What is the Tenant Fee Ban?

From 1st June 2019 it will be illegal for any agent or landlord to charge their tenant a fee relating to their tenancy. The law has been written to cover any way of trying to get around the ban.

What fees are allowed?

The fees that are still allowed are holding deposits, deposits, overdue rent, replacement of keys/fobs, early termination of a tenancy agreement, and change of sharers.

Deposits will be limited to a maximum of five weeks rent.

Holding deposits will be limited to one weeks rent. Assuming tenants provide the required references and proof of right to rent, we will then use the holding deposit as part of the deposit.

Overdue rent can be charged at 3% above the Bank of England base rate – this would be 3.75% at the time of writing

What are the penalties for not complying with the Tenant Fee Ban?

There are heavy fines for landlords who don’t comply. For the first offence the fine is £5000, for any subsequent offence it could be £30,000.

What do I need to do?

Here at Hawkesford we’ve already started to incorporate the new legislation into our services for landlords and tenants. The deposit changes are now part of our tenancy agreements, and we’ve changed the way we carry out check-ins.

We’ve written to all of our landlords explaining the changes in more detail – if you haven’t had your copy or you’d like to see the newsletter then please get in touch.

We’re always happy to talk through the Tenant Fee Ban and any other questions you have about letting your property out or renting from us. 

Contact Pauline Carrera-Silva our Lettings Director if you have any questions.