We welcome the Tenant Fees Bill and we are pleased that the Bill received cross-party support in the House of Commons. The Government’s intention to make private rented accommodation more accessible is positive. Excessive letting agent fees are a concern for many tenants and councils.
Key messages
- We welcome the Tenant Fees Bill and we are pleased that the Bill received cross-party support in the House of Commons. The Government’s intention to make private rented accommodation more accessible is positive. Excessive letting agent fees are a concern for many tenants and councils.
- Councils will have responsibility for enforcing the ban in their areas, and require additional resources to do so. We are pleased that the Government has listened to our calls and recognised the need for up-front funding, by committing £500,000 for the first year.
- The Government intends councils’ enforcement work to be funded through fines recouped after the first year. Allowing councils to keep money from fines is helpful, but may not address the cost of the necessary proactive work.
- We welcome the pre-legislative report of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee. The report describes the current funding model as a ‘perverse disincentive’ for councils to engage proactively and cooperatively with landlords and tenants.
- Councils will require clear and timely guidance from the Government in order to enforce the ban effectively. Local authorities want to bring about consistency in enforcement across the country. There should also be a national information campaign to make tenants and landlords aware of the new rules.
- We support the designation of a lead enforcement authority for the ban. National Trading Standards (NTS) already provides lead authority expertise on a range of issues, and we would support NTS providing the lead enforcement role.