Landlords hit with new letting agent fees

9:10 AM, 11th September 2026, 52 minutes ago

For a growing number of landlords, it appears that their letting agent bills are growing as they introduce fresh charges following the Renters’ Rights Act, The Telegraph reports.

It says that London agency KFH is charging £12 plus VAT for additional statements, while landlords elsewhere have been quoted up to £300 for RRA compliance audits.

Some landlords also told the newspaper they had been automatically enrolled for insurance and gas checks without their permission.

Nearly a quarter of landlords reported higher letting agency fees since the Act took effect, according to a Goodlord survey.

Letting agent fee claims

Chris Norris, of the National Residential Landlord Association, said landlords were concerned about the sanctions attached to mistakes under the new rules.

He said: “Lots of landlords at the moment are fairly concerned because there are quite big, chunky sanctions attached to getting some of this stuff wrong.

“They rely on their letting agent in many cases to make sure that they are compliant and they’re doing everything properly – and some will be cashing in on a lot of concern and confusion.”

Mr Norris added that while some would argue the fees were ‘just a way of doing business’, others may view the practice as ‘underhand’.

Fixed-term fees disappear

The Act took effect on 1 May and replaced fixed-term tenancies with periodic agreements, removing renewal commissions that agents had typically received when terms were extended.

The Telegraph says some agencies have since introduced charges for routine paperwork, including section 13 forms used to raise rents.

One landlord told the paper an agency had imposed a ‘recurring commission’ for an existing tenant despite providing ‘absolutely no ongoing service’.

The landlord said the charge had appeared after renewal commissions were lost under the new system.

Landlords warned over charges

The British Landlords Association warned landlords earlier this month to read the small print in their agency agreements and look out for new fees.

It accepted the new rules had increased administration costs for agents but said those costs ‘should not become a justification’ for passing extra charges on.

A BLA spokesman said: “Trying to recover increased operating costs through unexpected or questionable add-on fees risks damaging the trust between landlords and their agents.”

Greg Tsuman, the managing director of lettings at Martyn Gerrard, said charging for additional compliance work was reasonable where landlords chose to outsource it, while acknowledging that landlord profit margins were under pressure.