The law is changing.

From the 1st June 2019, all new tenancies will fall under the new rules – tenants cannot be charged unreasonable letting agent fees.

Specifically, tenants will not have to pay for:

• Inventories and checking-in
• Credit check admin fees
• Guarantor processing fees
• Admin fees for processing references
• Tenancy renewals
• Amendments to tenancy agreements

Tenants will still need to pay:

• Their rent on time obviously
• A deposit – to be capped at no more than 6 weeks rent
• Council tax, utilities and communication services (phone line, broadband etc)
• Late payment fees
• Charges for replacing keys
• Damage to the property (explore our guide to calculating how much tenants should pay for repairs)
• The cost of replacing items missing at the end of the tenancy
• Early termination of the tenancy agreement
• Holding deposits to be capped at one week’s rent

The new rules, called the Tenant Fees Bill, will come into effect on the 1st June 2019 but won’t affect agreements signed prior to this date.

Read more about how this will affect tenants and landlords.

What Are The Current Average Letting Agent Fees in England?

Letting agencies often have a bad reputation for overcharging for admin work which is little more than copy-and-paste.

But is the bad reputation deserved?

Are letting agents “ripping off” tenants?

In January 2019, we contacted 26 letting agents in the south of the UK and asked them what fees they charge new tenants moving into a 2-bed property.

The table below reveals the average cost for each element: