Apartment Rentals: Avoid and Get Reimbursed for Abusive Agency Fees.

When renting an apartment through an agency, there are costs to be expected.

While some expenses are justified and legitimate, others are abusive.

Myself, a trustee by profession, I was confronted with this problem a few years ago. I won my case, not without difficulty.

So to make your life easier, here's how to escape abusive billing from real estate agencies.

What fees can an agency charge the tenant?

agency fees for an apartment or house rental

When an owner decides to entrust the management of his property to a real estate professional, the latter, through a mandate, becomes the owner's representative.

The agency is legally bound to the owner by virtue of the mandate, but not to the tenant. The tenant only commits himself with the owner with whom he signs the lease.

This is why an agency can only invoice the tenant for certain costs which are legally defined, in application of the law of July 6, 1989 which governs rental relationships.

As Morgane recalled in a previous tip, an agency is totally founded to collect rent and charges relating to housing from the tenant, and to be remunerated when the lease is signed. These lease signing fees are generally equivalent to 1 month's rent excluding charges.

However, she cannot call him other sums. Although section 4 of the 1989 law provides for the list of unfair terms in a rental contract, some agencies still do not take them into account.

The 3 recurring categories of abusive fees

1. Expenses inventory (Between 60 and 80 € in general, once upon entering and once upon leaving the accommodation): the law of 1989 clearly specifies that with the exception of one case (intervention of a bailiff, in which case the invoice is divided into two ), the tenant does not have to bear the costs of establishing the inventory of fixtures.

2. The costs of’Sending of receipts or stamps (which can amount to € 2.50 per month and per receipt, or 30 € per year): This is an abusive practice.

If the owner or his agent have the obligation to provide the receipts, they are not obliged to send them, and not the right to invoice this service (art. 21 of the law of 1989 and ministerial response n ° 9919 of 02/14/1994).

3. Likewise, the late penalties or for a rejected check (between € 10 and € 30 per transaction), the costs relating to means of payment, like the check, for around € 5 per month (i.e. 60 € per year), the photocopies, automatic lease renewal, Internet consultation of his account ... do not have to be charged to the tenant.

Tenants can therefore refuse to honor these abusive fees, or even be reimbursed for them if they have already paid for them.

2 tips to avoid these fees before signing

To avoid these costs, it is up to the owner, when taking out the mandate, to be vigilant, because the agency fees are free and the tenant can turn against him in the event of sums unduly paid.

The tenant must also be attentive at each step.

1. A real estate agent cannot ask you to pay money until the lease has been signed. There is no charge for booking accommodation. List merchants offer to sell you a list of goods that may potentially be of interest to you.

It is up to you to decide whether you are ready to pay without knowing the consideration in advance. I personally advise against it.

2. When signing the lease, carefully reread the documents you are given, including the agency invoice and the receipt for the first rent, which is often paid at that time.

Detail each charge in order to identify what is and is not your responsibility, and do not hesitate to ask for clarification. Check if the mandate includes lease establishment fees and compare with what you are charged.

If anything seems off the mark, report it right away. If the agent tells you that these costs are lawful because they are provided for in the contract, tell him that it is false because such clauses are deemed to be "unwritten" under the 1989 law, that is, they have no value.

This is why we can also do refund of these sums. The limitation period is 5 years for you to get reimbursed.

Get reimbursed when you have already paid

be reimbursed for sums unduly paid to a real estate agency

If, like me, you have had to pay such costs over the past five years, you still have solutions to get your money back.

1. First, write a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt to your agency, mentioning the items concerned and the amounts contested, and the legal justifications mentioned above. You can directly use our standard mail here.

This is how I got my money back 90 € a few years ago (EDL + receipts), following my mail delivered by hand (I was not going to pay the stamp!). As for the receipts, it has been agreed that I will come and collect them from time to time, warning of my passage.

2. If you are not satisfied, you have the option of turning to a tenant advocacy agency, such asADIL. The repression of fraud or DGCCRF is also there to assist you, their action is generally effective, I was able to see this on my own for another problem.

3. Enter your landlord directly can be tricky, since he has chosen not to manage his property himself. But this remains a preferable solution to litigation, a last resort if you have not been able to have these sums reimbursed amicably.

But without a doubt, the above indications should be enough to avoid these excessive charges!

Have you had this problem? Come and inform us of your steps in the comments! Have you ever been reimbursed? How much have you saved? I am also here to answer your questions.

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Also to discover:

The Comparison of Short Term Rental Sites for Apartments between Individuals.

Tenants: 5 Expenses to Anticipate Before Signing a Lease.


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