Display of Fees

Chapter 3 Part 3 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires all managing and letting agents to display a list of fees and certain other information in their offices.

Where to display

A letting agent must display a list of fees—

• at each of the agent's premises at which the agent deals face-to-face with persons using or proposing to use services to which the fees relate, and
• at a place in each of those premises where the list is likely to be seen by such persons.

The agent must also publish a list of the fees on the agent's website (if it has a website).

List Of Fees

The list of fees displayed as required above must include the following—

• a description of each fee that is sufficient to enable a person who is liable to pay it to understand the service or cost that is covered by the fee or the purpose for which it is imposed (as the case may be),
• in the case of a fee which tenants are liable to pay, an indication of whether the cost relates to each dwelling-house or each tenant under a tenancy of the dwelling-house, and
• the amount of each fee, inclusive of any applicable tax, or, where the amount of a fee cannot reasonably be determined in advance, a description of how that fee is calculated.

If the agent holds money on behalf of clients, the list of fees must also include a statement as to whether the agent is a member of a client money protection scheme.

If the agent deals with a tenancy in England (and, as a result, is required to be a member of a redress scheme), the list of fees must also include a statement—

• that indicates that the agent is a member of a redress scheme, and
• that statement must give the name of the scheme.

What Fees Must Be Shown On The List?

The items on the list must be all the fees, charges or penalties (however expressed) payable to the agent by a landlord or tenant—

• in respect of letting agency work carried on by the agent,
• in respect of property management work carried on by the agent, or
• otherwise in connection with—
• an assured tenancy of a dwelling-house, or
• a dwelling-house that has been or is proposed to be let under an assured or assured shorthold tenancy.

Therefore, for example, the list of fees to be displayed must include fees payable by a tenant and all the fees payable by landlord clients, such as commission rates.

It is unclear what the position is if multiple commission rates are charged for different clients, but it's likely that simply putting the highest commission rate will suffice.

The list of fees does not need to include:

• the rent payable to a landlord under a tenancy,
• any fees, charges or penalties that the letting agent receives from a landlord under a tenancy on behalf of another person,
• a tenancy deposit, or
• any fees, charges or penalties contained in regulations (of which none have been made at the time of writing).

Breach Of The Duty To Display Fees

The local weights and measures authority will enforce the legislation.

Before a financial penalty is imposed, a notice of intent must be served within six months of the authority becoming aware of any alleged breach.

The letting agent may make representations about the proposed penalty within 28 days, after which the authority must decide whether to impose a fine (this presumably allows the agent to comply within the period, and hopefully, for the agent, the notice will be withdrawn).

If the authority decides to impose a penalty, a final notice must be served seeking payment within 28 days. The financial penalty can be up to £5,000.

An appeal is available to the First-tier Tribunal.