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The ban on letting agent fees charged to tenants is getting closer, with the Tenant Fees Bill introduced into Parliament this afternoon.

The new Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government, James Brokenshire, has published it, saying that the ban will save tenants around £240m a year.

The Bill will also seek to cap deposits at the equivalent of six weeks’ rent. It is likely to become law next year.

In a separate impact statement, also published this afternoon, the Government said the ban would cost letting agents £157.1m in the first year.

Brokenshire said: “This government is determined to build a housing market fit for the future. Tenants across the country should not be stung by unexpected costs.

“That’s why we’re delivering our promise to ban letting fees.”

The statement goes on:

The Tenant Fees Bill will stop letting agents from exploiting their position as intermediaries between landlords and tenants, and prevent unfair practices such as double charging for the same services.

It will also help to increase competition between agents and landlords, which could help drive lower costs overall and a higher quality of service for tenants.

Other key measures in the Bill, which reflects feedback from a recent public consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny from the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee, include:

capping holding deposits at no more than one week’s rent. The Bill also sets out the proposed requirements on landlords and agents to return a holding deposit to a tenant

capping the amount that can be charged for a change to tenancy at £50 unless the landlord demonstrates that greater costs were incurred

creating a financial penalty with a fine of £5,000 for an initial breach of the ban with a criminal offence where a person has been fined or convicted of the same offence within the last 5 years. Financial penalties of up to £30,000 can be issued as an alternative to prosecution

requiring Trading Standards to enforce the ban and to make provision for tenants to be able to recover unlawfully charged fees via the First-tier Tribunal

prevents landlords from recovering possession of their property via the section 21 Housing Act 1988 procedure until they have repaid any unlawfully charged fees

enabling the appointment of a lead enforcement authority in the lettings sector

amending the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to specify that the letting agent transparency requirements should apply to property portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla

local authorities will be able to retain the money raised through financial penalties with this money reserved for future local housing enforcement

Alongside rent and deposits, agents and landlords will only be permitted to charge tenants fees associated with:

a change or early termination of a tenancy when requested by the tenant

utilities, communication services and Council Tax

payments arising from a default by the tenant such as replacing lost key

The new measures are subject to Parliamentary timetables and will be introduced in law next year.