Changes to rental laws welcomed by Telford councillor

The Tenant Fees Act 2019, which prohibits unpermitted fees being charged to tenants, comes into force on June 1. Councillor Richard Overton, Telford & Wrekin council's cabinet member for enforcement, believes the changes will ease financial pressure on people looking to rent a home.

He said: "We welcome this change in the law which means people looking to rent a home won’t have to pay extra for things like administration or tenancy agreement. We know that for far too long, these additional costs have put more financial pressure on people looking for somewhere to live. For some, these extra fees have put them off.

“Anyone who charges a prohibited fee from June 1 can be issued with a financial penalty of up to £5,000. If a second breach is committed within five years it becomes a criminal offence and can be dealt with by prosecution or a financial penalty of up to £30,000.”

Permitted fees include rent payments, refundable deposit, refundable holding deposit, payments to change the tenancy, early termination or utilities, TV, phone, internet and council tax.

Other permitted fees include default fee for late payment or replacement of a lost key.

If a tenant has been charged a prohibited fee, legal eviction procedures cannot be used until the fee has been repaid. Tenants will also have the right to recover unlawfully charged fees through the First-Tier Tribunal or the relevant redress scheme where it concerns an agent.

Initially, the ban will only apply to tenancies which begin after May 31, but from June 1, 2020 the ban will apply to all existing tenancies which were not previously caught.

For tenancies that begin before June 1 this year, fees can still be charged until June 1 2020, but only if they are required by the tenancy agreement.