Tuesday, September 9, 2025
Unfair or excessive agent fees are one of the most common consumer complaints that we receive and generally relate to consumers believing they have been misled by their agent about the charges made for using their service.
The average consumer is generally expected to be aware of, and understand, the fees listed in an agent’s documentation. They should make their own enquiries about charges they do not understand and check out any publicly available facts about average prices for themselves.
However, the average consumer is also likely to trust the agent (as the lettings professional) and rely on the integrity of any information provided or fee charged.
While it is not the role of the redress scheme to prescribe or prohibit any fee, the agent must be able to provide evidence to support the fees that they charge. Property Redress may choose to make an award to the consumer if it is decided that the agent’s fees are unfair or have not been presented in a clear and transparent way.
In all circumstances, any advertising and marketing of an agent’s services to a potential landlord client must be clear, accurate and not misleading. Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) protects consumers from exploitation and unfair or misleading practices and the Draft guidance offer more details.
‘Misleading’ can be an action or admission and extends to providing information that even if correct, is not presented in a misleading way.
When an agent offers their services, they should be clearly described and fairly reflect the way they are charged. For example, it may be a misleading action for an agent to say that they charge a specific percentage for a ‘full management service’ when they in fact make additional charges for certain management activities, such as organising maintenance work.
Fee transparency means that there should be no surprise costs and landlords should know what they are expected to pay before signing a contract with an agent.
Some fees due to the agent are not optional, such as ‘tenant find fee’ and some are optional/variable such as early termination fees).
All fees that are variable or not optional should be transparent and up front.
It may not be necessary to include optional/variable fees in all marketing material. However, they should be clearly set out and brought to the attention of a potential landlord client early on and included in any contract signed.
All fee information, whether optional or non-optional, should be transparent and easily accessible, and not merely included in the small print of the contract or hidden on a website.
