Letting agents throughout Wales are warned that as from Monday, they will be under a new legal obligation to display fees.
It is thought that many will struggle to comply and some may find it impossible to meet the deadline, as they almost certainly would not have known of the requirement earlier.
There had been no prior warning, insists the Association of Residential Letting Agents, although a notification was dated a year ago. It is not clear who this notification was sent to at the time, but ARLA said they saw it only this week.
In an email this week to ARLA members, managing director David Cox says:
“Yesterday afternoon the Welsh Government issued notification that from Monday 23 November letting agents in Wales will have a legal obligation under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to publicise their fees.”
According to ARLA, the requirement in Wales forms part of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which required a ministerial or commencement order to become law in Wales.
That commencement order was finally made last month but it is not clear who was told of this by the Welsh Government.
The legal requirement for letting agents to show fees currently applies only in England, and came in on May 27 this year.
Monday, November 23, will be a milestone day for the lettings sector in Wales, as it will be the date of the launch of Rent Smart Wales.
However, ARLA says that previous communications about the launch date for Rent Smart Wales have not mentioned the compulsory display of fees or the Consumer Rights Act coming into effect on the same day.
David Cox, managing director of ARLA, is advising that agents must openly display a list of all fees, including any additional fees, charges or penalties.
The fees should be displayed including VAT, and agents must display fees at each office and on their websites.
ARLA has produced a fees template to support its members in meeting their legal obligations but is anxious that a number of agents, especially non-ARLA membeers, will be totally unaware of the requirement.
From Monday, under the new Rent Smart Wales regime, agents will have 12 months to register and become licensed – a mandatory requirement in Wales.
The notification is here
* The Renting Homes (Wales) Act was passed this week. It introduces two new types of occupation contract, which replace the majority of existing types of tenancy agreements. It also compels landlords to make repairs, and sets out to provide extra protection for tenants. Landlords will have to provide tenants with written statements of their rights.
Comments (5)
This actually made me laugh… It’s not hard to display fees… Here’s how…
1) Log into website… Create page… List fees… Save and publish… HAZAR, website updated!
2) Turn on computer… Open a MSWord document (or if you use Apple Macs, some weird Apple version)… Write out fees… Add header… Print… Save (for future use, of course)… Pin to wall… HAZAR, fees in the office!
Obviously, like England, hardly anyone will do it (especially if they’r e a big corporate) even though it wouldn’t even take an hour, but there you go
If compliance / enforcement is anything like in England, don’t expect to see too many agents displaying fees.
I may be wrong but if you go to Legislation.gov.uk and search for Consumer Rights Act 2015 (Commencement No. 2) (Wales) Order 2015 you will find this order was passed on the 21 October, though with strangely little publicity. You will see that on the 21 October (yes the day the order was made) brought Part 3 Chapter 3 of the Consumer Rights Act into force. Looking up Part 3 Chapter 3 you will find it is section 83 to 85 dealing with agent fees. I would have thought it was reasonable that it was therefore in force from the 21 October?
This is appalling journalism. If the author had bothered to check the date of the notification they will have noticed the date being the 17th November 2014 – more than a year ago!!! The Consumer Rights Act 2015 has long being In the process of implementation and has received much media coverage. Please stop with the sensationalising – this isn’t the Daily Mail.
This is insanity. If I didn’t have life-threatening Parkinson’s disease you’d be able to see me literally shaking with rage.
Good luck to our comrades in Wales.