STUDENTS are routinely being charged illegal administration, credit check and deposit fees by letting agencies, a new survey shows.
An investigation of the rental housing market in Glasgow found some agencies were charging up to £60 to carry out a credit check and five per cent of the monthly rent to prepare an inventory.
One agency was even charging a £120 "pre-emptive" fee to cover the cost of cleaning the property at the end of the tenancy, the survey by students at Glasgow University found.
The Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 makes it illegal for letting agencies to charge a tenant for anything other than rent and a deposit.
However, Glasgow University Students’ Representative Council (SRC) found many agencies detailed illegal charges on their websites and in documentation provided to prospective tenants.
The SRC said they were concerned at the continued exploitation of the student market, many of whom are first-time renters unaware of their rights under Scottish housing legislation.
Liam King, president of the SRC, said: “This investigation confirms our experiences that there are a significant number of letting agencies in Glasgow that are exploiting students, and particularly students from outwith Scotland, many of whom are not aware of their rights.
"This is clearly a lucrative source of income for agencies as in almost all circumstances these deposits were stated to be non-refundable."
The SRC contacted 31 agencies across Glasgow in July this asking them to complete a short survey on their current practices in relation to renting properties to students and charging fees to tenants. This was followed by a series of "mystery shopping" enquiries to the same agencies across August and September
Some 58 per cent of agencies were found to be charging prospective tenants holding deposits to “reserve” a property, with the amount charged ranging from £200 up to an entire month’s rent.
In addition to outlawing these fees the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 section 90 (1) states that the charging of this type of fee in relation to a tenancy constitutes a statutory criminal offence.
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