Hi,

I am currently looking at the service letting agents give to both tenants and customers. I have experienced service as a tenant and as a landlord, both good and the not so good!

What are the main things that you LIKE about them?
What are the main things that you DISLIKE about them?

I just thought it maybe interesting to get a discussion going involving tenants, landlords and agents!?

Tenant application fees, just how much is a fair charge?
£50
£100
£0!?

Personally, i think anything over about £50 is too much. And it isn't just the application fees tenants need to take into consideration, for example will you be charged for renewing your contract? Will the agency charge to provide a reference when you leave? Will they charge you an additional check in or inventory fee?

Are you a tenant Charlotte_24?

What do tenants look for in a good agent?

A good Agent should take all the worry out off letting a property, they should handle every part of the process from start to finish.
The important thing for me is the legal stuff (should be bang up to date with the latest legislation) the 6 monthly inspections, and the references.
Regarding charges to the tenant, I think anything over £50 is excessive.
I use Norrow Estates, generally they are ok, but I recently had to remind them about inspections. I have never used them as a tenant.
The charges to landlords are varied to within a few percent, but the levels of service are vastly different amongst Agents. As a landlord you have a choice how much you pay and with whom you place your property, the prospective tennant has no choice usually ie. if they want a particular property they have to pay what that agent charges them. They shouldn't be ripped off.
A good tenant is worth there weight in gold, so if you are lucky enough to have a good long term tenants then treat them well, I attend to any problems immediately day or night.

I once rented a property for 6 months through an Agent, I paid over £200 pounds in total for various bits of paper during the complicated application (13 years ago)
The agent checked the property twice in the six months, and upon leaving they checked the place on the last day to make sure I had cleaned it properly and left everything in tact.
At this point they said the cleaning was not thorough enough and wanted the paintwork washing down or they wouldn't return my bond, I showed them the photos I took when I moved in and asked them to compare the level of cleanliness. Suddenly they thought my last day clean was more than adequate!!

The charges to landlords are varied to within a few percent, but the levels of service are vastly different amongst Agents. As a landlord you have a choice how much you pay and with whom you place your property, the prospective tennant has no choice usually ie. if they want a particular property they have to pay what that agent charges them. They shouldn't be ripped off.
A good tennant is worth there weight in gold, so if you are lucky enough to have a good long term tennants then treat them well, I attend to any problems immediately day or night.

Can i ask you, as a landlord do you also factor in what the agent will charge a tenant when selecting one? I have heard several people say that they've seen a great house at decent rent, but wouldn't go for it as they didn't want to deal with the particular agent marketing it (not the same one every time).

Are you a tenant Charlotte_24?

Yes, but i'm also speaking from a professional point of view.

Can i ask you, as a landlord do you also factor in what the agent will charge a tenant when selecting one? I have heard several people say that they've seen a great house at decent rent, but wouldn't go for it as they didn't want to deal with the particular agent marketing it (not the same one every time).

Yes,because it is important to me to know the tenant is not going to get ripped off. In an ideal world, I would like the Agents to pay all the setting up costs, after all, they will make money from the percentage they charge; money they will collect for years in many cases without doing a great deal of work.
Regarding your point about an unpopular Agent putting off a prospective tennant, this happens, there are Agents out there I wouldn't touch with a barge pole, be it as a tenant or a landlord.
Some years ago I saw some business premises to let. They were what I wanted but it said on the board "all enquiries via the agent"
I didn't want to deal through the agent ( they always complicate things and it takes longer because negotiations have to go through an extra person)
so I rang the owner direct, on this occasion it was a major supermarket chain, I explained I wanted to deal direct and after a short chat they agreed.
This is not always possible with residential(or advisable), but worth a try if you know what you are doing with the legal stuff.
Looking to the future, things will have to change I think. The stock of available housing for rent has increased substantially over the last few years. The number of Agents has increased. There is more competition for both, this is great, it means landlords cannot any longer rent out damp dirty and dangerous houses just because they know if you move out someone else will move in. Agents will have to look again at what they charge because if they don't they will be replaced by one who does.

Do you think it is important for agents to be associate members of bodies such as ARLA, NAEA, UKALA, NALS?

I think tenants should be wary of any agent who isn't. Can i ask the reason for this research?

Do you think it is important for agents to be associate members of bodies such as ARLA, NAEA, UKALA, NALS?

Definitely!! I think that it gives you more peace of mind and if things goes wrong you have a professional body you can speak to and get further advice.

