Foxtons to appeal against landlord fees judgement

Permalink: Foxtons to appeal against landlord fees judgement
by Gill Montia

Foxtons is proposing to appeal against a High Court ruling on landlord fees, The Times has reported.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) won a High Court case against the London-based lettings agent in July, following complaints from landlords about the small print in the firm’s contracts.

Hidden in the detail were clauses that allowed Foxtons to not only charge landlords for finding tenants but add a further fee if a tenant remained in a property beyond the initial term of the let.

The charges were levied regardless of whether the company played a part in retaining the tenant and even when it was no longer the managing agent.

In addition, should a client sell a property halfway through a contract period, Foxtons expected to receive commission for the full period.

The OFT issued proceedings under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 and was granted injunctions preventing the continued use of the terms.

The outcome meant that other lettings agents using similar clauses needed to make their own amendments.

However, according to The Times, the recent failure of the OFT to successfully challenge bank overdraft fees under consumer contract regulations has encouraged Foxtons to mount an appeal, which will need to be lodged by 29th January 2010.