Commenting on the launch today of Shelter’s new campaign to stop letting agents spreading their fees between tenants and landlords in favour of landlords shouldering all of the costs, Alan Ward, Chairman of the Residential Landlords Association has said:
“Once again we have Shelter peddling the same anti-landlord rhetoric, seeking to place yet more costs on the shoulders of landlords.
“With almost 90 per cent of landlords being either individuals or couples renting just a few properties, Shelter seems to think that landlords have a bottomless pit of money to spend.
“A similar scheme in Scotland has put many letting agents out of business, thereby reducing choice for tenants and landlords.
“Shelter’s campaign to impose on landlords excessive and unneeded red tape and costs will only serve to drive up rents for the very same tenants they try to serve.”
The majority of housing agents provide a quality and professional service that enables tenants and landlords alike to confidently enter into contracts and agreements which result in safe and affordable housing for tenants, and income for landlords. Expecting landlords, who may not operate as just landlords, to take on this extra responsibility is an impossible task for some
