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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think £485 is extortionate for a rental check-in fee?

78 replies

lill72 · 13/05/2015 20:44

This is the reduced rate - it was supposed to be £900! As they failed to mention at the beginning, they took £500 off. It still seems way too much. Why do tenants have to pay for this?

What should I do?

OP posts:

Original poster

lill72 · 14/05/2015 09:59

What should I do?

I don;t want to lose the place, but equally feel like they we are being taken for a ride at the moment. If we walk away, we have lost 670 already.

OP posts:

specialsubject · 14/05/2015 10:11

hold it right there. Does this place even exist? This sounds like a classic scam and there's no property. Asking for cash is a huge red flag.

the landlord does pay the inventory/check-in: here in not-London it costs about £120.

I think there is no landlord and no property for rent and you are being ripped off.

to the landlord-haters: yes, in Scot-topia landlords pay the fees. Rents went up.

Original poster

lill72 · 14/05/2015 10:20

I just looked at my property on the Zoopla website and it says there is a check-out fee of around 250. no mention of a check-in fee.

OP posts:

Original poster

lill72 · 14/05/2015 10:22

Yes, it exists.

I have seen it 3 times!!!

The estate agency is a national one. the management company i am not sure if tey are dodgy. think it may be a compan run by the landlord as he owns 40 properties.

OP posts:

Apatite1 · 14/05/2015 10:37

Christ the rental market is taking the piss now. Another example of the shit estate agents are increasingly getting away with as more and more people are renting. I have no advice, but angry on your behalf lill it's bloody outrageous.

Doobydoo · 14/05/2015 10:57

We are paying£108 today to extend our tenancy by a year. We paid around £150 for inventory on an empty house! We paid £250 for ref checks! We have never missed a payment and they have upped our rent. The agents didnt update their ebd so rang us to say rent was short we have a bank statement saying correct amount had gone out. Will now text landlord to let them know it was agent error not ours! Many other issues also.....

specialsubject · 14/05/2015 11:14

the place may exist but that doesn't mean it is up for rental, that's the scam.

HOWEVER you say it is a large national agency (even more shocking). So start running up the chain to find out what is going on. If they are that big they should also belong to one of the associations, they are fairly toothless but it is worth a go.

I really don't like the idea of cash payment.

and yes, a year-old inventory on an unfurnished property does not need to be redone. any changes/damage on check-in can just be marked up.

Jessica2point0 · 14/05/2015 11:16

I would say that if they weren't upfront about the fees then they have no right to charge you. You could argue that you wouldn't have even had the referencing etc done if they had told you and are therefore entitled to the money back for those things.

Is the property advertised on their own website? If it is and they don't detail the fees on there then you can report them to the advertising standards agency.

If you have the contact details for the landlord you could get in touch with them directly to let them know what's happened. Most landlords want happy tenants, not tenants who feel like they've been ripped off from the outset.
Letting agents usually belong to a trade body, so you can report them.

Bearbehind · 14/05/2015 12:02

OP, you only have a few choices on what to do-

pay it without question
question the payment- tell them you're not prepared to pay it as it's not part of your tenancy agreement then, depending on their response a) pay it anyway, b) pay a reduced rate c) pay nothing and still move in or d) walk away
walk away without questioning the payment

To me the only sensible option is 2 but as to which direction you take then, you can't decide that until you have an answer from them.

Original poster

lill72 · 14/05/2015 12:35

Specialsubject - this property is up with 4 agents. I have got it through one of these. But there is another management property who looks after this property - ie not the landlord as he owns 40 properties. It is this management company who are asking for the fee in cash, though the estate agents (the national company) are the ones who told me of the fee, albeit after the fact.

thanks for all your responses - I am quickly getting together infor so I am armed with knowledge.

Bear - I hae just emailed them stating it was never mentioned until after I had paid the desposit/as i was paying it/verally not on paper , all with screaming baby in their office so I could not really take in what they were saying (i didnt put last point in email) The agent said he would cover it as it was there mistake.

I also stated that you can clearly see no mention of this fee on website which clearly outlines all fees for this property, including a check-out fee for around 150-200 for my size property. No mention of a check-in fee anywhere.

I clearly asked for all fees with the agent at the property, as I wanted to know this, I very specically asked this.

Contacting a friend who is a LL - they have suggested I find my own inventory clerk. He said it would be 200 max.

Will let you know what they come back with...

Sorry to hear of others issues with agents. It is so unregulated - is there anything we can do to stop this?

OP posts:

pod78 · 14/05/2015 13:16

How about approaching the other 3 agents and finding out what their fees are? Then if they are lower you could use this as an argument to get a further reduction with the agent you are currently using.

