I'm applying to rent a new apartment from a real estate agent and on the application form, in the initial payment section, it has rental bond, 2 weeks rent amount and admin fee - $28.00.
I have been renting for 20 years and I have never seen this before. It's common?
i'm going to wait until my application is approved by the apartment's owner, then question the fee.
I think the dentist is a different situation as private health insurance providers may have line cost caps, but splitting charges into different lines helps the patient claim costs under 2 line item caps. Would you rather have a cost cap at $67 and pay the extra $35 yourself? Or have the dentist separate line items and charges and be able to claim on 2 benefits, and pay $0?
It's a scam preying on the poor
Much like rent itself, generally.
Feels pretty scammy to me. The landlord is charged a significant fee already for placing a new tenant, so charging the tenant is complete BS. If they do that now, imagine what they're like when you need something fixed. You can bet they're not tenant-friendly there either.
If you are in the position to find something else, I'd tell them to get f'd and call them out on their social media for something that sus.
Bond is usually 4 weeks (doesn't have to be), but if you take the property, make sure you check they've correctly lodged your bond and haven't "forgot" to do it. It may be above board, but odd that they only want 2 weeks and then tack on an extra fee.
Flap me sideways
Abuse the Flap out of the Flapper Please
….what?
Something about flaps…. lol
Ask them what the fee is for. Any fees should be charged to the owner not the renter.
Thanks. By law the owner should pay the fee? I couldn't find any official information.
They might be double dipping! Charging the you & the owner an admin fee!
What state are you in?
Guessing one of the rougue states..
What if he is in a happy state?
NSW
OP if you don't want to pay the fee, just move onto the next agent / home.
The agent has been open and transparent that there is a fee.
They can still question the fee though, being transparent about the amount doesn't mean it's a valid charge… It's a bit like walking into a store to buy a phone plan and the salesperson slapping on a fee for handing you the contract forms!
The dodgey agencies must be looking at new ways to extract extra $$ from everyone.
If questioning the fee might jeopardise your likelihood of a successful application, then you've got to ask yourself if saving $28 is worth the risk.
However, if you don't really care and you think you can easily find another place through another agency, then go ahead and question it.
Could be for the lease
Did you ask what the fee represents?