Agent Asking Both Landlord and Tenant to Pay a Fee: Who Should Pay?

Opener

SPEEDHOME's landlord-side operating model charges the landlord one transparent placement service fee and does not charge the tenant a placement commission — so when a traditional agent asks both landlord and tenant to pay, the practical question is not who is "supposed" to pay but whether the two charges are for two different jobs or the same job billed twice.

A landlord or tenant who is asked to pay a fee by an agent should treat the request as a paperwork problem before treating it as a legal one. Ask who appointed the agent, what is in writing, whether the two charges (if both are asked) cover two separate scopes, and whether the invoice names the service. The risk is not that the fee is unlawful — it is that the fee is undocumented, so a dispute later becomes a memory contest between the two sides.

For landlords comparing the agent route against a managed route, start with the broader property agent vs SPEEDHOME comparison, then check whether renting without an agent or SPEEDHOME landlord services fits the situation better.

Can a real-estate agent in Malaysia charge both the landlord and the tenant?

It is not automatically illegal for a Malaysian agent to charge both sides, and it is not automatically allowed either — the legal answer depends on who appointed the agent, what the written agreement says, and whether the two charges cover two distinct services.

The clean way to think about it is "who engaged the agent, and what did they engage the agent to do?" If a landlord appointed the agent to find and place a tenant, the landlord typically pays the placement fee. If a tenant separately engaged the same or a different agent for a separate service (such as tenancy-agreement handling or renewal), the tenant can pay for that second service. The problem starts when the agent asks both sides to pay for the same placement work without a written split of scope, or when the agent is not registered to charge an estate-agency fee at all.

Note for readers: this page is authored narrowly because the public-safe position on whether Malaysian agents may collect a "dual fee" from both landlord and tenant on the same rental transaction has not been settled by LPPEH or BOVAEA in a public ruling we can quote. The Legal Profession Act 1976 prohibits an agent (who is not a lawyer) from drafting or advising on legal instruments for a fee as if acting as a lawyer, and the Legal Profession Act limit is one practical boundary a reader should keep in mind. Verify the agent's REN status, the written scope, and the exact label on the invoice before paying.

Who should pay the agent fee in a typical Malaysia rental?

In a typical Malaysian placement, the landlord pays the placement commission to the agent they engaged to find a tenant, and the tenant pays separately only if the tenant engaged the agent for a different, named service.

Industry convention is that a new-tenancy placement commission runs roughly around one month's rent, with a higher tier for shorter tenancies — but there is no statutory cap on what an agent and a client may agree in writing. The agent's fee is whatever the landlord (or tenant, if the tenant engaged the agent) signs up to. The two common ways the fee gets loaded on a tenant by mistake are:

1. The landlord pays the agent, and the tenant is asked for a "tenancy agreement preparation fee" or "admin fee" that the landlord has already paid for.
2. The tenant is asked for a "renewal fee" on year two even though the renewal was a signature exchange with no real new work.

A fee can still be badly documented even when it is fair. A badly documented fee becomes a dispute because each side remembers the conversation differently — and once it is a dispute, the only paper that wins is the paper you already have.

What should a landlord or tenant check before paying a double-sided fee?

Before paying, get three things in writing: the exact amount and whether SST is included, the named scope of work, and who the payer is on the receipt — and treat any refusal to itemise as a warning sign.

A landlord's pre-payment checklist:

• Written agency agreement naming the scope: listing, viewings, tenant screening, negotiation, tenancy agreement, renewal, post-signing support — and what is NOT included.
• The exact fee, the payment trigger (signing, key handover, first rent received), and whether the fee is exclusive or inclusive of SST.
• A receipt or invoice that names the landlord as the payer and states the service.
• A separate, signed letter if the agent is also asking the tenant to pay, naming what the tenant is paying for and confirming it is not the same scope as the landlord's fee.

A tenant's pre-payment checklist:

• Who appointed the agent — if the landlord already engaged the agent, ask what service the tenant is paying for that the landlord has not already paid for.
• A written scope, a receipt, and confirmation that the fee is not a "placement fee" the landlord is also paying.
• Whether the tenancy agreement itself is being drafted by a lawyer, or whether the agent is preparing the TA — agents may use a standard template and fill in factual details, but should not be paid to give legal advice or draft bespoke legal clauses.

If the agent refuses to itemise, that is a warning sign. It does not prove misconduct, but it means you cannot later show what you paid for, and any complaint to a regulator or the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia needs that paper to stand.

Draft message you can copy to the agent

If you want a written scope and the agent has only sent a verbal quote, the message below is a reasonable, neutral way to ask. Replace the bracketed parts.

Hi [agent name], before I confirm payment of the [placement / renewal / admin] fee, please send me a written breakdown covering:

1. The exact fee in RM, and whether it is inclusive or exclusive of SST.
2. The named scope of work covered (e.g. listing, viewings, screening, negotiation, TA preparation, renewal, post-signing support).
3. Who the payer is on the receipt (landlord / tenant / both), and a separate receipt per payer.
4. Your REN number and the estate-agency firm name as registered with LPPEH / BOVAEA, so I can verify the firm on the public register.

Once I have that in writing I will process the payment the same day. If any part of the fee is being asked of the other side (tenant or landlord), please confirm what that other side is paying for so we are not paying twice for the same work.

Escalation if the agent refuses to itemise

If the agent is registered with LPPEH / BOVAEA and refuses to give a written scope or receipt, the practical next step is to lodge a complaint with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia (the regulator for registered estate agents), keeping copies of every message, the receipt (if any), the agency agreement (if any), and the screenshots of the verbal quote. If the agent is not a registered estate agent at all, the practitioner may not be authorised to charge an estate-agency fee in the first place — flag that to the regulator as well, and consider paying nothing until the registration question is answered.

