Bristol’s biggest letting agency franchise has announced it will stop the practice of asking potential tenants to bid more than the advertised monthly rent to secure a new home, Bristol Live can reveal.
CJ Hole’s lettings director told Bristol Live the company’s founder Chris Hill signed a pledge to end the controversial practice and ensure it would not happen in the future. The firm was the subject of direct action lobbying by tenants union ACORN Bristol on Monday, as part of the group’s ongoing ‘Ban The Bid’ campaign.
The practice sees prospective tenants asked by landlords or letting agencies to submit ‘bids’ saying how much rent they would be prepared to pay each month, over and above the originally advertised figure for that property, in much the same way estate agents selling property where there is more than one prospective buyer could ask them all to submit sealed bids over the ‘asking price’.
