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Foxtons: right to appeal over renewal fees

Monday, December 21, 2009

Source: Catherine Deshayes

Foxtons has won leave to appeal against part of a High Court decision made earlier this year over the fairness of charging renewal fees...

The agent fought a test case against the OFT, which maintained that 'something for nothing' fees were inherently unfair. Foxtons, in common with most letting agents, charges tenants a fee for staying on in the property, even when the agents do not manage the property.

In the earlier case, in July, the court did not decide whether charging renewal fees was unfair, but said that the practice must be made absolutely clear and must not be hidden away in the small print. Otherwise, the judge warned, the fees were a timebomb or a trap.

The right to appeal has now been granted to Foxtons. This comes after the Supreme Court over-ruled an earlieir ruling relating to bank overdraft fees. The earlier ruling said that banks should not routinely charge for unauthorised overdrafts, but the Supreme Court decided otherwise.

Source: www.estateagenttoday.co.uk