States review letting agents services

Sunday 05 March 2017

A review has been launched to find out how satisfied landlords and tenants are with the service provided by Jersey’s letting and property agents.

Launched by the Housing Minister, the review will consider customer services, fee structures, repairs and maintenance and tenancy management.

Housing Minister, Deputy Anne Pryke, said: “Letting agents play an important role in the private rented sector, supporting landlords to manage their property and helping tenants to access suitable homes.

“We want to support professional lettings agents who provide good standard and well-managed homes, whilst dealing effectively with those who don’t. This will give both landlords and tenants greater certainty when renting and assist responsible letting agents to compete on a level playing field.” 

Deputy Pryke said: “We know people are concerned about fees because these add to the costs of housing. Whilst letting agents should be able to charge for legitimate business costs, I am concerned that some fees may not be reasonable, such as double charging both landlords and tenants for the same services. We have recently seen a move to ban letting agent fees in England for tenants, so it is right that we consider whether this would be appropriate for Jersey.”

“I would urge members of the public who have experience of using a letting agent, and letting agents themselves who provide vital expertise, to respond to the review so that we can make sure that the sector is responding effectively to the island’s housing needs.”

Islanders have until 28 April to contribute to the review.

More information about the review can be found here.