Major UK letting agents have seen their share prices fall after early announcements from the Autumn Statement saying letting agents will be banned from charging fees to tenants.
At the time of writing, Foxton’s share price was down 10.3% on its closing price yesterday. Countrywide was down 5.3%.
More details are expected to emerge about the policy after the chancellor’s speech at 12.30 today (Wednesday 23 November), though various national newspapers have reported a ban on agencies targeting tenants fees for administrative services.
Housing and planning minister Gavin Barwell has previously been against the idea.
In September, he tweeted: “Bad idea – landlords would pass cost to tenants via rent. We’re looking at other ways to cut upfront costs & raise standards.”
However, not all were against it.
Rob Ellice, chief executive of easyProperty, said the decision will lead to a fairer playing field.
“Any sensible agency won’t pass on the charges to landlords due to competition in the sector, so we don’t foresee rent rises as there is no need to add the fees to rents,” he said.
“Having the government step in to abolish these fees is another example that the industry cannot self-regulate and be fair to consumers. The greed of a few has cost the many as it’s a minority who have charged excessive fees rather than the majority of agents.”
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