Unfair 'administration fee'?

[8david5]

I am a student in Edinburgh staying in a flat of five.

We renewed our 12 month lease for next year today.

However, we have had to pay an 'administration fee' of 30 pounds per tenant (ie 150 pounds).

As we are existing tenants this does not strike me as being fair since it doesn't in any way reflect the amount of time/effort that will have to be spent on our renewal application.

Does anyone know what the legal position is in this regard? Is there anything we can do?


Thanks!!!

[Joa]

Renewal fees are really up the agency. They can charge whatever they want- as long as the client swallows it. Check you tenancy agreement- does it mention the renewal fee? You can ask for a copy of the original application form and check whether they have advised you about these fees before but unless the form says something helpful like: "these fees are one-off only" there is not much you can do. Fair? Nope, but business is business.
You can try to negotiate with the agents- keeping the landlord in the loop. But because you have already paid this fee, I am afraid you will not see this 30 quid again
So all in all- if you want to stay, you are stuck with the renewal fee, as much as we all hate them.
If you are at Uni, the SU there has a really good advice centre- pop in to see if they can offer any further help.