OpenRent is giving tenants the chance to win £300 for sharing their worst tenant fees story.
To enter the competition, RT our tweet commenting your worst tenant fee experience using the hashtag #FeeFreedom.
The prize of £300 is the same amount as the average tenant fee in the UK according to government data.
We hope that by sharing these rip-off fees with the world, we will show how sorely needed the Tenant Fees Act is!
What are tenant fees?
Tenant fees are any fee that a letting agent or landlord charges you that are not one of the following:
- the rent
- a holding deposit
- a tenancy deposit aka security deposit aka bond
Examples of unfair tenant fees
Every tenant has their own mad fee story; from the agent who charged £50 for sending a letter, to the landlord who tried to charge £250 for referencing checks that only cost £20 to perform.
We’ve heard so many horror stories over the years, and now we want to give you the chance to turn them into cash.
£400 to change a name on a contract? £80 to change a light bulb? £94.35 for a lost key? If you’ve been charged it, we want to hear about it.
Payback time
The average tenant fee is a whopping £300 according to Government research. OpenRent have never charged these fees, saving tenants a huge £85m since founding in 2012.
It’s a huge number, yet it’s only 93 times larger than the fee-charging Foxtons letting agent paid their CEO in 2017.
We understand that tenants don’t choose a property based on the agent advertising it. They choose it based on its price, location and number of bedrooms. That’s why it’s so unfair to charge tenants huge sums.
With this captive source of income finally closed off, letting agents will be forced to reform their practices, which can only be good news for renters everywhere.
The end of ripoff fees
Tenant fees are banned as of 1st June, 2019. All tenants in England (and Wales soon after) be free from the hidden costs obscure charges that have hit their pockets for years.
Find out about your new tenant rights on our ultimate guide to the Tenant Fees Act (2019).
Terms & Conditions
You can find the full competition terms and conditions here.
OpenRent is a limited company whose registered office is at New Bridge Street House, 30-34 New Bridge Street, London, United Kingdom, EC4V 6BJ, registered with company number 07749632.
To enter the competition you need to either:
Retweet our competition tweet [
https://twitter.com/OpenRent/status/1135586628351774732 ] with a comment describing the worst tenant fee you have ever been asked to pay on Twitter with the #FeeFreedom, or
Comment on or share our Facebook competition post [
https://www.facebook.com/OpenRent/posts/2250653981681462 ] with a comment describing the worst tenant fee you have ever been asked to pay.
The competition will begin on 1st June 2019 and end at midnight on 30th June 2019. We will select one winner to be announced no later than 13th September, 2019.
retweet our competition tweet [
https://twitter.com/OpenRent/status/1135586628351774732 ] with a comment describing the worst tenant fee you have ever been asked to pay on Twitter with the #FeeFreedom. Or share our Facebook post The competition will begin on 1st June 2019 and end at midnight on 30th June 2019. We will select one winner to be announced no later than 13th September, 2019.
The prize is £300, the same as the average tenant fee in the UK in 2017 according to DCLG data. This amount will be paid by BACS transfer to a UK bank account nominated by the competition winner.
The winner will be selected at random from all valid entries. The winner will be notified via social media. The prize must then be claimed within 60 days.
This competition is open to UK residents aged 18 or over, except employees of OpenRent, and their immediate families, or anyone professionally associated with this promotion.
All tweets entering the competition must relate to the direct experience of the entrant. In case of any doubts about the veracity of the fee, OpenRent reserves the right to cancel any participation to this contest. Only one entry will be accepted per participant.
OpenRent reserves the right to cancel, modify or supersede this competition (including altering the prize) at any time if in our sole discretion the competition is not capable of being conducted as specified.
By entering the competition you are accepting these terms and conditions. Entries which are not in accordance with the terms and conditions will be void. OpenRent’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Start the discussion at community.openrent.co.uk