Wednesday 23-11-2016 - 15:04

By Jo Gower Community Officer

We’re in the middle of the Stop-Think-Sign campaign for 2016 and our Advice Service is seeing an increase in agents charging ‘administrative charges’, which can cost up to £180 (£150 plus VAT) per student. Given that students are being panicked into early signing and are often completely new to the rental market, it feels like letting agents are taking advantage of tenants who have relatively little power to object to high prices and additional fees, or to make choices about which letting agent to use.

 

I accept that letting agents have some genuine costs in moving students into a property, but surely the appropriate payer of these costs is the landlord or agent, not the tenant? It is landlords who can choose which agents they use – students simply choose where to live, what the rent is and whether they can afford the deposit. Students do not choose the agent they use and should not be made to pay anything more than their rent and deposit.

Some agents will say that the charges are inevitable and necessary to meet the demands of a growing and increasingly discerning market. However, I am not willing to accept these extra costs for students as I believe many agents are charging fees because they can get away with it. Fees for tenants have already been banned in Scotland and I would like to see this happen in England.

Hope has arrived in the form of Phillip Hammond’s Autumn Statement, which promises to ban “letting fees to tenants as soon as possible”. I am keen that the Government doesn’t drag its heels on this and I will work with NUS to ensure this is delivered quickly for students. In support of our Advice Service, I will also put pressure on agents in Durham to cease charging admin charges before they are required to do so. We have excellent agents here in Durham and I am confident many of them will see this as a great opportunity to lead the way in the market.

With college accommodation fees at an exorbitant level (above £7000) and tuition fees on the rise, students are being squeezed from all angles. In addition to the extra costs of the Durham experience (gowns, formals and extracurricular activities), these growing costs are having an impact on students from less well-off backgrounds and making the University even less accessible. I am committed to challenging agency fees in Durham and I will let you know more about our campaigning plans as they develop.  

 

What can you do in the meantime?

1. Many letting agents and landlords in Durham do not ask students to pay ‘admin’ or ‘sign up’ fees and if you do not want to pay, you could choose an agent who doesn’t charge admin fees!

2. Tell us about your experience of the Durham housing market: extra costs, pressure to sign, good practices etc

          (Email: dsu.engagement@durham .ac.uk).