Council urges estate agents to scrap letting fees ahead of expected government ban

Leading the charge: Cllr Sem Moema (left) talks to renters in Dalston. Photograph: Hackney Council

The Town Hall is calling on estate agents in Hackney to stop charging “extortionate” letting fees to the borough’s 32,000 private renters – ahead of an expected Whitehall ban.

The scheme, part of the council’s Better Renting campaign, asks agents to scrap often obscure fees for services such as renewing a tenancy agreement, which can sometimes run into hundreds of pounds.

A government consultation on its proposed ban ended on Friday 2 June, but the council claims that in the “absence of any real change on the ground” so far, it has taken steps to “ensure local renters can start to benefit straight away”.

Cllr Sem Moema, the mayor’s advisor on private renting, said: “We have long called on the government to take action to stop this extortionate financial burden placed on private renters.

“But, in the absence of any real change on the ground, we’re taking matters into our own hands and are working directly with local letting agents to create a fairer and more transparent private renting system in Hackney, starting now.”

“We’re encourage all lettings agents in Hackney to sign up to scrap the fees. Not only will this help local businesses get ahead of the competition in advance of any full ban by government – we want to demonstrate that Hackney is a progressive, forward-thinking borough that is committed to creating a fairer and more transparent system for its private renters.”

According to the council, the first to sign up to the scheme is Julian Reid Estate Agents, which does not charge letting fees anyway.

Company boss Reid said: “We believe our fee is paid by the landlord – we don’t need to charge fees to tenants for administration. We’ve always taken the view that letting in London is an expensive business and we know some letting agents charge huge fees which put a burden on the tenants.

“We want to be open and transparent about what a tenant will pay at the start of the tenancy and we don’t think the fact that we don’t charge fees puts us at a disadvantage against our competitors.”