Letting agents want £250 for nothing

[littlepieces]

It's been a couple of years since I was last flat hunting, and I know a few rules around letting agents have changed since then, but can't get my head around this...

After a flat viewing yesterday, the letting agent told me there are several people interested in the place, but in order to proceed I need to pay a £250 holding fee to 'pledge my interest.' Once reference checks have been done, only then will the landlord will decide which tenant they want. I thought a holding fee was for when a tenant has actually been offered a place, and was meant to mitigate them dropping out or reference checks failing? They said they'll refund me if I'm not 'the chosen one' but I don't have hundreds of pounds to keep dishing out to letting agents for a couple of weeks at a time! Is this really what letting agents do now? I'm in London by the way.

I’ve just rented and didn’t pay the holding fee until the landlord had accepted my application, and was deducted from the first months rent. Ask the estate agent if this gets refunded if you’re not chosen?

Oh just saw you said it will be refunded sorry

Yeah that's how I thought it worked. I think they're just being pushy? God I hate renting.

Seems like a scam

We're not in London but trying to rent somewhere and it's a similar picture...here you have to get through the first stage of vetting to even view the property...then you have to view, apply with a fee and the landlord decides who they like best and the fee is refunded if you're not successful (and I think taken off 1st months rent if you are). Some of the agents here are also doing interviews via Teams to 'vet' tenants!

Letting agents are just crap imo! When I moved into a flat they demanded a £50 'check-in fee' and I read the paperwork to check what this meant - it said it was to cover them showing us to the door, going over basic things to do with the flat and then handing over the keys and making sure everything was ok etc. They basically admitted to not bothering with any of this and just chucked me a bunch of keys and did nothing else but still forced me to pay the £50! All very dodgy.

Although most letting fees banned, a holding deposit is still legal
“a refundable holding deposit (to reserve a property) capped at no more than 1 week’s rent”
www.gov.uk/government/collections/tenant-fees-act

They are such cunts.

£250 sounds a lot, but yes, it is pretty standard.

Yes I know a holding fee is legal and standard but £250 before the place is even confirmed to be mine is a joke. That's not a holding fee.

@littlepieces

Yes I know a holding fee is legal and standard but £250 before the place is even confirmed to be mine is a joke. That's not a holding fee.

Well, you asked “Is this really what letting agents do now?” so I was just responding to that.

I agree £250 is loads. I’m sorry it’s shit.

I think it would be more appropriate if it was just giving card details/a cheque as a holding deposit rather than the actual cash. Nothing to stop an agency getting loads of £250 payments then folding.

Or just always having a ready supply of lots of £250s, keeping them for two weeks in their bank account and getting the interest from them.

I’m in Leeds, if that makes a difference. Properties are going like crazy at the moment though - for both renting and selling. I can only imagine London is worse? Still a rip off though! Is it a reputable agent?