Tenants are paying an average £350 in fees to letting agents and that’s unfair, says the charity, because landlords decide which agent acts for them and that sets the fee.
The only way tenants can afford a home is to go into debt or to give up essentials, like food and heating, says the charity.
In a secret shopper investigation, the charity checked out fees charged by 58 letting agents across the country.
A third of the agents charged more than £400 to arrange a tenancy and seven asked for more than £700.
If the tenancy fails to go ahead, many letting agents do not refund the fees, claims the charity.
Shelter also revealed:
• 25% of tenants borrow money to pay letting agent fees • 16% claimed letting agent fees stopped them from renting a home
The charity released the information to kick off a petition protest to pressure MPs into axing letting agency fees for setting up tenancies, like administration fees, holding fees, credit check fees and check-in fees.
Shelter chief executive Campbell Robb said: “This shocking research reveals that letting agency fees are out of control. When renters have to find hundreds of pounds in fees each time they move - on top of deposits and rent in advance - it’s not surprising that fees are causing real financial hardship, and in some cases preventing people from moving at all.
“Anyone who’s tried to find a rented home in the past few years knows that affordable, decent places to live are in short supply, and often snapped up within hours. The high demand for rented homes means that renters can’t shop around, but instead have to deal with the letting agency their landlord has chosen: they have no choice but to swallow their anger and stump up their cash.”
