Generation Rent Launches List of Letting Agent Fees in London

Tenant lobby group Generation Rent has created a new website to help London tenants find the best letting agent in their area.

The organisation has researched letting agent fees in the London boroughs of Croydon, Ealing, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. It hopes that by publishing the fees, tenants will save themselves potentially hundreds of pounds, and letting agents may bring their costs down.

The list of local letting agents in these areas and the fees they charge to tenants can be found here: http://lettingfees.co.uk

Since May 2015, letting agents have been required to publish details of the fees they charge to tenants and landlords on their website and in a prominent position in each branch.

Generation Rent has revealed that about one in four have not complied with this law and has reported them to their local councils to investigate.

Using volunteers, the body has been able to compile a comprehensive list of the typical fees from local letting agents.

Waltham Forest Renters was the first group to help Generation Rent, by investigating fees in the area in June. In the northeast borough, rents have increased by a third in the last two years and demand appears to have encouraged agents to charge the highest average tenant fee for the typical two-person household (out of the four boroughs) at £489.

Ealing was the cheapest on average, at £374.

Tower Hamlets has both the most expensive letting agent and the cheapest. The priciest, Skampi, charges £900 per couple, while Tabiner imposes a cost of just £40.

As competition for rental properties is very fierce, it can sometimes be impossible to choose a letting agent. However, Generation Rent hopes that by releasing this information, tenants will be able to avoid the rogues.

And the Government believes that this transparency will bring letting agent fees down. If it does, Generation Rent will update the figures on its site. Tenants can also report an incorrect fee.

Meanwhile, the group is working alongside volunteers in 13 other local council areas in England and the site is set to be updated soon. If you wish to research letting agent fees in your own area, you can register on the website here: http://lettingfees.co.uk/explore/