{"id":19491,"date":"2017-01-19T14:49:53","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T14:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/intercardiff\/?p=19491"},"modified":"2017-01-19T14:49:53","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T14:49:53","slug":"mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists","title":{"rendered":"Mould, cold and dodgy fees &#8211; letting agents or con artists?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>The U.K. government has announced the banning of letting agents fees in England, but a Welsh Assembly oversight means the changes don\u2019t apply to Wales. Now lagging behind renters in England and Scotland, are renters in Cardiff getting a fair deal from letting agencies and landlords?<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19493\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19493\" style=\"width: 615px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19493\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775.jpg\" alt=\"Students renting in Cathays pay agency fees as high as \u00a3200 to secure properties\" width=\"615\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775.jpg 615w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775-500x341.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19493\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19493\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775.jpg\" alt=\"Students renting in Cathays pay agency fees as high as \u00a3200 to secure properties\" width=\"615\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775.jpg 615w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775-500x341.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" \/><\/noscript> Students renting in Cathays pay agency fees as high as \u00a3200 to secure properties<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>With most students in Cardiff living in rented housing after their first year, liaising with letting agents and landlords has become part and parcel of the university experience. Stop a student on Salisbury Road and odds are they\u2019ll have a story of an evasive plumber, absent landlord or stubborn letting agent.<\/p>\n<p>On top of rent, the cost of finding and securing a new property can put pressure on many students\u2019 budgets. So when Phillip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-38065249\">announced plans to ban letting agents\u2019 fees<\/a> in the Autumn Statement, many renters in Cardiff breathed a sigh of relief. However even Cardiff Central MP Jo Stevens wasn&#8217;t sure whether it would include Wales, and as it turned out the plans only applied to England.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">If right, it&#8217;s good news for <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Cardiff?src=hash\">#Cardiff<\/a> Central. We&#8217;ve had a 2 yr campaign against extortionate letting agency fees. Devil in the detail <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wvtA5Fx2PO\">https:\/\/t.co\/wvtA5Fx2PO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jo Stevens MP (@JoStevensLabour) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JoStevensLabour\/status\/801212533759541248\">November 22, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Ah. It is England only as housing not consumer legislation. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kXXMP7hR5f\">https:\/\/t.co\/kXXMP7hR5f<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jo Stevens MP (@JoStevensLabour) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JoStevensLabour\/status\/801318436811014145\">November 23, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The Labour Welsh Government had previously voted down a Plaid Cymru amendment to ban the fees last year on the basis that the Assembly did not have the devolved powers to do so. However, Hammond\u2019s announcement <a href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/uncategorized\/welsh-labour-gaffe-denies-renters-letting-fees-reprieve\">excluded Wales<\/a> precisely because it is a devolved matter, which Westminster cannot legally interfere with.<\/p>\n<p>As a result Wales are left trailing England and Scotland (who imposed their own fees ban in 2011) in terms of tenants\u2019 rights. While they were happy for renters in England, campaign group \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/letdownincardiff.wordpress.com\/\">Let Down in Wales<\/a>\u2019 said, \u201cit was tinged with a bit of jealousy as this was for England\u2019s private renters, not Wales.\u201d Students and campaigners are now crossing their fingers that an emergency bill proposed by Cardiff Central AM Jenny Rathbone is selected for debate in the Sennedd on 25th January.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19495\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19495\" style=\"width: 543px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-19495 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cps-llanbleddian-gardens-e1484836134992.jpg\" alt=\"Properties are hastily converted so landlords can house more tenants\" width=\"543\" height=\"435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cps-llanbleddian-gardens-e1484836134992.jpg 543w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cps-llanbleddian-gardens-e1484836134992-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cps-llanbleddian-gardens-e1484836134992-500x401.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 543px) 100vw, 543px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19495\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19495 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cps-llanbleddian-gardens-e1484836134992.jpg\" alt=\"Properties are hastily converted so landlords can house more tenants\" width=\"543\" height=\"435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cps-llanbleddian-gardens-e1484836134992.jpg 543w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cps-llanbleddian-gardens-e1484836134992-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cps-llanbleddian-gardens-e1484836134992-500x401.