In a scathing attack in yesterday’s Guardian, Hilary Benn, the shadow secretary of state for local government and communities, accused private letting agencies of ripping off landlords and vulnerable tenants through the practice of charging extortionate fees and hidden charges.
With the private rental market growing at a phenomenal rate, it is becoming increasingly common for letting agents to act as the go-between for smaller landlords and their tenants. Unfortunately, as many new landlords have belatedly discovered, letting agencies operate within an unregulated industry and literally anyone can set themselves as a letting agent. But although the introduction of greater regulation and bureaucracy is likely to complicate the rental market even further, there are some in the industry who feel that something needs to be done to discourage opportunist charlatans from setting up shop as a letting agent and then ripping their customers off to the tune of thousands.
However, despite calls from Labour for more regulation to be put in place to protect landlords and tenants, the Conservative Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, has dismissed the idea. He believes that there are more than enough voluntary regulatory bodies currently in operation, which provide plenty of protection and redress systems for when things go wrong.
“In view of the existence of these schemes, I do not think that the time is right for Government-imposed regulation of the sector which would run the risk of increasing burdens and costs and, therefore, reducing supply and forcing up rents,” he said when challenged by the Shadow Housing Minister, Jack Dromey.
