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Private tenants and landlords are routinely being left out of pocket by letting agents who impose unjustified and excessive charges of more than £600 in some cases.

According to Citizens Advice, 94% of the letting agents it looked at imposed up to seven additional charges on people moving into a rented property, excluding their tenancy deposit and rent advance, with the extra sums demanded adding up to more than £600 in some cases.

It said the additional charges often included a non-returnable holding deposit, a deposit administration charge, a reference check charge, an administration fee, an inventory charge and a renewal fee.

The charity found that charges differ wildly from agent to agent, with fees for checking references ranging from £10 to £275, while the charge for renewing a tenancy ranged from £12 to £200. It also uncovered a lot of double charging, with some agents billing both tenants and landlords for the same service.

Citizens Advice said people renting privately were being badly let down by a system that allowed agents to operate completely unchecked, often providing a poor or non-existent service.

David Harker, chief executive of Citizens Advice, says: "Government plans to regulate letting agents don't go far enough. They must include a ban on additional charges, which can be a huge barrier for people on low and even average incomes.

"While many tenants receive a good service, others are not so lucky, finding themselves paying through the nose for an unprofessional and unresponsive service, sometimes forced to live in dangerous conditions and losing large sums of money if the agent goes out of business."

A letting agent is crucial to the success of your business, but a letting agent that makes money from your hard work and your tenant is not good news. Always check out your agent if you use one, talk to your tenant about what they are charged – because if they are being ripped off, then your rent is then at risk and that's unfair on everyone.

SOURCE: Citizens Advice, 21/05/09

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