HAMMOND’S RENTAL BOOMERANG: INDUSTRY BODIES RESPOND TO BAN ON LETTING AGENT FEES

Commenting on the Autumn Statement, Richard Lambert, Chief Executive Officer at the National Landlords Association (NLA), said:

_The new Chancellor is clearly aware of the pressures facing those living in the private-rented sector, but in attempting to improve affordability he has shown that, like his predecessor, he lacks an understanding of how the whole sector works.

_There_s no doubt that some unscrupulous agents have got away with excessive fees and double-charging landlords and tenants for far too long.ÿ Banning letting agent fees will be welcomed by private tenants, at least in the short-term, because they won_t realise that it will boomerang back on them.

_Agents will have no other option than to shift the fees on to landlords, which many will argue is more appropriate, since the landlord employs the agent.ÿ But adding to landlords_ costs, on top of restricting their ability to deduct their business costs from their taxable income, will only push more towards increasing rents_.

 

Richard Price, Executive Director at the UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA) said:

_Arbitrary bans sound appealing as a quick fix, but the problem of affordability in the private-rented cannot be addressed by preventing legitimate businesses from charging for their services.

_A ban on agent fees may prevent tenants from receiving a bill at the start of the tenancy, but the unavoidable outcome will be an increase in the proportion of costs which will be met by landlords, which in turn will be passed on to tenants through higher rents.

_UKALA agents strive to provide a premium service which represents excellent value for money and this ban will place in jeopardy hundreds of professional businesses in order to deal with the few unscrupulous_.

For further information, please contact:

Sam Haidar
PR Manager, NLA/ UKALA

EAN Content

Content shared by this account is either news shared free by third parties or sponsored (paid for) content from third parties. Please be advised that links to third party websites are not endorsed by Estate Agent Networking - Please do your own research before committing to any third party business promoted on our website. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

You May Also Enjoy

Home and Living

High Quality Modular Homes for the UK

Are you looking for added accommodation space in your garden / on your land? Modular Living Homes by tutumHOUSE offer a new way to live – minimalist in form, rich in experience. “There are approximately 9.6 million homes in the UK with a garden shed, and around 52% of the population owns one.” asgardsss There…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

The most stressful places to move to in the UK

With more people in the UK moving homes during summer than any other season and the average cost of moving in the UK rising to over £14,000, picking the right place to move to has become more crucial than ever. Luckily, new research from Pay Less for Storage reveals the UK cities that make life easiest…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Time-Traveling Estate Agent Sequel Climbs Amazon Charts

A UK Estate Agent Currently Bringing Joy to People’s Lives – Shame He’s Fictional…   Eric Meek, the fictional estate agent created by author Dale Bradford, is back for a second outing in The Time‑Travelling Estate Agent 2, a sequel that is already climbing Amazon’s bestselling time‑travel rankings. Estate agents were recently highlighted as the third…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Is it finally time for lenders to back green homes?

Andrew Smith weighs the risks and rewards Property developers are increasingly pitching green homes to lenders; however, with sales cycles slowing down and repair costs rising, is now the right time to back sustainable builds and at what price point is there market demand? Sustainability is continuing to shape our future of construction with the…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 24/07/25

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   OpticWise – digital infrastructure in commercial real estate If your building were a product, how would it perform on the user experience scale?  Week 9: Experience as Infrastructure – Designing for Human-Centric Buildings Welcome to Week 9 of our 52-week journey into the future…
Read More
new build homes colchester essex
Breaking News

UK Housebuilding Falters as Construction Hiring Flatlines

New research from Inventory Base reveals that UK construction industry employment has increased by almost 11% in the past five years, but there has been less than 1% growth in the past 12 months. Inventory Base’s analysis of the UK construction industry shows that in 2024 (latest data available) it employed an estimated total of…
Read More