Letting and estate agents take note: Urgent fees legislation changes
On May 27th, 2015 new legislation came into effect that will change how you display your fees.
What does that mean for lettings agents?
The Consumer Bill Act states that Lettings Agents need to display these three things:
- All of their fees (including Landlord fees, broken down by service type)
- If they are a member of the Client Money Protection Scheme. If the agent is not a member they must make this clear.
- Which redress scheme they are members of
Where do I have to display fees?
The Consumer Bill Act stated that letting agents’ fees must be displayed prominently in each office AND on the agent’s website if they have one. It does not state that they have to display these on portals like Rightmove or on any other media. Just a reminder that the only fees that need to be displayed on Rightmove are tenant fees. This particular piece of legislation is relevant to lettings agents only. (but sales agents read on, as there is a bit relevant to you coming up)
Here’s the bit that applies to both letting and sales agents
A separate change that came into effect in April from the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) stated that both SALES and LETTINGS agents have to make the following change:
- All fees must be shown inclusive of VAT
What does that mean for sales agents?
Unlike lettings agent, sales agents are not required to display their fees. However, when sales agents choose to display their fees, they must include VAT.
Do I have to include VAT if I charge fees by percentage?
Yes, you have to include VAT in your fees whether you express them as a percentage or as a flat fee.
For example:
A fee of 2.5% plus VAT should now be shown as 3%
A flat fee of £495 plus VAT should now be shown as £594
Agents may state that the price is INCLUSIVE of VAT if they wish.
How do these changes affect how I display fees on Rightmove?
The new Consumer Bill Act does not specifically apply to your fees on Rightmove as the legislation only relates to the fees displayed in the letting agent’s office and on their own website – it does not cover other media, like Rightmove.
However, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled in March 2013 that when quoting a rental price lettings agents must:
- Include all compulsory tenant fees and charges upfront in the price quoted
- If the tenant’s fee cannot be calculated in advance due to the individual’s circumstances, then the agent must make clear that compulsory fees and charges are excluded and provide information for consumers to understand how additional fees are calculated
The action you need to take
The ASA ruling from March 2013 combined with the new requirement to include VAT in all your fees means that you need to make sure that all fees for tenants are listed on Rightmove inclusive of VAT.
How do I change how tenant fees are displayed on Rightmove?
If you upload your properties to Rightmove via software/a data-feed supplier
Contact your software supplier who provides a data-feed to Rightmove. They should be able to tell you where you would enter the revised information about tenant fees.
If you upload your properties manually to Rightmove
If you manually upload your properties to Rightmove you will need to enter the tenant fees individually for each property in the Details page of Rightmove Admin in the field called “Tenant fees”.
Questions about updating your tenant fees on Rightmove?
If you have questions about updating your tenant fees on Rightmove, contact your data-feed provider or our Customer Support Team on 01908 712300.
