Friday 23 November 2012

Petition to End Letting Agent Fees.



Quick new post: excellent e-petition. Hope it makes a difference!

Also - not every browser allows reader to see the links I post. Sorry about that! Here it is in text form so that non firefox users can copy and paste into their browser:

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/37757

14 comments:

ppiixx said...

Your link has no text which is why it is invisible.

This petition?

RenterGirl said...

You can see the text when using firefox.

RenterGirl said...

Here is the link:

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/37757

Copy and paste into your browser.

Dazzla said...

Signed and passed on. This needs to happen, but I can't see the political will developing, especially while we have the 'party of homeowners' in power and so much of the economy is propped up on the mouldy foam-rubber mattress foundations of buy-to-let

space cadet said...

Don't forget to look out for - and click on - the "confirmation required" email that hits your inbox.

Scotland can do away with fees, so can England.

Anonymous said...

New to this blog but very interesting indeed.
@dazzla, have I missed something??

Is 'so much of the economy is propped up on the mouldy foam-rubber mattress foundations of buy-to-let'.

Is this really a fact??

Anonymous said...

Don't want to be a pedant,

This petition is growing VERY slowly right now, about 7-10 signatures a day.

I hope we're all serious about changing the status quo, so let's share this on Facebook and everywhere else, with our friends, etc... We need more signatures if anything is going to happen.

Anonymous said...

Most landlords when instructing agencies don't know they are charging silly fees.

I am sorry to say people like you don't help, landlords either.

Tenants have campaigned for Deposit Protection Scheme. It has made things complicated. It means now tenants charged to for Inventories. I used to do them myself, but am told they are not worth it unless done indepently, if there is a dispute.

Plus, you need an independent record, that everything in the property was safe and sound.


Credit Check. Some tenants turning up with Id borrowed from friends and having friends pretend to be Landlords for references. Agencies out of pocket when they do credit check. Landlord looses rents. Now fees charged to tenant, to avoid this issue.

Dazzla said...

@Anyonymous

Are you saying that you don't want to pay the costs of doing business in a legal, ethical manner?

Don't do the business then. It's your choice.

Anonymous said...

Dazzla - "Are you saying that you don't want to pay the costs of doing business in a legal, ethical manner?"

Like the way you twist the truth.

No point talking to people like you.

Anon

Dazzla said...

@Anonymous

So you've stepped outside your bubble for a few minutes and found that there are people who disagree with you, people with valid arguments who are prepared to follow them to their conclusion.

You'd better get used to talking to 'people like me', sunbeam, because there are more and more of us. And we're not going to shut up just because you wish we would.

RenterGirl said...

Hi there Anon! I'm so very sorry you were daft enough to beleive anyone who told you that you need 'professional' inventory for use with the Tenancy deposit Protection Scheme. You don't. Just one signed by both parties. As for blaming 'people like me' - do you mean tenants who had thousands of pounds deducted/scammed/stolen from unprotected deposits? Still, it's the cost of running business: a business you will profit from. One that you - a landlord should pay.

Anonymous said...

RenterGirl: We can both agree about high Letting Fees are unfair. I don't like tenants having to waste money.

You say I am 'daft' for having a 'professional' inventory. I would have agreed with you, however, I changed my mind. I heard of cases of tenants making false malicious complaints about Landlords. The INDEPENDENT inventory was the only proof the property was given in good condition. It holds more weight in Court, if done independently. Otherwise the tenants will claim, they were pressured into signing the Landlord's inventory.


Anon

Anonymous said...

RenterGirl: As a private landlord, I used to advertise my property privatly. I never used to charge for referencing. However, I did get screwed around. They think that because I am not a letting agents, they can fob me off.

I got peopel who gave me either fake references or those belonging to other people. I wasted money both on referencing (and also lost rent on account).

You can't keep wasting money on FREE referencing.

This is why a lot of letting agencies are charging for referencing, if the tenant is paying for their own referencing, they are less likely to pass-off with fake documents, because they are spending their own money.

There has to be a better way, then to reference each time you want to move. If you move ever two years. In 10 years, it could cost £200 x 5 = £1,000.

There has to be a better way.....