Research boosts Office of Fair Trading's case against high letting fees

Posted: 05 Jun 2008 13:16:48 GMT

Landlords in the south of the country are unhappy with the fees they have to pay their letting agent, according to new research.

Landlords in the south of the country are unhappy with the fees they have to pay their letting agent, according to new research.

The National Landlords Association (NLA) found that buy-to-let investors in the south east were paying five to 15 per cent of the annual rental income of their property to agents.

More than 500 landlords were surveyed and 88 per cent said the fees would discourage them from employing a letting agent.

John Socha, vice-chairman of the NLA, said: "The NLA fully supports the Office of Fair Trading's attempts to stop agents being able to charge these fees and we look forward to the case being brought in the High Court."

Mr Socha argued that agents are getting "money for nothing" on 'let only' deals as, once tenants are in place, the landlord gets no added value for their fee.

Landlords outside of London and the south east fare much better with the NLA survey revealing that most are likely to pay a minimal fixed fee of just £50.

© Houseladder Ltd