Reference charge?

[Claudia14]

I saw that sentence in a new ad coming up:

Available 1st September. Small reference charge applicable.

Is that actually allowed?

[mod_harry]

Hi @Claudia14,

Landlords are prohibited from passing on the costs of referencing to prospective tenants, this was a change introduced as part of the Tenant Fees Act (2019):

Banned Tenant Fees and Payments for Landlords

If you’ve seen this mentioned in a description on OpenRent, please do press the “Report Listing” button on the property page so we can follow up with the landlord.

Edit: we found the listing you were referring to and removed this line, reminding the landlord of their obligations.

[Leslie1]

Any decent LL will know this is illegal and cannot be done, its either scammers or a LL that doesnt deserve to be. Its because of LL like them that the renters bill is being forced upon us, dont deal with them.