A NORTH Yorkshire MP who is also the founder of a chain of estate agencies has backed a total ban on fees for tenants.

Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton, lead a Parliamentary debate on the topic last week, and gave his backing to the move announced in the Queen’s Speech this summer.

But Mr Hollinrake, co-founder and principal shareholder of Hunters, said the government needs to take care that “unintended consequences” do not come in the wake of the ban.

He said: “The reason for the debate was to make sure we identify all the potential pitfalls and difficulties for tenants, and respect the hard work and investment of small businesses and landlords.”

He backed the idea of a ban on fees, saying some agencies take advantage of tenants by hiking charges.

In a blog on his own website, the MP wrote: “Letting agents can – and some do – charge what they like because when a tenant has finally found the property they want, they give in to the exorbitant fees out of sheer exhaustion.”

However, Mr Hollinrake raised some concerns about unintended consequences of a ban - which he said could lead to some tenants finding it harder to secure a home - and raised questions about how a ban would be enforced.

He added: “Who, for example, should pay for such expenses as references, credit checks and income verification which do cost agents money? Currently, this is covered by the fee, but if this is banned, it would fall to the agent or landlord. They might take a cautious approach and favour better off tenants (following preliminary enquiries) over the less-well off or those on housing benefit.

“Legislation without effective enforcement is next to pointless. Local authorities’ record on enforcing the existing rules is dismal. Whilst the consultation proposes that the ban should extend, quite rightly, to the 57 per cent of landlords who don’t use agents, there is not a register of landlords in the UK, so it would be very difficult to enforce.”

Agencies in particular will be against a ban which could see them lose revenue, he added, but that needs to be put aside in favour of the private rented sector work for tenants.

However, he said he believes fears that the loss of fees would lead landlords to hike rents instead will be largely unfounded.

“Rents are fairly stable at the moment, so I don’t really see that this should make a massive difference. It should make life better for tenants,” Mr Hollinrake said.

The Government announced its intention to ban letting fees in the Queens Speech given in July, and the next step will be a draft bill likely to be published within the next few months, he added.