Wokingham Borough Council Conservatives have backed proposed measures to ban letting fees for private tenants. 

The proposals will effectively stop landlords and letting agents from forcing tenants to pay letting fees as a condition of their tenancy. 

The English Housing survey in 2014-15 stated that the average letting fee across the country is £223, however the charity Shelter said that one in seven tenants in the UK is paying more than double. 

Cllr Julian McGhee-Summer, Executive Member for Housing said: “The Government’s proposals would make renting fairer and more affordable for hundreds of tenants in Wokingham Borough.

“At the moment, letting fees can lead to tenants paying different, and sometimes incredibly high, fees for similar services.

“The changes would mean that there would be fewer upfront costs for renting a property privately.

“We welcome these proposals as an opportunity to make renting more affordable in the Borough.”

Liberal Democrat Councillor Lindsay Ferris said:  “Too many of the houses being built in the Borough are out of the reach of local people.  They are too expensive to buy and too expensive to rent. 

"Something has gone wrong with housing and planning policy in this country, and it needs to be sorted out.”

This latest statement from the Lib Dems is in response to a new government report stating that homelessness is on the rise in the UK. 

Lib Dem leader said: "In 2017 no-one should be homeless, living in a Bed and Breakfast or worrying whether they will have a roof over their head from one month to the next.

"This is a national scandal and the Government are doing nothing to actually tackle the problem."