Sneaky rental contracts cream £200,000 from unsuspecting Lincoln landlords.
And with news last week of a national letting agent being taken to court for scamming landlords with unclear contracts and high management costs, a local property management company is taking a stand.
Base Lettings & Management, based on the High Street in Lincoln, supports the High Court ruling against Foxton’s Estate Agents, as it believes that landlords should have a clear and transparent understanding of their charges.
Jonathan Lee, managing director of Base Lettings & Management said: “It’s so important that landlords know exactly what to expect when entering into an agreement with a management company. Based on the latest census* figures, letting agents have been taking up to £200,000 per year in unethical practices. This is simply unacceptable.
“In our experience, contracts can often be complex and difficult to understand, especially for first time landlords, so we are offering a free drop-in contract comparison where current landlords can bring their contracts along, and we can highlight and explain exactly what certain terms and clauses mean. We’ll also beat their current management company fees.”
Particular clauses highlighted by the High Court ruling included landlord charges if tenants decide to buy the property or when tenants extend their contracts and extra charges if tenants chose to extend their initial agreements, even if they were no longer managing the property.
“Some of Foxton’s contractual clauses are completely unethical!” added Jonathan. “Particularly the fees incurred if the tenants decided to buy the property. I personally do not agree with this being written into any agreement. At the end of the day, the lettings agent will have introduced the tenant to the property with a view to them renting the house, not buying it. To then claim a fee is completely unreasonable.
“For longer term landlords, on average it is two years from signing the contract, before they look at their contracts again. So we are actively encouraging all landlords to dig out their contracts, go through them with a fine toothcomb or bring them to us to go through, so we can ensure they are still getting the best possible offer.”
To organise a contract comparison, please call 01522 842550, drop into 453 High Street, Lincoln or visit www.baseletting.co.uk
Name and shame local letting agents for charging landlords unethical fees – buying property, extending existing tenancies, managing deposits (or £50 for allowing landlord to manage deposit!) and arbitration process (£100 for ‘preparing paperwork!).
Comment by Anonymous — 15/3/2010 #
Another big scam of ludicrous charging for nothing, is that of estates or management companies who own or manage the leases of properties purchased by landlords to let. Here they will charge a minimum fee plus VAT every time a tenant renews their AST, even short term lets. They do nothing to earn this charge and it should be thoroughly investigated and outlawed.
Comment by Sam — 21/3/2010 #