What Landlords Need to Know About the Tenant Fee Ban

As of the middle of last year, most fees for tenants were banned. This covers most private tenancies, which includes assured shorthold tenancies, student housing and lodger agreements - and the tenant fee ban applies to any fees charged to tenants or their guarantors.

How does this affect you, then?

Well, as of the beginning of June last year, if you start or renew a tenancy, tenants can only be charged fees if they pay their rent late. They can also be charged fees if they end their tenancy early, lose their keys or fobs, or if they want to change a term in their tenancy, or assign it to someone else. 

With the new tenant fee ban in place, tenants can now only be charged for renewing their tenancy when their fixed term ends – but only if they signed a tenancy agreement before June 1, 2019.

Letting Agent Fees for Landlords

As per the new law, tenants can’t be charged for referencing, administration or credit and immigration checks – and in the instance that you accidentally charge a tenant for one of the above, your tenants can put in a complaint to Trading Standards, the council or a letting agent redress scheme (if the agent is a member).

The ban now means that letting agents’ admin costs have now been passed onto landlords. Some people are worried that this means the cost of rent could go up for some - the This is Money site tackles the subject here.

The letting agent fees ban is there for a reason  - and it’s vital for landlords and letting agents alike pay attention to it.

Tenants who don’t use a zero deposit scheme will be pleased to hear there’s also a cap on tenancy deposits. It’s now limited to five weeks’ rent for annual rents under £50,000. This is laid out in a piece on the OpenRent site, following an industry-wide enforcement by the Government.

The piece states: “It was originally going to be six weeks, but then the Government seemed to meet those campaigning for four weeks halfway. We understand there were some Parliamentary shenanigans that led to the strange number of five weeks’ rent...”

Good News for Tenants

So, it’s good news for tenants – and even better news for them (and you) if you rent your property with Zero Deposit™. The reason is simple: your tenants have all the assurance they need that their expenditure will be kept as low as possible. 

After all, they won’t pay a deposit when they choose us when the time comes to rent a property.

Tenants might not be paying a standard deposit, but landlords are still very much protected, with letting agents fees now a thing of the past. As a landlord, if you choose Zero Deposit™ you’re guaranteed six weeks’ security, which is every reason to enquire about our service. Head here to discover why thousands of UK landlords like you have chosen Zero Deposit when letting their home to tenants.