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 543px) 100vw, 543px\" \/><\/noscript> With a large percentage of students resident in Cathays, letting is a big business. Many streets house five or six agencies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the meantime, on top of dubious fees, many students are still contending with poor living conditions and unscrupulous behaviour from their landlords. Joe, 21, told us about his experience on moving into his house on Woodville Road this summer. \u201cIt was disgusting. The small print of our contract says they\u2019ll deduct money from us for compulsory cleaning at the end of the year, even if we leave it clean. Well they certainly hadn\u2019t bothered before we moved in. The bathrooms stank of piss, the kitchen sink had a leak and the cupboards were rotting. One of the fridges had been left switched off with food in it all summer, and there was an infestation of flies living inside.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19690\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19690\" style=\"width: 625px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-19690\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/fridge-photo-625x415.jpg\" alt=\"Joe was welcomed into his new house by an infestation of flies and rotting food.\" width=\"625\" height=\"415\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19690\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-19690\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/fridge-photo-625x415.jpg\" alt=\"Joe was welcomed into his new house by an infestation of flies and rotting food.\" width=\"625\" height=\"415\" \/><\/noscript> Joe was welcomed into his new house by an infestation of flies and rotting food.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Contracts stipulate that homes will be cleaned, and maintenance performed, so the agency sent people over to sort it all, right? \u201cThey essentially ignored us until another tenant had his dad give them a bollocking in person. Even then we had to deal with the flies and the piss ourselves. The arrogance of the agency was astounding. I can\u2019t imagine any of them living in these conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, at least Joe had a house to move into. The same can\u2019t be said for Natalie, 21, a zoology student currently on her placement year. \u201cWhen we turned up to collect our keys on July 1st the agency had no record of who we were and that we\u2019d secured a property. They\u2019d still taken fees and a deposit off us though. They didn\u2019t even work with that landlord any more. He\u2019d rented it through another agency. So once we got our money back we had a day to run round Cardiff and find somewhere to live. Fair to say the best houses had been taken by then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-container\"><\/div>\n<p>Alarmingly, InterCardiff has heard more than one example of a letting agent and the landlord being one and the same person. Toby, a 23-year old chemistry student was furious when he realised. \u201cWhen they asked for the first payment of rent, we noticed the name and details were the same as for the agency fee and deposit. So we\u2019re charged \u00a3150 each for an agency fee, when the agent IS the landlord. They\u2019ve made \u00a3900 for doing literally nothing. I\u2019m amazed they can get away with that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Worse still are times when agencies&#8217; negligence put tenants\u2019 health at risk. Megan, 21, has repeatedly been ignored when bringing up her concerns. \u201cThe house is damp, mouldy and unliveable, we&#8217;ve been told this by multiple specialists who come to clean the mould or survey the house, and last term I discovered rats living directly under my floorboards.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19692\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19692\" style=\"width: 625px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-19692\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/mouldywall1-625x415.jpg\" alt=\"The walls of Megan's bedroom are covered in mould, a health hazard her landlord has done little to combat\" width=\"625\" height=\"415\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19692\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-19692\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/mouldywall1-625x415.jpg\" alt=\"The walls of Megan's bedroom are covered in mould, a health hazard her landlord has done little to combat\" width=\"625\" height=\"415\" \/><\/noscript> The walls of Megan&#8217;s bedroom are covered in mould, a health hazard her landlord has done little to combat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;The mould specialist said that these houses weren&#8217;t built for multiple occupancies, they were built for families. The landlord\u2019s modifications have ruined the air flow, so the mould can\u2019t be our fault. He also said that the house should be condemned, it\u2019s not fit for habitation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan hasn\u2019t found her agency to be very sympathetic considering the property has been deemed uninhabitable. \u201cAnd the agencies and landlords suggest that we keep our windows open, but I&#8217;m sure they aren&#8217;t doing that themselves in their own house in the middle of winter. It&#8217;s like living homeless but paying \u00a3310 a month for the privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19496\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19496\" style=\"width: 625px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-19496 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-625x351.jpg\" alt=\"With a large percentage of students resident in Cathays, letting is a big business. Many streets house five or six agencies. \" width=\"625\" height=\"351\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19496\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19496 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-625x351.jpg\" alt=\"With a large percentage of students resident in Cathays, letting is a big business. Many streets house five or six agencies. \" width=\"625\" height=\"351\" \/><\/noscript> Properties are hastily converted so landlords can house more tenants<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Across the students we spoke to, there was a common pattern of annoyance that the fees seem totally arbitrary. If fees really are a necessary evil, surely agencies should be able to provide justification in terms of what service they\u2019re actually providing, and why it costs them to provide that service.<\/p>\n<p>While maintenance loans are failing to increase in line with inflation, students\u2019 budgets are taking a hit of around \u00a3400 each spring as they look for a new home. For students who don\u2019t receive financial support from their parents, that\u2019s a massive hit that they can ill afford to take.