It’s been almost 12 months since @Jemma wrote about the ban on letting agent fees, and with the proposed deadline just around the corner, we thought it would be time for a quick round up on what to expect.
The Tenants Fee Bill has had it’s third reading and is expected to receive Royal Assent soon. Once it’s passed, it’s expected to come into force on 1st June 2019 for landlords in England (this is already law in Scotland, and being considered in Wales).
What will happen?
Once this comes into law, letting agents won’t be able to pass on fees for things such as checks, inventories and other services to the tenant. How they cope with this will be up to them - do they absorb the cost, or pass it onto the landlord as part of the service fees?
In some cases it can be expected to increase rent to deal with the change, however rents do have a limit, so how much it can be increased is debatable. Some areas, for example, are unlikely to be able to have rent increased too much because tenants won’t pay it. If the jobs aren’t there, or at least the wages, then who could afford it?
The effect on landlords
If a landlord is using an agent to manage their property for them, then it could be the case that they would be affected by the rate increase in the way of higher fees being charged to them. This however would be up to the individual agent.
So what can be done?
If you wish to stick with an agent, this is something you should discuss with them now, before the bill is passed and becomes law.
The other option would be to self manage your portfolio, but this can be time consuming and difficult - chasing rent, keeping on top of maintenance etc. However, this is where we’re proud to say Reoli can help. With a mobile friendly interface, automated rent collection and issue tracking, Reoli can help make things easier.
Find out more about the features Reoli has to offer.
If you’re interested, you can also check out the documents relating to the Tenant Fees Bill 2017-19.