Would you rent a property that hadn't been updated since 1953? OK, it might be retro-cool, but not when the toilet's outside and it's a cold night in February. Yet the Accommodation Agencies Act hasn't been updated since 1953 and as we point out below, provides little more cover than a leaky roof. The common thread that linked the letters that flooded in to Jobs & Money this week was the sense of total helplessness among tenants (and many landlords, too) when faced with the demands of rapacious letting agents.
Can you refuse to pay fees added at the last moment? Are the myriad fees legal? Are there any laws that protect you? Sadly, the existing legislation provides little comfort. Yes, it prevents agents from charging you simply to view a property - and, yes, it is supposed to prevent double charging of landlords and tenants for the same items. But even these limited protections are often ignored. In truth, tenants and landlords are powerless to stop many of the abuses that we have highlighted this week. The only regulator that the agents appear to care about is the small claims court.
Some people will regard our coverage of letting agents as offensive. There's a few bad apples in every profession, and aren't we unfairly tarring the many who do an honourable job for their clients? Yet it is shocking to see the big names that are quoted time and again in the readers' letters, well-known to any house hunter in Britain, but which, for legal reasons, we are unable to print. To be fair there are some organisations, such as the National Approved Lettings Scheme, which are fighting against the odds to raise standards. The Estate Agents Ombudsman also wants to extend his powers to cover letting agents.
But this is an industry where voluntary schemes are predestined to fail. The individuals who work in lettings agents are Thatcher's children. They have grown up in a world where price-gouging and short-term greed are regarded as the only way to carry on business. What characterises them is a near total contempt for their customers who must, in each and every case, be charged the maximum they can bear. Brighton MP Des Turner's campaign for deposits protection scheme is thoroughly welcome. But what is needed is a wider legal overhaul of the lettings system in the wake of the buy-to-let boom. And if many agents go out of business as a result, there will be few tears shed.