Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Team from a report by PropertyWire. Read the original article for full details.
Over a Third of Letting Agents Fail to Display Fees Online
More than a third of letting agent websites in England do not display fee information, according to research by website group ThemeSmith. The analysis, which examined 400 letting and property management company websites on 19th October, found that 138 firms, or 34.5%, had no fees page, no link to one, and no mention of fees anywhere on their sites.
A further 151 companies, representing 37.8% of those surveyed, did not display fees for tenants or landlords with pound amounts and VAT included.
Legal Requirements
Under section 83 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, letting agents in England must display a list of their fees, inclusive of VAT, at any office where they deal with clients face to face and on their websites. The same list must state whether the agent holds client money protection and name its redress scheme.
Local authorities enforce the regulations, with a maximum penalty of £5,000 per breach. National agents can be fined at each non-compliant office.
The research also revealed that 99 letting agents did not name a redress scheme and 123 named no client money protection scheme. Of the 277 that did name a protection scheme, 101 published no copy of the certificate.
Industry Implications
Chris Painter, founder of ThemeSmith, said: "A letting agent's website is usually the first place a landlord or tenant goes to check whether their money is safe. The rules already say what has to be there: the fees with VAT included, the redress scheme, and a copy of the client money protection certificate."
The findings come as the buy-to-let sector experiences fluctuating lending volumes, with transparency in fees becoming increasingly important for landlords managing their investment costs.
Painter added: "This isn't about catching anyone out. Most of the gaps we found can be fixed in an afternoon: upload the certificate, add a fee table that shows VAT, and name the redress scheme in the footer. Until that's done, a tenant or landlord has to take the agent's word for it instead of being able to check."
ThemeSmith stated that the findings record only what could be found on the pages examined, and are not a determination that any company has broken the rules. The research did not name any specific agents.
Source: PropertyWire