Blogs > Life in the UK

Agency letting fees banned in England

• August 02, 2019

From 1^st June 2019, the UK Government put a ban on tenancy fees to reduce the costs that tenants can face at the outset and throughout a tenancy.

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 states all payments ‘in connection with the tenancy of housing in England are prohibited unless they are one of the prescribed ‘permitted payments.’’

You will now be able to look at what a property will cost you in the advertisement rent with no hidden costs.

Payments Permitted

The only payment a landlord or letting agent can charge to their tenants in the new contract are:

• Rent
• A refundable tenancy deposit
• A refundable holding deposit to reserve a property capped at no more than 1 week’s rent
• Payments associated with early termination of the tenancy, when requested by the tenant
• Payments capped at £50 for the variation, assignment or novation of a tenancy
• A default fee for late payment of rent and replacement of a lost key/security device giving access to the house, where required under a tenancy agreement

Penalties

Landlords or agents found to be charging illegal fees after today can be fined up to £5,000 for a first offence. If they break the rules again within five years, they will face an unlimited fine.

Cap on Deposits

The Act also introduces a cap for tenancy deposits. If your annual rent is less than £50,000, the maximum you have to pay is five weeks’ rent. If the annual rent is £50,000 or more, up to six weeks’ rent can be required.

When renting a property in the UK, use the below checklist to stay safe:

• Is the landlord trying to charge you fees? As mentioned in this post, this is now illegal to do so
• What can you afford?
• Which area would you live to live in?
• Do you have your documents ready? You will need to confirm your identity, immigration status, credit history and your employment status
• Will you need a rent guarantee?

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References

GOV.UK. (2019). Tenant Fees Act. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tenant-fees-act [Accessed 2 Aug. 2019].

Legal Cheek. (2019). Tenant Fees Act 2019: Goodbye to unfair letting charges? - Legal Cheek. [online] Available at: https://www.legalcheek.com/lc-journal-posts/tenant-fees-act-2019-say-goodbye-to-unfair-letting-charges/ [Accessed 2 Aug. 2019].

MoneySavingExpert.com. (2019). Letting fees to be banned from June. [online] Available at: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2019/01/letting-fees-to-be-banned-from-june/ [Accessed 2 Aug. 2019].