Dear London tenants,
we've got some great news for you:
Renting is now cheaper on Spotahome!
In light of the new Tenant Fees Act 2019 that comes into force on 1st June 2019 in England, Spotahome has been hard at work implementing great changes on the platform that will affect all new rental agreements.
After so much talking and discussing, the anticipated Tenants Fees Act is about to become a reality. "The aim of the Act is to reduce the costs that tenants can face at the outset, and throughout, a tenancy." Given the hilariously crazy rental situation in the UK and especially London, such an Act was a much-needed change.
Do you know what fees a landlord or agent can ask you to pay?
With the new law coming into force on June 1st, 2019, the only payments in connection with a tenancy that you can be asked to make are:
• the rent
• a refundable tenancy deposit (read more below)
• a refundable holding deposit (read more below)
• payments to change the tenancy when requested by the tenant capped at
£50, or reasonable costs incurred if higher
• payments associated with early termination of the tenancy, when requested
by the tenant
• payments in respect of utilities, communication services, TV licence and
council tax
• A default fee for late payment of rent and replacement of a lost key/security device giving access to the housing, where required under a tenancy agreement.
Let's discuss the four main changes:
The Spotahome Booking fee is gone
In line with the new laws, Spotahome will not charge any booking fees for renting a property in London.
So it's absolutely free?
It sure is! You will only need to pay a holding deposit to secure your property (see below), and this amount goes towards the payment of your rent.
Admin fees will be removed
Admin fees traditionally related to the start of a lease agreement, such as application fees, set up fees, referencing fees, check in/out fees can no longer be charged to tenants. Spotahome has removed admin fees from all our properties in the UK.
What does this mean for tenants?
In a nutshell? No more surprises!. The entire Act has been released with the intention of "rebalancing the relationship between tenants and landlords and we couldn't be happier to swiftly adapt to this positive change. In fact, if you are looking to rent your next home in London through Spotahome, you can now relax as we've removed all admin fees.
Tenancy Deposits capped to the legal maximum
The new Act limits the tenancy deposit that can be requested from tenants to a maximum of five or six week’s rent:
- where the annual rent is less than £50,000 per annum, the maximum tenancy deposit allowed is five weeks;
- where the annual rent is equal to or greater than £50,000, up to six weeks deposit is allowed.
In order to check if you've been asked the correct amount of deposit, you first take the annual rent and divide by 52 to get one weeks rent and then multiply by 5 or 6 as appropriate.
No more crazy deposits?
Exactly! If you have been struggling to put together a deposit as mentioned in this article, from June 1st, it will get easier since your future landlord won't be allowed to ask you more than 5 or 6 week's rent. If you are looking to find your new home through Spotahome, rest assured that we've just adjusted all tenancy deposits to the new legal cap.
Only one week’s rent as Holding Deposit
We've always prided ourselves on putting our tenants first and we will keep doing this. In fact, in order to protect our tenants from scam and tricky situations, Spotahome collects a holding deposit when you book through our platform. From June 1st, Spotahome will be reducing the holding deposit from one month’s rent to one week’s rent, while still making sure your money is protected.
Am I still protected against scams?
Of course, your money is always safe with us. Once you've found your perfect home in London and you make a reservation through Spotahome, your first payment is made through our platform. We will only transfer your deposit to the landlord 48 hours after you move in, unless you contact us with a problem.
Cancellation capped to one week’s rent
In case you decide to cancel a booking prior to the moving date, Spotahome will charge only a week's rent.
So...can I change my mind?
We know that things can change and for this reason, we've fixed our cancellation policy to one week's rent. This means even more flexibility when booking through Spotahome.
Click here to learn more about the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
Finally, renting your next perfect home through Spotahome has become even cheaper! What are you waiting for?
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