Landlords who still charge fees face £30k fines

Landlords could be fined up to £30,000 if they fail to comply with new rules regarding deposits and fees charged to tenants.

Property owners and letting agents in England have been banned from charging fees to tenants who have signed new agreements after June 1 2019. However, the rules allowed landlords to continue to charge exit fees and to levy charges for inventories, maintenance and administration on tenancies signed before that date.

That loophole will be closed on Monday, when a blanket ban on all tenant fees comes into effect. Landlords face large fines if they fail to comply with the legislation. Tenants can reclaim their money through the courts and landlords can be fined £5,000 for a first offence, rising to £30,000 for subsequent violations.

The rules on deposits also changed last June, when landlords were banned from taking more than five weeks’ rent if the annual rent was less than £50,000, or six weeks’ rent if the annual rent was £50,000 or more. There are no circumstances in which a larger deposit can be charged, including if the tenants have pets.

Existing deposits that exceed the cap do not have to be returned. However, if a new tenancy agreement is signed at any stage, any excess deposit must be returned.

Tenants have also called for the Government’s eviction ban to be extended until later in the year.

At the start of the coronavirus outbreak it was announced that all evictions would be blocked until June 25. While the repossession ban for owner-occupiers has been extended until the autumn, renters could face eviction within weeks.

Caitlin Wilkinson of Generation Rent, a campaign group, called for the eviction ban to be extended.

“At the outset of this crisis two thirds of renters had no savings and more than half have since lost income,” she said. “Those who can’t keep up with rent payments are entirely reliant on their landlord’s goodwill.”

A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government said an extension to the eviction ban was being considered by the Government but no decision had been made.