Brokerage Fees for Rent: What to Do?

Questioner

I'm about to rent an apartment through a real estate agent. Now that I'm about to sign, the agent is charging ridiculously high agency fees (monthly rent, advance service fees, and 21% VAT). I'm registered with the agent, but I applied for this apartment myself. So the agent didn't specifically search or mediate on my behalf. All he did was call a few times to schedule an appointment, accompany me to the viewing, and that's it. According to the real estate agent, I have to pay this fee, as it's stated in the terms and conditions I have to accept when registering on the website (it also costs €10 per month). When I emailed him about the brokerage fees for this apartment, I received a vague answer: rental costs excluding VAT. I find the €756 brokerage fee for an apartment with a base rent of €450, utilities, and a €175 deposit (!) extremely high, and it doesn't equate to what the agent has done for me. But if I refuse to pay these fees, I'll lose the apartment. I've read that I can write a letter and get the money back through the subdistrict court. But I don't know the best way to go about this, and whether it's even worthwhile. What's the smart thing to do? Pay it and try to get it back through a judge (which also costs money). Or say I don't want to steal it and risk them saying, "Okay, we'll find someone else." Thank you in advance!

Questioner

The real estate agent is not allowed to charge you agency fees because they also act on behalf of the landlord. The real estate agent has a conflict of interest, and the law stipulates that they are not entitled to compensation from you as the tenant. If you really want the apartment, you need to pay and try to reclaim the money through the courts. This is, however, a time-consuming process. You can also threaten to file a complaint with the NVM (if the agent is an NVM agent) before or after payment if the agent insists on receiving a brokerage fee.