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Today Government launched its long awaited consultation into banning letting agent fees.
It proposes to introduce legislation which will mean that “no agent will be able to charge tenants any fees, premiums or charges that meet the general definition of facilitating the granting, renewal or continuance of a tenancy.”
Commenting on the launch of the consultation, Isobel Thomson, CEO of NALS said:
“The proposals in today’s consultation announcement are an unwarranted attack on good landlords and professional lettings businesses. We want to see a fair, stable PRS for all, but this is not the way to achieve it.
“The measures are a misguided attempt to help tenants which will only serve to hit the most vulnerable and make their access to the private rented sector even less attainable. We believe the implementation of a fee ban will drive the charging of fees underground which inevitably weak enforcement will fail to pick up.
“NALS has very real concerns that this will place intolerable pressure on smaller agents. There are no winners in this proposed move by Government.
“The consultation has a long way to go, and we urge all agents to contribute their views to ensure government gets a full picture of the impact of the ban. We will continue to engage with Government through our work with the Fair Fees Forum which informed officials ahead of the consultation of the work an agent carries out on behalf of the tenant.“
The consultation will run for the next eight weeks, closing on 2 June 2017.
