Letting agent fees

[Crinkle77]

Does anyone have any experience of how much you can expect to pay in fees when looking for a rental property? I am currently lodging with a work colleague but am thinking about looking for my own place say around £500 a month but I have no idea how much I need to save before I can start looking. Many estate agents talk about a months rent up front, a deposit, admin fees, fees for credit checks etc.... but they don't say on their websites how much these various fees are and am just feeling a little confused. Any advice would be appreciated.

Deposit is usually 6 weeks rent. Plus the first month's rent upfront. Fees can vary but are usually between £250-500 from my experience.

I think it depends on where you are in the country.

Round here your deposit is 1 months rent + £100 then you also need to pay the first months rent upfront. Fee's are between £125 and £250.

So if you were renting a £500 per month house then you would need to pay £1100 in advance rent and deposit before moving in plus agents fees.

Thanks. I guessed it would be around £1500 so best get saving.

They like to keep fees as opaque as possible, so you don't know all the costs before you pay a non-refundable holding deposit. Of course, they have to give you the terms if you ask, just they hope you will forget. Best to send a casual email asking for a schedule of fees, including end of tenancy fees, just so they've committed themselves to that in writing. If there's not much demand for your property (i.e. if it's been on the rentsl market for a while), you may be able to negotiate, for example stating that you will do your own carpet cleaning and overall end-of-tenancy cleans (the most avoidable rip-offs).

england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/private_renting/costs_of_renting/letting_agent_fees_and_charges

Thanks for all the advice

Make sure you ask how much they charge at the end of the tenancy, and how much they charge to renew the tenancy.

Tenants are routinely stung for hundreds of pounds for some hair-gelled dickhead letting agent to photocopy a piece of paper and change the date to the following year.

Letting agents are the scum of the earth. They rob tenants and landlords, and treat both like shit. Even the less poisonous ones are morons.

I agree with thesaurusgirl. Letting agents treat all concerned very badly IME. More and more landlords deal direct with tenants so look out for properties like that.