<\/p>\n<p>With backbencher Jenny Rathbone AM\u2019s proposal to ban fees in Wales up for ballot on 25th January (frontbenchers still won\u2019t push it through by conventional means), <a href=\"https:\/\/letdownincardiff.wordpress.com\/\">Let Down In Cardiff<\/a> are adamant about the importance of a Welsh ban.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt cannot be emphasised enough how much of a difference this will make to struggling renters. Letting agents are not always bad, but most of them are very expensive. This will finally make moving house less prohibitive a cost and it will level the playing field a good amount between renters and those supplying their homes. So, bring on the ban!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Welsh Assembly oversight means that a proposed ban on letting fees won\u2019t apply to Wales. Now lagging behind renters in England and Scotland, are renters in Cardiff getting a fair deal from letting agencies and landlords?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":372,"featured_media":19493,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-19491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-social-justice"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Letting agents or con artists?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With a ban on letting fees announced by U.K Government not applying to Wales, are renters in Cardiff being treated fairly by their landlords and letting agents?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Letting agents or con artists?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With a ban on letting fees announced by U.K Government not applying to Wales, are renters in Cardiff being treated fairly by their landlords and letting agents?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"InterCardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-19T14:49:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"615\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"420\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dillon Eastoe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dillon Eastoe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists\",\"name\":\"Letting agents or con artists?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-19T14:49:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/b64e3e48d61bc4745088786feafa88b5\"},\"description\":\"With a ban on letting fees announced by U.K Government not applying to Wales, are renters in Cardiff being treated fairly by their landlords and letting agents?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775.jpg\",\"width\":615,\"height\":420,\"caption\":\"Students renting in Cathays pay agency fees as high as \u00a3200 to secure properties\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mould, cold and dodgy fees &#8211; letting agents or con artists?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/\",\"name\":\"InterCardiff\",\"description\":\"A global city for internationalists\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/b64e3e48d61bc4745088786feafa88b5\",\"name\":\"Dillon Eastoe\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/fafd042b062271f7f9ee45737ba39cfa\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88c16fd61123d7f187ea405385edbf4ff5fb6ad9a8d0cc49da236f7aba852820?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88c16fd61123d7f187ea405385edbf4ff5fb6ad9a8d0cc49da236f7aba852820?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dillon Eastoe\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/author\/dilloneastoewords\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Letting agents or con artists?","description":"With a ban on letting fees announced by U.K Government not applying to Wales, are renters in Cardiff being treated fairly by their landlords and letting agents?","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Letting agents or con artists?","og_description":"With a ban on letting fees announced by U.K Government not applying to Wales, are renters in Cardiff being treated fairly by their landlords and letting agents?","og_url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists","og_site_name":"InterCardiff","article_published_time":"2017-01-19T14:49:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":615,"height":420,"url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dillon Eastoe","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dillon Eastoe","Estimated reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists","name":"Letting agents or con artists?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775.jpg","datePublished":"2017-01-19T14:49:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/b64e3e48d61bc4745088786feafa88b5"},"description":"With a ban on letting fees announced by U.K Government not applying to Wales, are renters in Cardiff being treated fairly by their landlords and letting agents?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/01\/cathays-terrace-2-e1484835752775.jpg","width":615,"height":420,"caption":"Students renting in Cathays pay agency fees as high as \u00a3200 to secure properties"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/politics-social-justice\/mould-cold-and-dodgy-fees-letting-agents-or-con-artists#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mould, cold and dodgy fees &#8211; letting agents or con artists?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/","name":"InterCardiff","description":"A global city for internationalists","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/b64e3e48d61bc4745088786feafa88b5","name":"Dillon Eastoe","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/fafd042b062271f7f9ee45737ba39cfa","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88c16fd61123d7f187ea405385edbf4ff5fb6ad9a8d0cc49da236f7aba852820?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88c16fd61123d7f187ea405385edbf4ff5fb6ad9a8d0cc49da236f7aba852820?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dillon Eastoe"},"url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/author\/dilloneastoewords"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/372"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19491"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=19491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}