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Landlords and tenants are being ripped off according to latest research by Direct Line for Business.
This is because both landlords and tenants are being both charged for the same service. This so called 'double dipping' is something that Ed Milliband has vowed to tackle if he gains power by outlawing letting agents from charging.
A classic case of where letting agents seek to gain money for nothing is where they charge a landlord and letting agent for needlessly creating a new 6 month Assured Shorthold Tenancy rather than allowing it to run on and become a periodic tenancy.
A recent report in the FT talked about one unamed South London letting agent charging £670 for a basic contract extension involving a change to the date on the Assured Shorthold Tenancy contract. The tenant was also charged £90 for the same service.
Personally, I'm not so annoyed at the double charging principle but the fact that landlords and tenants are charged needlessly for services such as tenancy renewals and contract extensions that aren't needed. This often comes about because landlords do not understand the legislation surrounding letting property.
Letting essentials - helping landlord to understand their rights
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1 comment:
If landlords and tenants are being FORCED to pay unnecessary fees perhaps it is because they do not understand the CONTRACTS they signed.
The answer is simple. read the contract, ask someone if you don't understand it and DON'T SIGN IT if you still don't understand it.
If you follow this you cannot be FORCED to pay something they you have not AGREED to.
Perhaps this should form the cornerstone of landlord licencing ? After all if the landlord doesn't understand what he is signing then can it be reasonable for that landlord to expect a tenant to sign or abide by something just because they say so ?
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