Protesters swoop on Savills’ flagship headquarters in letting agent fees demo

Activists demonstrated outside Savills’s flagship headquarters on Friday, protesting against “extortionate” letting fees.

Dressed as burglars to highlight their claims of “daylight robbery”, the demonstrators from renters’ rights group Digs formed a wall outside Savills’ office  close to Oxford Circus in central London.

The barricade meant that some Savills staff were stranded outside, according to reports, although EYE understands this was not so.

The office, on the corner of Margaret Street and Regent Street, employs some 900 people.

Demo organiser Danny Hayward said: “Letting agents are incredibly well organised and well funded, and right now they’re using this funding and power to derail the ban on extortionate fees. Everyone who rents, knows this ban is long overdue.

“Greedy letting agents hold the keys to our homes, and in a captive market like London, with such a shortage of affordable homes, letting agents can and do charge whatever they like.

“Letting agents need to know how strongly we feel about this. That’s why we’re taking action. If they want to carry on trying to derail this ban, they’ll have a fight on their hands. They should do the decent thing and drop their opposition to the fees ban.

“The Government must stick to its guns. Right now it needs to show that it puts the needs of the UK’s 9m renters above the commercial interests of letting agents.”

A Savills spokesperson said: “Savills can confirm that a number of individuals gathered outside its offices on Friday, seemingly to protest about letting agency fees.

“Savills was not contacted prior to the event. Security and police were on site and able to deal with the matter.”

Separately, another tenants’ activists group Acorn, under the banner ‘Renters Rising’, is running a vote registration campaign aimed at getting tenants, young people and homeless people to take part in the election.

Rent campaigners blockade letting agency to protest ‘daylight robbery’

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9 Comments

  1. Eric Walker

    Acorns ‘renters rising’ campaign may later become a ‘rents rising’ campaign.

    It’s good to see they are encouraging young people to vote, but for whom? All parties have a ban promised in their respective manifestos. As such, it seems this demonstration may be have been a little unnecessary.

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  2. proper21

    “Greedy letting agents hold the keys to our homes,”??????

    mark twain was right:

    never argue with stupid people.

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  3. Gloslet

    I wonder how many of these masked protesters actually rent or have rented through Savills ?

    Surely the protesters efforts would be better directed at the unlicensed lettings agents – the ones who do not pay to be members of an independent redress schemes, the ones that do not pay to provide client money protection cover, the ones that do not pay to register and protect the tenancy deposit monies, the ones that do not pay to have trained staff available for applicants and tenants alike ??

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    1. seenitall

      you mean like private landlords.    Agents have to by law belong to a redress scheeme and I think the regulation of Agents is pretty much complete- the big elephant is the private landlords who most are under no form of redress or offer any protection for tenants.    
      I would think that most issues tenants have when problems arrise are with private landlords.     Its a shame these protestors dont raise their mire towards them.

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    2. P-Daddy

      If they had, the press wouldn’t have shown any interest…however a protest outside the rich peoples estate agent and their glass tower will attract comment…there you are The Hackney Citizen is all over this story. Power to the people…if you remember Citizen Smith from the 70’s!

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  4. Ding Dong

    To be fair, their fees are not the highest in London by a long chalk with the fee for two people moving in being about £500 if you include the check in

    However, two additional fees stand out for me, being the £120 for a renewal and the following fee which makes no sense to me if they are referring to check in?

    Reinstating fixtures and fittings to originalposition prior to check-in £50 per hour  

     

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  5. craves69

    Surely they understand that if the fees are reduced the rents will increase………. letting agents aren’t going to lose an income like this without some kind of charge to the landlord who in turn will re-coupe through the rents. Another knee jerk reaction by the clowns who run the country, just in time for an election, fancy that!!!!

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  6. proper21

    Here’s and idea for all those disgruntled tenants.

    Buy a house!

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    1. SE27

      Clearly “Proper21” is over the age of 40! 
       
      Us born in the 80’s [or ever 90’s] here, wont have that chance, especially in London! 90% of my under 40 clients will be funded by the bank of mum and dad… I wish I had wealthy parents!

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