Letting Agents, Taking The Easy Option

The purpose of letting agents is to make life easier for landlords by taking out much of the legwork to renting property. Many believe that the life of a landlord is simple with funds constantly pouring into their bank accounts; however, it is often misunderstood that to be a effective landlord there are certain tasks that must be carried out regularly in order to have happy tenants.

This is where the services offered by letting agents can be ultimately useful, for a small fee they can look after tenants and manage the property, negating much of the work that needs to be carried out by the landlord.

Letting agents typically take their fees from the rent, it is usually a percentage of the rent and is collected on a monthly basis. The result is that if a landlord wishes to use letting agents, they must either sacrifice some of the funds or simply raise their prices. The fees however are usually worth it, letting agents will carry out vital tasks for the rates they charge.

The first of the tasks carried out by letting agents is to find tenants for the property. Additionally they must put in place all of the paperwork pertaining to the property; typically this will have a twofold approach, firstly the landlord must fill in a contract and then once tenants have been found they must also complete the necessary paperwork.

However the start of the tenancy does not mark the end of the job for letting agents; it is their responsibility to ensure that the tenants are kept happy, the property is maintained to a decent state, and as part of this work to check the property regularly for damage or issues.

There are many letting agents in the UK market at the moment, some feel that the decrease in mortgage approvals and hence property sales will mean an increase in the number of renters. Hence budding landlords and entrepreneurial letting agents have all arisen to meet this need.

Landlords and tenants however should take care when utilising the services provided by letting agents, there are some unscrupulous operators out there who take pride in hoodwinking clients. Thankfully there are a number of bodies, such as ARLA (Association of Residential Letting Agents) and NALS (National Approved Lettings Scheme) that have laid down codes of conduct that help to ensure clients are treated fairly.

Ultimately for most landlords the fees charged by letting agents are a necessary evil. They make the rental process far simpler and remove much of the stress and thought out of providing rental property.

However it should be remembered that if an agent is having difficulty finding a tenant or is not fulfilling their responsibilities it is always a possibility to find a new agent, fundamentally as a landlord you are paying for a service and if this service is inadequate then changing agents is a very real option.

It is also worth remembering however that while agents can check on the property, maintenance issues will still normally fall under the control of the landlord, hence if there is a item that needs replacing or even some pointing work on the exterior of the property the landlord will probably have to get their hands dirty.

Letting agents provide a valuable and worthwhile service to many landlords all over the UK and beyond. Without them the process of letting a property would be far more stressful and laborious and even though they charge for their work, as an easy option to property profits they are unrivalled.

Property expert Thomas Pretty looks at the work of letting agents and how they can make life easier for landlords.