• Login
  • Join
  • Access Problems
  • Status
GRL Landlord Association
  • RH (Wales) Act
  • Home
  • Pricing
  • Subscribers
  • Services/Discounts
  • Forms
  • Recent
  • Contact
  • Find Answers
    • England Guidance
    • Wales Guidance
    • Housing Changes Timeline (E/W)
    • Admin/Tech Support
    • Search Website
    • Weekly Digest (Subscribe)
  • Ask a Question
    • Ask Question
    • View Questions
    • Your Q & A Activity (from Sept 2020)
Select Page

Tenant Fees Ban on the Way for Wales

by guildy | 13 Nov 2018 | New Legislation, News, Tenant Fees (Wales) | 1 comment

Tenant Fees Ban on the Way for Wales

The tenant fees ban for letting agents is likely to stretch across Wales if a new law is passed by the Welsh Assembly.

Lawmakers in Wales are already replacing assured shorthold tenancies with new standard contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, which may to come into force as soon as 2019.

Now, they have introduced the Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Bill to axe charges connected to agreeing a new tenancy or renewing an existing contract.

The new bill will list the payments landlords and letting agents can charge, which are expected to cap security and holding deposits.

Documents published introducing the bill explain that private rented homes make up 15% of the housing stock in Wales, but renting a home is becoming harder for many people due to the cost of upfront fees.

“Unregulated fees being charged to tenants by letting agents and others have been highlighted as the main barrier to many people accessing the market and good quality rented housing,” says the report.

“Tenants within the private rented sector spend a higher proportion of their income paying the costs of renting their homes than owner occupiers or those within social housing. The impact of additional costs is consequently greater. Action is therefore needed to restrict such costs to ensure the sector can be accessed by those needing or wishing to rent privately.”

Welsh Assembly research highlighted that high fees were unjustified.

“These issues included a wide variation in fees charged by letting agents for a particular service with no real justification for the variation; a lack of clarity on what exactly the fee covers; and a real lack of choice for potential tenants,” said the report.

If tenant fees are banned in Wales, the measurer will bring the country into line with England, where similar laws are expected in April 2019 and Scotland, where fees have been outlawed since 2012.

1 Comment

  1. Tracey
    Tracey on 14/11/2018 at 12:18 pm

    We are a small, reputable Letting Agent in South Wales, who has been trading for over 18 years. Taking away these fees will make by business insolvent.
    We charge reasonable fees to both Landlords and Tenants. These fees cover the costs of setting up new Tenancies, eg. ink, paper, telephone calls, advertising and paying an employee.
    Without the fees we charge, we would not be a viable business.

Coronavirus Guidance

View now ...

Discounted landlords buildings insurance

Landlords Building Insurance

Guild subscribers can get preferential rates for landlords buildings insurance especially designed for landlords

Read more ...

Tenant Referencing Service

Tenant Referencing

Tenant Referencing Service

Read more ...

Recent Articles

  • Sub-occupation contracts (Subletting) (Wales) 19/05/2022
  • Exclusion of Contract-Holder From Dwelling for Specified Periods (Wales) 18/05/2022
  • Landlord’s Consent Under Occupation Contract (Wales) 17/05/2022
  • Fire Safety Act 2021 17/05/2022
  • Service of Documents (Occupation Contracts) (Wales) 16/05/2022

Navigation

  • RH (Wales) Act
  • Home
  • Pricing
  • Subscribers
  • Services/Discounts
  • Forms
  • Recent
  • Contact
  • Find Answers
    • England Guidance
    • Wales Guidance
    • Housing Changes Timeline (E/W)
    • Admin/Tech Support
    • Search Website
    • Weekly Digest (Subscribe)
  • Ask a Question
    • Ask Question
    • View Questions
    • Your Q & A Activity (from Sept 2020)

Navigation

  • RH (Wales) Act
  • Home
  • Pricing
  • Subscribers
  • Services/Discounts
  • Forms
  • Recent
  • Contact
  • Find Answers
    • England Guidance
    • Wales Guidance
    • Housing Changes Timeline (E/W)
    • Admin/Tech Support
    • Search Website
    • Weekly Digest (Subscribe)
  • Ask a Question
    • Ask Question
    • View Questions
    • Your Q & A Activity (from Sept 2020)

Subscribers

  • Login
  • Join
  • Access Problems
  • Status

Please login

Please login to see your active subscriptions and account links.

Terms, About Us and Status

General terms and conditions

Website terms

Privacy policy

About Us

Status

(c) Guild of Residential Landlords

Recent Articles

  • Sub-occupation contracts (Subletting) (Wales) 19/05/2022
  • Exclusion of Contract-Holder From Dwelling for Specified Periods (Wales) 18/05/2022
  • Landlord’s Consent Under Occupation Contract (Wales) 17/05/2022
  • Fire Safety Act 2021 17/05/2022
  • Service of Documents (Occupation Contracts) (Wales) 16/05/2022
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • RSS