Sure, the fees have disappeared for tenants, but not for landlords! I know because I've been renting myself till last summer. It's a step in the right direction

Sure, the fees have disappeared for tenants, but not for landlords! I know because I've been renting myself till last summer. It's a step in the right direction. In a place such as Oxford or Cambridge you have tons of overseas landlords. Thus, agents are typically extracting fees from them by claiming the tenant has left and the house needs to be readvertised. But, in reality, the tenant wanted to renew the contract. Since they are not on-site, let alone managing the property themselves, it's easy to trick them. In other words, agents often have a perverse incentive to force a high tenant turnover. Some agents are not like this because they are more ethical, or because they guarantee a minimum income per calendar month. But, on average, it's a very nasty market as you've noted.