All letting agents in the London borough of Islington are being written to by the council and warned to be upfront about their fees. Islington Council, which is Labour-run, is also calling on the Government to ban fees and give local authorities more powers of control over letting agents.
Two letting agents in the borough are said to be facing action for alleged breaches of consumer protection laws following complaints by landlords and tenants.
They are accused of not returning deposits and not passing on rent.
In a third case, housing committee chairman Cllr James Murray said there were concerns about a rental agreement which allowed the landlord to enter the property without the tenant's consent, and included a break clause available to the landlord but not the tenant.
The council's letter to letting agents will remind them of the recent ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority that they must be upfront about fees.
Cllr Murray said: Too many private renters in Islington are being ripped off by letting agents with unfair fees, unreasonable tenancy agreements and unacceptable behaviour.
As a council, we're using the limited powers we have to make sure letting agents behave more fairly - and we're taking legal action where necessary against those letting agents who won't.
But there's nowhere near enough protection for people renting privately. Rogue letting agents are behaving like they're in the Wild West.
We believe the Government should give councils more powers to rein in letting agents and they should ban fees for tenants. - See more at: https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/news_features/Council-warns-letting-agents-to-clean-up-their-acts#sthash.QD0VtiVv.dpuf
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