Is YOUR letting agent following the law on rental deposits?

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Government reveals that six local authorities are looking into multiple breaches of deposit law by letting agents.

Some letting agents around the UK appear to be ignoring
the Tenant Fees Act, with at least 18 possible investigations pending which
could result in prosecution, it has been reported.

Camden, Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, Tower
Hamlets, Stoke on Trent and Leicestershire are all looking into issues around
deposits raised by tenants.

Tower Hamlets Council has served three notices of intent
for breaches relating to taking excessive deposits, taking multiple deposits
for the same property and failing to return a deposit within an acceptable time
frame.

However,
ARLA Propertymark points out that the sector is currently in a transition
period.

Chief
executive David Cox tells LandlordZONE: “If the
tenancy was signed and dated on or before the 31^st May 2019,
then the agents can charge a checkout fee up until the 31^st May
2020 as the Tenant Fee Act does not apply to those tenancies. That’s the advice
we have always given out.”

Following the Act’s introduction in June 2019, the maximum
fee allowed is five weeks’ rent for security deposits, and one week’s rent for
holding deposits.

According to the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team, these cases could total £45,000 of financial penalties if the agents are found to have breached the legislation.

A spokesman for the National Trading Standards Estate and
Letting Agency Team says they are now seeing some authorities act against
agents who seem to be charging prohibited fees.

He says: “Many
tenants find themselves in vulnerable positions and are concerned about
retaliatory action if they complain about prohibited tenant fees. If you’re a
tenant, we want to make sure you’re absolutely clear: the landlord is not
allowed to serve an eviction notice if they haven’t paid back prohibited tenant
fees.”

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