Landlords to be banned from demanding huge upfront fees from tenants in order to secure a home
LANDLORDS will be banned from charging prospective tenants massive upfronts fees, ministers confirmed today.
In a huge relief for renters, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner will make it illegal for residents to be charged several months rent in advance in order to secure a home.
The Renters Rights Bill, currently making its way through parliament, will cap the amount a landlord or agency can charge before move-in at one month’s rent.
Responding to the change, Tom Darling, Director of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: “For too long, extortionate rent in advance demands have allowed landlords to discriminate against poorer renters.
“It’s great the government have acted on this and listened to renter groups by setting out clearly that this practice will be prohibited.”
The ban on huge upfront costs comes after 30 MPs, led by Labour’s Alex Sobel, demanded a crackdown.
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According to Shelter more than 800,000 private renters have been unable to rent a home in the last five years because they couldn’t afford advanced payments.
But today landlord groups insisted the move could backfire and harm vulnerable tenants.
Chris Norris, Policy Director for the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “Restricting rent in advance, combined with freezing housing benefit rates and not enough rental housing to meet demand is creating significant barriers for those with poor or no credit histories needing to access the sector.
“This includes international students and those employed on a short-term or variable basis with an income that fluctuates.
“The Government is cutting off any assurance responsible landlords might seek when renting to those who cannot easily prove their ability to sustain tenancies and pay their rents.”
Alongside capping upfront costs, the Renters Rights Bill will ban hated section 21 no-fault evictions.
Landlords will be prevented from booting tenants our of their homes without giving a reason, such as wanting to sell or move into the house themselves.