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News: Letting agents' "dirty tricks" exposed

Tue, 09 Dec 14

A national newspaper has accused letting agents of seeking to boost their income by engaging in four “nasty tricks” which landlords and tenants should watch for.

The Daily Telegraph says that the first trick is evicting tenants who challenge high fees. This relates to a recent revelation in the same paper that four renters in an Islington house were evicted by the Next Move agency after questioning a £1,260 charge for changing two names on a tenancy agreement.

Abdul Azad, the agency’s director, is quoted as saying he doesn’t “remember the details” of the eviction, but said the £1,260 charge was justified. “We’re running a business, not a charity,” he said. “The cost reflects our time and energy.”

The second trick is, as the Telegraph puts it, agents who sting landlords or tenants with unexpected costs.

It cites an incorrect invoice sent to a landlord by London agency Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward, which allegedly charged over twice the expected fee for finding new tenants. KFH has subsequently apologised and said it would honour the agreed, lower fee.

But the paper says it is vital for landlords to get such costs agreed in writing. It then quotes a KFH invoice which is describes as containing “confusing charges and incomprehensible calculations” such as this: TA fee calculated as £210 plus £35 yet added up to £210.”

The third trick is the rejection of ‘perfect’ tenants by letting agents.

In this case the paper cites a case assessed by The Property Ombudsman where a tenant was rejected because of allegedly shoddy vetting procedures; the abortive vetting then cost the landlord £100 even thought TPO said the agent “failed to thoroughly investigate the matter” and the tenant was, in fact, perfectly suited for the property.

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