Foxtons contract clauses 'are unfair'

15/07/2009

The High Court has delivered a verdict on the landlords' charges imposed by top UK estate agent Foxtons.

Mr Justice Mann said that certain clauses in the firm's contracts were not fair - including those which allowed it to demand "renewal" commission from landlords, despite it not having offered any further services.

A part of the contract that allowed Foxtons to get commission from the sale of a property, even if it had played no part in the sale, was also flagged up.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which had brought the matter to court, welcomed the verdict.

"Contracts need to be written in clear and straightforward language with important provisions, particularly those which may disadvantage consumers as in this case, given prominence and actively brought to people's attention," OFT chief executive John Fingleton said.

Michael Brown, chief executive of Foxtons, commented: "Today's ruling brings clarity to an area which has been under dispute and which has created uncertainty for us and our whole industry."

Also commenting on the case Kevin Still, EuroDebt director, said: "With regulations hitting the Sale and Rent Back (SARB) sector, tighter controls of landlord behaviour and now commission fees charged by estate agents and residential letting agents, it would appear there is more consumer protection and EuroDebt welcomes this.

"There has never been a greater need for affordable housing, whether this be for people that have been forced to sell or vacate the properties or those that have elected to sell their property and rent it back. It is important when dealing with people with serious financial difficulties that when we are helping with their unsecured debts that there aren’t complications with priority payments, like rent, utility bills and council tax."

Tags; Housing Debt and Bills, Recent Graduate Debt,

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