It was announced on Wednesday 23rd November in The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s autumn statement that the government has taken the decision to declare their plans to dissolve tenant fees.
In a more recent statement made by the government they have confirmed that nothing will change until at least 2018, due to discussions being put on hold until Autumn 2017. But what will this all really mean and why have the government decided to announce such radical action against letting agents?
Pressures from charities and groups lobbying the government for fairer, more transparent fees for those letting properties has caused this response. However, these cries have come based on those unscrupulous and unregulated lettings agents in England, who prey on tenants and operate unfair policies.
This however, does not represent the majority of lettings agents in England, like Belgarum, who take great pride in ensuring they work with the regulatory bodies; to provide services in return for fees; following the basic principles of economics. The fees charged are a result of legislation in place to govern the lets that compiling agents adhere to, as many of the recent changes has led to further checks resulting in increased cost; which need to be passed on to the tenant as well as the landlord.
The announcement in the autumn statement did come as a bit of a shock, as most agents were not informed as to the proposed changes, nor were the legislative bodies either. Therefore, as one would expect, the respective bodies such as ARLA have requested to discuss the announcement to clarify with the government their intent. With a vote to be made in parliament and also royal approval to undertake we believe that this will take over a year to pass through the system.
Our standing is that we firmly believe that the government should clamp down on rogue letting agents, unfortunately we believe that this announcement means we have all been tarnished with the same brush. The industry is one that we love working within and we believe that we truly work hard to ensure that we match the right tenants with the right landlords.
We take great pride in being associated with ARLA, as a bonded agent we adhere to the regulations set out by this governing body. Our responsibility to ARLA and all of our clients means that we provide first class service and whilst we adhere to the regulations as set out by them.
If you have any concerns about this or any other lettings queries then please do not hesitate to contact either Lisa, John or Alex on 01962 844460 who would be happy to answer your questions. We are here to talk to Landlords and Tenants alike about the situation so pop in for a coffee and let us know your thoughts.
