As a landlord, choosing a letting agent can be a daunting and sometimes an overwhelming prospect.

While a bad letting agent could cause you lots of extra stress, a competent letting agent should make your life as a landlord much easier.

A good letting agent should market your property proactively, find you the right tenants, and handle the rental paperwork, all for a reasonable letting agent fee. If you choose a management service, your agent should also capably deal with any day-to-day rental issues.

Here are 10 things you should consider when choosing a letting agent for the first time or even when switching.


What do you want from a letting agent?
Not all letting agents offer the same services. Some are let-only, which usually means they'll market the property, find a tenant, check their references and draft the tenancy agreement. Sometimes they'll register the deposit and collect the first month's rent, before leaving you to your own devices.

Others take on full management of your buy-to-let which, as well as the above, involves collecting (and if necessary, chasing) rent for the duration of the tenancy, sorting out repairs and generally making sure everything goes without a hitch.

Think carefully before deciding which level of service you require. It can be tempting to think it'll be easy enough to do it all yourself, and in some cases, it may be. But if you’re busy, and certainly if you live far away, hiring a reliable letting agent who can pop round and take care of any issues could save you time and money in the long run. 


Make a shortlist
Once you know what you’re looking for, it’s time to draw up a shortlist of possible letting agents. Take a look at online listings, check forum discussions, and ask other local landlords for recommendations.

It’s worth checking whether agents are well-reviewed on sites like Trustpilot, allAgents and also their Google reviews.

Next, speak to the letting agents on your shortlist to see if you get a good impression. Ask them how long properties are currently taking to rent, and whether they have any tenants on their books who are looking for a property like yours.


Are they a member of a professional body?
You should make sure that any letting agents you’re considering are registered with the Property Ombudsman Service or the Property Redress Scheme as this is a legal requirement.

Also find out if the letting agent is part of an accreditation scheme like the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS), or a member of a professional body such as ARLA Propertymark. Accreditation or membership will mean that the letting agency meets certain standards and should comply with particular codes of conduct.

Check how much they charge
Letting agents are unregulated, meaning what they charge for their services can vary. In London, expect to pay at least 15 per cent of the monthly rent for full property management. You are more likely to be successful in bringing that rate down if you are letting long-term and therefore guaranteeing rent for longer. Of course, fees will be lower for let-only services - think more like 8-12 per cent.

Beware letting agents who try and charge you when no tenant is in place. Most promise "no let no fee", and should take less between tenants, too.

Traditional vs. Online vs. Hybrid
While ‘online’ and ‘hybrid’ agents are similar in many ways – most notably that they both sell their services online and charge one-off fixed fees – it’s important to appreciate that they offer different levels of service (and that will determine which type of agent is best suited for you when it comes to letting your home).

If you imagine online estate agents on one end of the spectrum, and high-street agents on the opposite end, hybrid agents are somewhere in-between the two:

  • Online agents: only operate online and provide telephone support through their head office.
  • Hybrid agents: operate online and provide a local presence, and telephone support through their head office if required.
  • High-street agents: only operate through a branch on your local high-street, and support is available by walk-in and telephone.

All of the different types have their positives and negatives, so it is important that you decide what offering seems to fit your needs.

Don’t forget about the tenants
Put yourself in the shoes of a tenant. Does the agent market their properties well? Are they on all the major platforms? Do tenants have a good experience when renting with them? Do they feel looked after?

The tenants in your property can make or break your relationship with an agent so it’s best to find an agent that cares about tenants as much as they do their landlords. You can read the reviews and look out for tenant experiences or even ask friends and family who have previously rented.


Should I choose a big or small agency?
A smaller agency will know the area, and the local renting market – and may perhaps even have similar types of properties to yours on their books. It will also be likely that you’ll work with a smaller team, with people you can really get to know, and can get to the property quickly if they ever need to.

A national agency / or a lettings agency that’s owned by an estate agency, might have more marketing resource to help rent out your property to a wider audience, and they can also be a better option for landlords looking to rent out multiple properties in different locations.


What should you ask a potential letting agent?

It’s really important when choosing your letting agent that you cover any concerns or queries at the time you have, no matter how small or silly you may feel they are.

Some good questions to ask letting agents you’re considering working with are:

It’s really important when choosing your letting agent that you cover any concerns or queries at the time you have, no matter how small or silly you may feel they are.

  • Some good questions to ask letting agents you’re considering working with are:
  • Who will be my point of contact? How long have they been with the company?
    Can I see a copy of your terms of business?
    Other than your Let Only fee / management fees, what other fees should I be aware of?
  • Do you charge me for renewing the tenancy?
  • Do you mark up maintenance quotes or charge a fee for arranging maintenance?
  • Which tenancy deposit protection scheme do you use?
  • Do you have client money protection?
  • Is there a number tenants can call if they have an out-of-hours emergency?
  • These should be extremely basic questions for them to answer, so any reluctance or uncertainty isn’t a good sign.

You can decide for yourself what answers you deem acceptable and what your “dealbreakers” are, but the way they answer should tell you a lot.


How to work with your chosen letting agent?
Once you’ve made your decision you need to decide what relationship you want to have with your agent. This will also be dependent on the type of agent they are and how they approach you with problems in the future. A good agent should bring you a solution to a problem rather than the problem itself.

For example, your tenant has called the agent to say there is a leak in the ceiling.

A good agent will tell you that they weighed up the issue, found quotes for it to be fixed and would you like to proceed?

A bad agent will call you to tell you there is a leak in the ceiling.

If you are slow to respond to the agent about their solution then you could end up creating more of a problem. However, if you prefer to find four more quotes and compare prices yourself then you need to question whether the letting agent service is right for you.


What if you make the wrong choice?
You may choose a good agent but they’ve failed to deliver on their promises, or you may choose an online agent when you should have gone for a hybrid.

If you aren’t happy with your agent, you are of course free to switch to another firm or simply go it alone, but you will have to give notice. The typical notice period is two months, though some contracts tie you in for six months. Make sure to check this before you sign on the dotted line.

If they’re becoming increasingly negligible and putting your property at risk, you can attempt to bring the agreement to an end. Taking legal action is likely to be too expensive, but you can put in an official complaint then escalate it to the Ombudsman if you’re not happy with the response.