Landlords urged to negotiate on renewal fees

News Category: Legal

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Property owners have been advised to negotiate renewable fee charges when setting up an agreement with an estate agent.

Tom Entwistle, editor of online letting industry advisory portal Landlordzone.co.uk, said landlords should examine terms with their agents because they would be agreeing to a legal contract.

However, before it is signed, all issues such as fees are negotiable with the agent supplying the contract, he noted.

"You need to read the contract carefully and, where necessary, negotiate on renewals and things like this," Mr Entwistle said.

He added that some agents like to charge the original fee for setting up a tenancy again upon renewal.

This follows a survey by the National Landlords Association last week which revealed that more than 70 per cent of landlords think renewal fees charged by letting agents for renewing properties on a let-only basis were "unfair".

Some agents in London and the south-east were found to be charging fees of about 11 per cent for this type of tenancy renewal.

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