Report slams "greedy" lettings agents

24/03/2009

Many lettings agents are overcharging for their services, cheating the private rental industry out of £3 billion each year.

This is the shock new finding from industry website Smartlandlord.co.uk, which claimed that sharp practices among the group were rife across the UK.

According to the site, landlords are paying the agents an average of £1,550 a year - equivalent to 12 per cent of tenants' rents - in order to market the property.

However, Smartlandlord.co.uk claims that the same service can be performed by the landlords themselves for just £100 each year.

Other expensive services include the £200 commonly charged by the agents for tenancy agreement contracts, though the documents are available for free online to landlords willing to conduct a simple search.

Keshav Thukaram, managing director of smartlandlord.co.uk, said: "There are more landlords in the UK than ever before, as people who can't sell their properties try to rent them out. But they're being taken to the cleaners by greedy lettings agents who are milking them for everything they're worth.

"In an economic environment like this one - where landlords face stagnant or falling rents, there's a rapidly growing number of landlords who can't afford to sit back and let their investments be managed by other people."

Tags; Income Worries and Debt, Young Family Finances, Recent Graduate Debt,

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