Calls for an end to 'unfair' lettings fees

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Landlords in London and the south-east are being unfairly charged tenancy renewal fees by letting agents, according to leading landlord's body.

The National Landlords Association (NLA) has claimed that the renewal commission payable to agents on residential lettings in the region is an unfair additional charge.

The NLA's vice-chairman, John Socha, called for an end to the practice where landlords pay as much as 11 per cent of the annual rent on a property in commission to a letting agent for the renewal of a contract.

"This regional anomaly has gone on far too long," Mr Socha argued. "It is totally unacceptable where a letting agent is purely renewing the contract for the next 12 months for the same tenants, that the landlord should pay a ten or 11 per cent commission."

"All landlords expect to pay a commission at the beginning of a tenancy, but with rents inLondon and the South East topping the tables, another fee of this size is simply unfair."

"There is no good reason for a significant renewal fee that doesn’t reflect the work undertaken by the letting agents in London and the surrounding towns and cities," he concluded.

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