Letting agents’ fees to be banned in Autumn Statement in welcome move for London renters

End of fees?: Letting agents' fees are poised to be axed by chancellor Philip Hammond
Rex
Jamie Bullen23 November 2016

Chancellor Philip Hammond is set to scrap letting agents’ fees in his Autumn Statement in a welcome move for London renters.

At the moment, tenants can be charged fees for a range of administration including references and credit or immigration checks.

Renters also face charges when agents draw up tenancy agreements which charities say have rocketed in recent years.

But Mr Hammond is poised to announce a move to shift the costs from tenants to landlords, which he says will save 4.3 million households hundreds of pounds.

Changes: The Chancellor is set to scrap letting agents' fees in his Autumn Statement
PA

The measure will be announced in his Autumn Statement on Wednesday along with plans to boost construction of affordable homes.

The move is set to be particularly welcome in the capital where renters who use a letting agency face average upfront costs of more than £2,000 when combined with rent in advance and a deposit, according to Shelter.

Latest research by the English Housing Survey showed fees typically cost £223 but a Shelter study commissioned in 2012 found one in seven tenants fork out more than £500.

Labour and Lib Dem campaigners have previously called for a ban on letting fees but Conservative housing minister Gavin Barwell tweeted in September the move was a “bad idea”.

He argued landlords would pass the cost onto tenants by increasing their rents.

The National Landlords Association chief executive Richard Lambert agreed the cost would “boomerang” back onto private tenants.

Shelter chief executive Campbell Robb said he welcomed the measures in the Autumn Statement.

He said: “Millions of renters in England have felt the financial strain of unfair letting agent fees for far too long, so we’re delighted with the government’s decision to ban them. We’ve long been campaigning on this issue and it’s great to see that the government has taken note.

“Our recent survey found that nearly half of renters had been asked to pay fees that they thought were too high, with many having to borrow money every time they move, so this will make a huge difference to all those scraping by in our expensive, unstable renting market.”

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