Tenants have a lack of understanding when it comes to regulations that have been introduced to protect them, research claims.
A poll of 2,000 tenants by online agent MakeUrMove found that 85% had no idea what the tenant fee ban meant for them.
Tenants were unsure what fees they would still have to pay and whether costs would be passed on in rent.
Another 41% said they don’t understand deposit protection, with 32% also not knowing their rights for getting their deposit back.
Additionally, half didn’t know who was responsible for looking after their home’s garden, decorating or undertaking minor repairs.
Alexandra Morris, managing director of MakeUrMove, said: “While the Government is adamant that certain legislation have been brought in to protect tenants, the reality is it’s leading to additional confusion among tenants, many of whom already don’t understand their current position.
“The fact that such a high percent of tenants still don’t understand the implications of the impending tenant fees ban, despite it potentially coming into effect within the next few months, is particularly worrying.
“As letting agents we have a duty to educate both tenants and landlords about their rights and responsibilities, and this is something made much more complex by ever-changing regulations.”
Comments (9)
agree with the rest of the posters, it would have been more of a shock, if the article had said *they knew” what it meant for them
from my experience most agents struggled to understand deposit protection compliance and therefore get it wrong.
To the best of my knowledge, the deposit must be registered within 30days of being received/tenancy starting, whichever comes latest, and must be held in a government approved scheme. Once a Tenancy ends, a checkout must be done in a ‘reasonable’ timeframe, and the Tenant has the right to attend, although they do not have to. Personally I prefer it when they don’t, as it means I feel forced to make small talk for 45 minutes or so, whilst trying to concentrate on what I’m doing. The Landlord has 10 working days to respond to the Agent regarding any stoppages or return instructions.
There are probably things that I have missed, but that is basically the way I deal with deposits. I usually try to send a ‘cheque submission form’ out to the Tenant when I register it, to give them peace of mind that it has been registered, before the certificate is issued. And I always make sure that Tenants are told they do NOT have to accept any stoppages, and can refer it to the arbitration service if we cannot agree. Especially if I think the Landlord is being a tad harsh.
The deposit must be protected within 30 days of it being received by the landlord. The tenancy start date is irrelevant to the date of deposit protection – see section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 and section 184 of the Localism Act 2011.
I do not believe that there are any time scales laid down in law for the dealing with a deposit after the tenancy ends (apart from complying with court orders) although there may be conditions in the deposit scheme you use. Obviously you should try to deal with the deposit in a timely manner.
That is why I said whichever comes latest. We’ve had an occasion where a landlord rented a property out privately, with no deposit, and then decided he wanted to get an agent to deal with it, and a deposit. Obviously we took over several months after it started, so we registered it as soon as we received it. And some people pay their deposit a couple of weeks in advance, but we still protect them as quick as possible. I just like to have everything in order and organized to be done at the same time, and it always annoys me slightly when things are done out of order.
The garden is the Tenants responsibility, and as far as I am concerned, basic ‘freshen up’ painting etc is the Tenants as well. Yes, you would need permission to change the colour, but just to keep the place looking neat is down to the Tenant. And minor repairs, it all depends on the skill/knowledge of the Tenant and the repair. Change a pendant light bulb? Tenant. Change batteries? Tenant. Change taps? Landlord, unless the Tenant has the know-how to do it themselves.
And OF COURSE the fee ban means the cost will be passed on in higher rent! Is there anyone, apart from the Government, who didn’t think it would be??
Bit surprised at the amount that didn’t know about their deposit rights though… Although if they asked a couple of mine, who have never rented before, they might have got the same answer. I always give them the DPS terms and conditions at the start though, and go through it verbally and in writing when they hand in or are given notice.
Really? tenants don’t know what they will be charged after the ban? funny that …. no one does :o)
“85% had no idea what the tenant fee ban meant for them” – Higher Rent.
“half didn’t know who was responsible for looking after their home’s garden, decorating or undertaking minor repairs.” – Because they do not read the tenancy agreement.
“As letting agents we have a duty to educate both tenants and landlords about their rights and responsibilities, and this is something made much more complex by ever-changing regulations.” – Landlords yes, but it is not an agents requirement to advise tenants of their rights, this could be a breach of fiduciary duties.
Have I missed something? the tenant fee ban has not yet been passed; has it? or perhaps I blinked. Also I guess our landlord bashing government will without doubt push it through. My guess is that as many landlords as tenants will not be aware of it until it starts to bite and hits the wider news.
How on earth would a tenant know what the fee ban entails at this stage !