I just thought it maybe interesting to get a discussion going involving tenants, landlords and agents!?

It may help people looking to rent and or agents looking to improve upon service etc??

Fair do's, just thought there may be a specific reason. Carry on :)

We need some tenants comments...

Dont you think most tenants would rather deal with Agents?
I think the reverse is true for most landlords, as they want a good agent to deal with the tenants?

I would say that it depends on a few things such as do you have the time as a landlord to be able to arrange things during your working day to answer calls from your tenant or would you rather the agent take care of it for you. A good agent will take all the hassle off your hands and you will just authorise any necessary repairs on the property. Bad ones will cause more problems than they will solve!

From a tenants point of view I would imagine that you would rather sometimes go through a company as there should be more help available but then again when you look at the forums this isnt always the case!

Tenant application fees, just how much is a fair charge?
£50
£100
£0!?

£0 ---- For definite.

My girlfriend and I are currently wrangling with our letting's agents about £150 they want from us as an "administration fee" for re-signing our contract with them. One of the girls who left an answering machine message called it a "finders fee"... oops.

Furthermore, i'd much rather deal with a Private LL than an Agency next time...

I'm on the verge of telling them where to stick the whole thing to be honest as a. We can't really afford £150 that we don't get anything from and they have done pretty much zero for us. Our boiler went funny 2 weeks before christmas and long story short, its only just been sorted.

Anyway, some advice please, we have already signed a contract for the 12 months from this July the 1st and have an existing bond etc etc... If we pull out now do you think they'll fine us some more ridiculous fees?

So this is a renewal fee for a property you're already living in, and you have already re-signed the new contract?

The letting agency I am with have done nothing but take take take. I dont think I will be using that agency again. Out of interest, is there any recommendations for any decent agencies out there?

So this is a renewal fee for a property you're already living in, and you have already re-signed the new contract?

Yes we re-signed as when we went into the office there was no re-signing on fee mentioned. It was only until about 6 weeks after we'd signed again that there came an e-mail asking us for the fee of £150, also a telephone call earlier today which i missed due to being in a meeting.

Tell them to whistle for it, to be quite frank. You have already signed the new AST, they didn't mention the fees at this point (or until many weeks had passed). Don't leave the property early as you will be at fault, if you continue to be harrassed ask for your landlord's details and contact them.

Was there any fees listed on the AST or on a seperate sheet in your "application pack" when you first signed up?

My girlfriend and I are currently wrangling with our letting's agents about £150 they want from us as an "administration fee" for re-signing our contract with them.

This seems totally outrageous!!! Ask them to specify why it should cost £150.00 for this!!! I know agents who do it for £15 which in comparison looks acceptable!!
Ask for a break down and see what they come back with. Having said that, I would also check in your original contract to see what it says there about additional fee's such as these resign fee's.

Also, did you choose to re-sign or did they tell you that you needed to do this?
A delay of six weeks from re-signing to them notifying you of the charge is rather odd, did they not say anything when you went in to sign (presumably you went to their offices to do this)?

Also, did you choose to re-sign or did they tell you that you needed to do this?
A delay of six weeks from re-signing to them notifying you of the charge is rather odd, did they not say anything when you went in to sign (presumably you went to their offices to do this)?

Hi Chaps,

Thanks for your replies, We signed the contract again out of our own choice, partly so we didnt have to have people traipsing round looking at it and also because we thought it a good idea at the time because we wouldnt have to pay the charges from a new letting agency... how wrong I was.

Story was, we told them that we wanted to sign up for another 12 mo. tenancy, we went into the office to sign in the first week of January, they mentioned nothing about a charge until I received an e-mail on the 17th of February saying:

Hi Joe

Just a quick reminder that we are still waiting for your and Joe's OH signing fees of £75 each. Once we receive them, everything will be complete for next year.

Thanks

Blar de Blar Properties

Also a phone call yesterday (3/3/9) asking for this so called finder's fee. I really don't want to pay this cash as we are saving for a holiday and things are tight as they are.

J :)

Have you looked though all the papers they gave you, does it mention this fee anywhere? I would second the above and ask them to clarify exactly what this fee breaks down to, as it sounds far too high for a re-sign.

Looking at £75.00, going to a new property could have been a cheaper option! I would still look through your current AST and have a look at the additional costs and see what it says there. If it has been written in to the contract that this ludicrous fee of £150.00 is payable then there isn't much you can do.

It is odd how it took them several weeks to let you know about the outstanding charge.