Letting agents who charge “extortionate” fees are set to be named and shamed by one local authority.
Southend Council’s ruling cabinet has backed a call by two independent councillors, Tino Callaghan and Laurence Davies, to publicise agents charging high admin fees.
Davies said: “Registration fees can be astronomical and we have spoken to many tenants who have been caught out.
“There is definitely some deception going on and we would really like to bring that to light.
“The council can’t enforce anything but they can name and shame those who are not acting in the best interests of the public.
“A lot of people just accept the fees and are afraid that if they don’t, they will lose the property.
“I would advise any Southend residents to report to the council if they believe they have been misled or ripped off.
“And if you are looking for a property, try and go private because it is a form of boycotting the estate agents and then they will have to change their ways.
“We are still investigating and are reluctant to release any names before we have finished.”
There is as yet no definition of what “high” fees could be, according to the local newspaper report
Comments (6)
Naming and shaming. Just a way of deflecting from their own bad practices. Just get on with enforcing the rules already in place to regulate agents such as making sure their fees are clearly advertised! This agent bashing is tired and old. It is a service industry and as such will require a fee to, shock horror, stay in business. Why does everyone have to stamp all over any success? Since when is a business not allowed to cover its costs let only turn a profit?
I agree on stopping rogue agents and unfair fees but not at the detriment of stifling an industry. All it will end up doing is seeing off the fair and reliable agents and leaving the dodgy ones and in turn increasing the costs to the landlords and ultimately the tenants. It really is madness at how short sighted some governing bodies really are. Its not only the agency directly effected but also the staff, contractors and clients.
“And if you are looking for a property, try and go private because it is a form of boycotting the estate agents and then they will have to change their ways”
That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard, avoid fees maybe but enter a tenancy where your deposit isn’t registered, you can’t prove that the person your renting from owns the property, no professional advice perhaps not even an inventory to protect dedcution from your deposit, could all in all end up costing your more than an admin fee. Why not just do your research on your letting agents and stick with the ones you trust.
No, I am all for this.
I feel that our agency is one of the good guys and we see no enforcement against the rogues. If anything it would be nice for the Council to use the existing powers they have. But all those cancelled parking tickets are not going to allow enough resources and manpower to do the job.
In the absence of a cap on fees, naming and shaming agents for setting higher fees could be problematic for a local authority.
Instead, the council could enforce the existing rules that require a list of all landlord and tenant fees to be displayed in-store and on each agent’s website. Anyone seeing a list of ‘extortionate fees’ can then take their business elsewhere.
Councils naming and shaming, wow!! If we turn the spot light on some of the things that they do, it’s just as bad. Look at parking enforcement; most councils reject the initial challenge and it is only when an independent adjudicator gets involved that the tickets get cancelled. What’s worse is that even when your ticket is cancelled for a technical issue where the council had failed to do something, the councils do not automatically refund all the others who paid for the particular offense. So, they are the last people who should be naming and shaming.
Can we do the same with council offices, who despite increasing council tax demands still fail to deliver local,infrastructure and services?