Letting agency chain launches anti-Labour campaign

Letting agency Belvoir wants its franchise-holding agents to write to landlords and tenants explaining what it calls the risks and dangers of Labour's plans for the private rental sector.

Dorian Gonsalves, director of commercial and franchising for Belvoir, warns that proposals in Labour's manifesto are likely to result in fewer landlords and a smaller sector.

The Labour party is blatantly targeting the PRS to try and win votes from the UK's nine million renters. The majority of letting agents work extremely hard on behalf of tenants as well as landlords and it is completely appropriate that tenants bear the cost of this work rather than landlords says Gonsalves.

Outlawing tenant fees will simply mean that tenants will suffer, with letting agents unable to provide them with the standards of service and levels of protection they deserve. Tenants could easily become vulnerable to rogue private landlords who may try to take advantage of them by illegally charging for maintenance issues, failing to carry out regular property checks and leaving them without redress he says.

He says that in the long-term the smaller the sector becomes, the more likely - and not less likely - it is that private landlords will require the services of skilled letting agents.

I am encouraging all Belvoir franchise owners to write to their tenant and landlord clients to make it very clear to them that if Labour gets into power they will implement proposals that will result in increased landlord fees. This will either force landlords to increase rents to help cover their costs or cause them to sell up, which could put thousands of tenants at risk of losing their homes he says.