Service charges soar as agents cut commission to the bone

This week, letting agents were slammed by Citizens Advice for ripping off the public and inventing charges as they went along.

Citizens Advice said that the charges, which are levied on top of the agent’s normal commission, are unfair and should be scrapped.

But according to London agent Nigel Bosworth, some agents are cutting their commission to the bone, and making no margin on it at all, in a bid to secure the landlord.

To compensate for this, they have to make up for it elsewhere. Some do so by charging high renewal fees, or for services such as drafting tenancy agreements.