, a Landlord looking to rent out their own property will often have to arrange viewings around their own work schedules and in particular, may not be able to carry out viewings at short notice.

Service – A professional Letting Agent will have a good reputation and will work hard to ensure that they keep this. It is very easy for a Tenant to have a quick look at an Estate Agent review website such as www.allagents.co.uk to see what sort of service they are likely to receive from a Letting Agent. Many Landlords looing to rent their properties directly will also offer a good service but it is of course much more difficult for a Tenant to be sure on what sort of service they are likely to receive. Renting through a regulated Letting Agency will also mean that Tenants have an independent body that they can raise any complaints to if they are not happy with the standard of service that they receive.

This is not an exhaustive list but it represents just a few of the many benefits that Tenants receive when renting a property through a regulated professional Letting Agency. It is for this reason that renting via an Agent remains the the most popular option for many Tenants despite the fact that there are costs connected to this. Provided that the fees charged to Tenants are transparent, clearly explained and not excessive, it seems only reasonable that a Tenant should incur some charges from their Letting Agent.