Also I would advise going to the CAB and/ or reading their website so you can see exactly where you stand with getting your payments back if you decide you want to pull out and go with another property/ agent. I would think that given the lack of upfrontness you would be entitled to get the fees back, but they might not make it quick or easy for you.

pod78 · 14/05/2015 13:18

The money you have paid already - exactly what was if for? Deposit and/ or fees?

whatsthatcomingoverthehill · 14/05/2015 13:24

If they're trying this sort of crap on already I would walk away and demand anything you have already made to be repaid. If they don't either waive the fee (or offer a vastly reduced rate) or do as you ask then I would take them to small claims court.

Original poster

lill72 · 14/05/2015 13:35

I have paid £300 deposit and £370 ref checks to date. So I would need to recoup this. I will look on CAB.

Surely if they don't advertise the fees on Zoopla etc, then I should not have to pay a check-in fee? Would seem illeagal?

I would like to go with another agent, however as this manaemtn company asking the money working for the landlord is demanding the money and I am dealing with them, I can't really just swap agents as much as I would like to But looking at the other agents fees, no, none mention a check-in fee.

Yes, it does concern me that they are trying to do this to me already. We have been glad to leave current agents as they are bad too. We had such lovely one before but we outgrew the property. Pity you cant choose the agency.

Any help much appreciated.

OP posts:

Original poster

lill72 · 14/05/2015 13:37

Sorry for typos. Fee is to be paid to management company managin property not estate agency.

It all just is very dodgy.

OP posts:

NickyEds · 14/05/2015 13:39

Good God! I agree with what'sthat. This all absolutely stinks. We've just got a new house and we've paid £120 admin fee (to estate agent) plus £45 each for two of us referencing fee (again to ea, but it was done by a third party referencing company). We're now cleared to pay first months rent plus bond (one months rent plus £100) to the landlord but in two separate transactions. The bond is separate. I think that's pretty standard. I was slagging them off for taking the £120 for doing sweet f.a but this is taking the piss.

keepitsimple0 · 14/05/2015 16:31

The fee is payable by the owner who has engaged their services.

that's the problem with these fees. LL chooses the company, tenant pays.

Not really the free market, compare and choose philosophy we all were hoping for. I would overcharge too if 1 person choose me for a job, but someone else had to pay.

Gabilan · 14/05/2015 17:59

"it is new and not furnished"

Well an inventory isn't going to take that long then. It's checking the condition of the paintwork, carpets, etc and photographing them. I'm not even sure it's officially an inventory if there isn't any furniture to check.

Gabilan · 14/05/2015 18:06

"is there anything we can do to stop this?"

Well we had a chance to last week, but we blew it.

Tangoandcreditcards · 14/05/2015 18:36

I had an inventory last month on a 4 bed unfurnished house. It was thorough, she was here at least an hour and a half and I got a 13 page report noting every smudge on the paintwork. It cost £105

I paid estate agent fee of £200. The management company charged me nothing.

We paid 6 weeks deposit.

You are being ripped off. Although I have paid £600 to Foxtons in the past for the exact same service on a 2 bed flat.

Original poster

lill72 · 15/05/2015 14:38

It seems the fees are slighty different on every website. So on zoopla they only talk about a check-out fee. On their own website, they talk about an inventory fee - does this mean a check-in/check-out fee or what does it mean? Does an inventory report mean a condition report too?

ahhhh help!!!

OP posts:

pod78 · 15/05/2015 23:34

Lill, fees are variable and often spurious. I don't think you'll find a common amount. IMHO it is as much as the agent feels they can get away with, inc check in and check out.

There can be quite a difference even with agents based in the same town. The odd one will be cheaper for no obvious reason. I've found Your Move to be one of the most expensive.

Inventory would probably be the same as check in, and possibly the same as condition report but you'll have to double check with the agent to be sure

keepitsimple0 · 16/05/2015 21:42

IMHO it is as much as the agent feels they can get away with, inc check in and check out.

of course they do that. Any smart business would charge as much as they can get away with.

normally, what puts the lid on prices is competition, but since the tenant cannot get someone else to do the inventory, they are stuck.

pod78 · 17/05/2015 02:34

Smart business maybe, but holding people to ransom about something as fundamental as housing is morally wrong in my opinion. Capitalism is imperfect in practice as you point out keepitsimple. It is possible to be in business and make profit without being massively greedy and having no regard to the consequnces for others.

ava7311 · 17/05/2015 03:50

Op I'm in the property industry and it should be the Landlord that covers the check in.

There is also a new law that stops lettings agents charging both tenants AND landlords for these kind of things.

I would voice your concerns and ask for a break down of what you are paying for.
Also will there be a check out fee should you leave?

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