A ban on letting agent fees has saved private renters in England an estimated £889m since the 2019 Tenant Fees Act was introduced.
According to Generation Rent, before this legislation was introduced 45% of the million-plus tenants moving home were charged fees.
This meant an average of £269 was paid per household.
In the six years since their ban, Generation Rent has calculated this has led to nearly £900m of savings for private renters.
The Tenant Fees Act banned or restricted unfair charges, including non-refundable fees from the start, renewal or end of a tenancy.
Generation Rent also researched how many tribunal cases have been brought forward since the act.
In the past six years, 68 tribunal cases have been brought forward with 72% returning a positive outcome.
The most common dispute involved in these cases surrounded the failure of landlords or letting agents to return holding deposits, typically when the tenancy did not go ahead, which accounted for 65% of all cases.
“Since it came into force, the Tenant Fees Act has saved renters nearly a billion pounds, and simplified the process of finding a home,” said Ben Twomey, CEO at Generation Rent.
“But there is still much more to do to make renting more affordable and reduce unwanted moves.
“We want to see more positives like the Tenant Fees Act, and are committed to fighting to rebalance the system, and get more money back into renters’ pockets – where it belongs.”
