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A ban on charging tenants letting fees in England to make private sector renting fairer and more affordable could soon be introduced.

Banning letting agent fees will improve transparency for renters, as currently fees are not explained clearly and tenants can be charged very different and sometimes very high amounts for similar services, according to the Government.

The Draft Tenants' Fees Bill, outlined in the Queen's Speech, bans landlords and agents from requiring tenants to pay letting fees as a condition of their tenancy.

Measures to enforce the ban would enable tenants to recover fees which have been unlawfully charged.

"The new Tenant’s Fees Bill announced by the Queen earlier today is a huge leap forward for the lettings market – an industry that has been double dipping and making profits from both tenants and landlords simultaneously for too long," said Calum Brannan, chief executive of No Agent.

"With approximately five million households privately renting, a quarter of these being families with children, it’s clear the benefits of this Bill could be felt by a lot of people."

Co-founder of HomeRenter, a new online rental site which charges no admin fees Will Handley agrees, “Whilst some costs such as professional referencing of tenant applicant s are clearly warranted, for too long too many miscellaneous admin costs borne by the renter have been indefensible. This new bill will be a source of immense relief for generation rent”.

Letting agents far from impressed

“A ban on letting agent fees will cost the sector jobs, make buy-to-let investment even less attractive, and ultimately result in the costs being passed on to tenants," said David Cox, chief executive of ARLA Propertymark.

“The research also showed that letting agents stand to lose around £200 million in turnover, costing the sector 4,000 jobs. Landlords themselves would lose £300 million, meaning they may seek to cover their losses by increasing rents to tenants.

“On average, rent costs will go up by £103 per tenant, per year, ultimately meaning tenants who move more frequently will reap savings on their overall costs but longer term tenants, who are usually lower income families, will see a loss as their rents rise year-on-year.

“The ban contradicts the Government’s stated aim to encourage longer term tenancies, as tenants who stay in their homes for the long-term will end up shouldering the costs of those who move more frequently.”

poll loading Who should pay letting agents' fees? 3000+ VOTES SO FAR Landlords Renters

Rising rents vs unexpected bills

But while costs might rise, others argue they would rather see an increased rent overall, rather than one-off bills for hundreds of pounds.

£223, but housing charity Shelter has previously found one in seven tenants pay more than £500 in such fees.

Citizens Advice found nearly two-thirds (64%) of tenants had problems paying letting agents' fees and 42% had to borrow money to do so.

Additionally, as things stand tenants have no power to sack a badly performing or over-charging letting agent - while landlords have no incentive too as they aren't the ones paying the fees.

Under the new system, landlords are motivated to sack poor-quality letting agents if they feel fees are too high or service standards too low.

The English Housing Survey 2014-15 found the average letting fee charged per tenancy is