When does paying an agent fee actually make sense?

Paying a placement fee makes sense when the fee buys real placement work — listing, viewings, tenant screening, negotiation, and the tenancy agreement — and it does not make sense when the fee is vague, duplicated, or only appears after the tenant is ready to sign.

A simple decision test:

• If the agent has done real screening (income documents, employer call, prior-landlord reference, ID check) and has produced a tenant who actually signed the tenancy agreement, the fee has bought something — and the comparison is between that fee and the time the landlord would have spent doing it themselves.
• If the agent has only collected a name and a phone number and asks for the fee once the tenant is ready to sign, the value of the fee is the part you cannot easily do yourself, not a full placement commission.
• If the agent asks for the same scope from both sides, treat it as a duplicate until the agent names two distinct services in writing.

The choice between the agent route, the self-management route, and a managed route is not a fee question — it is a "what problem are you actually trying to solve" question. The agent route works for a vacant unit where speed of placement matters more than post-signing tenancy handling. Self-management works for a landlord who is comfortable screening, collecting rent, and handling repair tickets. A managed route is the right fit when the real problem is not finding a tenant but avoiding rent-chasing, repair escalation, and tenancy follow-up after signing.

How does SPEEDHOME handle placement fees differently?

SPEEDHOME charges the landlord a single, transparent service fee for placement and the surrounding tenancy process — there is no separate "tenant placement fee" billed to the tenant on top — and the landlord's fee covers a documented scope rather than a verbal quote.

The practical difference for a Malaysian landlord reading this page:

• One payer, one fee, one written scope — the landlord sees what they are paying for before signing, not after.
• The same fee covers the parts of a tenancy that a traditional agent usually stops handling after key handover: structured screening, documentation, and the operating workflow around the tenancy.
• The tenant is not asked for a placement commission. The tenant's costs on the SPEEDHOME platform are the rent, the refundable components governed by the tenancy agreement, and the platform-side services the tenant chooses to use.

That does not make SPEEDHOME universally cheaper or universally better — what it makes is the fee question answerable in one document instead of two conversations. If you want to compare the full operating model, read how SPEEDHOME differs from a property agent. If you would rather go agent-free entirely, the renting without an agent guide covers the self-management route. If the tenancy is already live and the tenant is late on rent, use the tenant-not-paying-rent guide — fee disputes are not the right tool to recover arrears.

FAQ

Can a real-estate agent in Malaysia charge both the landlord and the tenant?

Yes, an agent can collect fees from both sides — but only where the two charges cover two distinct services with the written consent of each side. Where the two charges cover the same placement work, or where there is no written scope and no separate receipt per payer, the arrangement is not automatically unlawful, but it is the configuration most likely to produce a later dispute. Treat a refusal to itemise as a warning sign.

Is it automatically wrong for an agent to charge both landlord and tenant?

Not automatically. The risk is not the existence of two charges — it is unclear consent, vague scope, or charging both sides for the same work without a written breakdown. Ask the agent to name the two services and provide a separate invoice and receipt per payer before paying.

Should a tenant pay an agent fee if the landlord already appointed the agent?

Ask for the written basis first. If the landlord appointed the agent for tenant placement, the tenant should not pay a vague "admin" or "placement" fee without seeing what separate service is being charged. A tenant who is being asked for a placement fee when the landlord has already paid one is being asked to pay twice for the same work.

What should a landlord ask before paying a commission?

Ask what is included: listing, viewings, screening, negotiation, tenancy agreement handling, renewal, and post-signing support. If post-signing support is not included, plan who will manage the tenancy afterwards, because that question is what decides whether the placement fee was actually worth the money.

Is SST always included in the quoted fee?

Do not assume. Ask whether the quote is inclusive or exclusive of SST, and request an invoice or receipt that states the amount clearly. The label on the invoice (agency fee, admin fee, professional fee) matters because the SST treatment and the right to charge it depend on the agent's registration status with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department — only a registered person may issue an invoice that shows service tax.

What if the agent says "this is normal market practice"?

"Do not treat 'normal practice' as proof of anything you cannot see in writing." Ask for the written scope and a separate receipt per payer regardless. "Normal" is not a defence if the fee later becomes a dispute, and a regulator complaint with no paper goes nowhere.

How do I check if the agent is registered?

Ask for the agent's REN (Real Estate Negotiator) number and the firm name, then verify on the LPPEH / BOVAEA public register before paying. An unregistered person is not authorised to charge an estate-agency fee in the first place — that is a separate and earlier red flag than the dual-fee question.

I only found out about a hidden fee after I had already committed to rent the unit — what do I do?

First, get it in writing: ask the agent for an itemised breakdown of every fee being charged, to whom, and for what named service — use the draft message above if you need a template. If the fee was never disclosed before you committed (verbally or in writing) and now appears as a surprise line item, that is a documentation and disclosure problem, not something you should pay just to avoid conflict. Do not pay until you have the breakdown in writing. If the agent is registered, a complaint to the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia is the disciplinary route for non-disclosure; it does not itself get you a refund. For actually recovering money already paid on a disputed fee, the correct civil pathway is the Magistrates' Court (claims up to RM100,000) or Sessions Court (RM100,001–RM1,000,000) — a regulator complaint alone does not award compensation. Keep every message, invoice, and receipt as your evidence trail either way.