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Agencies could be breaching the tenant fees ban with charges and excessive deposits.

Publication the ‘i’ says that regulator the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team is aware of 18 cases.

If the agents are found to have breached the legislation, they could be penalised a total of £45,000.

The piece also quotes the experiences of tenants, including Georgie Laming and Sorana Vieru who were charged a £170 check-out fee by Winkworth.

Vieru said that although some fees listed in the original agreement no longer applied, Winkworth still tried to insist they paid for a check-out inventory.

Vieru claimed that after Winkworth threatened to take the money out of their tenancy deposit, they reported Winkworth to Trading Standards.

Veiru claimed: “I stuck to my guns and insisted on communicating by email, knowing I might need evidence in the future if I had to complain to a redress scheme.

“I wrote a complaint letter to the director and reported them to Trading Standards.

“In the end, the agency’s director replied, backing down and blaming ARLA for advice they received.”

A spokesperson for the Winkworth office in Harringay said: “The check-out fee has to be paid to the inventory clerk for providing the check-out service for the landlord and tenant.

“In this case, under new legislation, it was for the landlord to pay and not the tenant because there had been a renewal of the tenancy.

“We are sorry for any confusion caused to the tenants.”

The tenant in the article named as Georgie Laming shares the same name as the campaigner at Generation Rent.

The article, by Vicky Spratt who campaigned for the fees ban, also cites tenants of Leaders, who complained that the balance of 6.5 weeks of deposit was not refunded to them after the five-week cap was brought in.

The tenants said that it took over four months for the money to be returned.

Leaders has apologised, and said that the period was outside its normal turnaround time.

https://inews.co.uk/opinion/letting-agents-tenant-fees-act-ban-breach-charges-deposits-guidance-2005484