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Scottish Tenants Incurring the Cost of “Illegal Fees” (25 November 2011)

Date: 25/11/2011
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Scottish Tenants Incurring the Cost of “Illegal Fees”

Letting agents in Scotland have been found to have been cashing in on the naivety of their tenants by requesting that they meet the cost of illegal fees, according to the housing charity, Shelter. The charity claims that many of the tenants who responded to a survey were unaware of the fact that they were not required to incur the cost of the extra charges. Current law prohibits prospective tenants from incurring the cost of “premiums”, in addition to deposit and rent, up front. Yet Shelter claims that the majority of letting agents surveyed asked tenants to pay a pre-tenancy cost. Graeme Brown, the director of Shelter in Scotland, has described the letting agencies’ charges as a rip-off.

Additional charges that were discovered by the charity in its undercover exercise included administration fees for the drawing up of a lease or for the acquisition of a credit reference. The charity found that the majority of tenants were not aware that they had a right to challenge such charges. Mr Brown maintains that such costs are business costs and they should be paid for either by the letting agency or the owner of the property to be rented. Because of its findings, the charity has urged the Scottish Government to clarify the law even more.

A Scottish Government spokesperson maintained Shelter’s stance on the premiums and added that the charging of illegal fees could pose a barrier to those who wish to move into rented housing.

Duncan Lewis’ housing solicitors are experts at dealing with disputes between both tenants and property owners and tenants and letting agencies.

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