Student rental accomodation

[sscarroll29]

My son is a student and wants to rent a house with some friends. The letting agency wants to charge them £100 each to check references PLUS £100 each for each of their guarantors. What a rip off! I've never heard of charging to check guarantors - has anyone else encountered this?

Yes I have. It is called ' squeezing the last penny 'scam. Try going on Gumtree. Com and finding a private landlord. Or accommodationforstudents.com they only charge the landlords the student can advertise free. What town is he in ? as most of the large Uni towns have Gumtree coverage.

Doesn't the uni have its own lettings agency?

Go to an NLA (National Landlord Association) Agency as they have lower fees. Approx £30 per person for credit reference checking (for guarantors) - this will need to be done as the students won't normally have a credit rating. The student check is probably an identity check and referencing to confirm good character. The cost increases slightly if you need it done very quickly e.g. next day service.

Property is in Mile End. Uni is Queen Mary and they don't deal with accommodation except their own halls.NLA say there is no regulation about these fees but agrees that they are extremely excessive and advises avoiding the agency. Agency is 2-LetHomes based in Bexley.

Will try Gumtree.